Sales

3 Things You Should Never Say During a Sales Call

May 7, 2014

Editor’s note: This post is an excerpt from “6 Things Never to Say During Your Sales Presentation” on Mike Brooks’ Inside Sales Training Blog.
Let’s face it — when selling over the phone, all you have is your voice. The way you deliver your presentation — the words you use, the inflection, your pacing and timing — has a huge impact on the way you are perceived by your prospects. Unfortunately, many sales reps project an image of being unprepared, unsure, rushed, and sometimes even scared.Your prospects can sense this immediately. They know from your first few sentences whether they are dealing with a confident sales pro, or with someone who isn’t very sure of what they’re selling and who is uncomfortable with the sales process. And like sharks, these prospects will attack and blow you off with all the stalls, resistance, and objections you get now.
If you want to project an image of professional competency, then make sure and avoid using any of the following statements or words.

3 Things Not to Say During a Sales Call

1) “Can you transfer me to [the decision maker]?”

Most presentations end with the stall, “Well, I need to run this by my boss/partner/manager/corporate, etc.” Unfortunately, this usually comes as a surprise to many sales reps who failed to qualify for this upfront. Some sales reps then think they can just bulldoze through the stall by demanding to talk to the decision maker right then and there.
While I applaud you for your tenacity, asking to blatantly go above the person’s head you’re speaking to or have just pitched immediately alienates them. Often, this person is some kind of sales influencer in the organization, and alienating them is not what you want to do.
Instead, you should use a different approach. Here’s one example:

“So, John, when you consult with your manager, is this something that you’re sold on and will recommend to them?” (If yes, then): “Great, how can I help you sell them on this?” (Only if they can’t think of anything): “Would it help if I spoke to them and went over this just like I did with you?”

That’s the way to get permission and to finally earn the right to speak to the decision maker.

2) “I don’t know about that — let me get back to you.”

It’s okay that you don’t have an answer for something, but what’s important is that you convey that in a confident manner. Try any of the following.

“That’s a great question and we have several ways of handling that. Let me ask you a couple of questions regarding your particular situation, and then I’ll be able to get the best solution for you…”

Or:

“That’s a good question for my technical support team. Let me see what they would propose and get back with you.”

Or:

“We have a whole department that deals with that, and I’ll check with them to give you the best solution.”

Each of these responses helps you delay answering until you get the right answer, but they paint the picture of a bigger, more competent company structure which helps to give you credibility.

3) “When should I call you back?”

Why would you want to put the crucial follow up of your sale in the hands of your customer? Asking this question means handing over control of the sale to the prospect which means you lose control. That’s bad. Here are a few better ways of keeping control and getting a commitment for a follow up call:

“How long will that take?” Then: “Okay, I’ve got my calendar open and that would put us to Tuesday of next week. Are you looking at your calendar? Great. How does 2:45pm look for you?”

Or:

“[Prospect Name] you’re probably as busy as I am, so let’s go ahead and schedule a follow up call to access progress. I can do this same time [tomorrow, Friday, next week], does that work for you?”

Or:

“It’s going to take me [a day, two days, a week, etc.] to get this started on my end, how about I give you a call around Friday at this time to see if there’s anything else you need? Does 2:15pm work for you again?”

The key here is to get a commitment. All top producers remain in control of the selling process and know when the next call in the sales cycle is — and so do their prospects!
 
So there you have three things to stay away from during your next sales call. As you use these techniques, you’ll find yourself developing better rapport, getting more information, and staying in control of your selling situations. For three more things you should never say in a sales call, visit my Inside Sales Training Blog


Photo by: Craig Sunter

 

Founder

Mike Brooks “Mr. Inside Sales”<a href="http://www.mrinsidesales.com/">Mr. Inside Sales</a> is the recognized authority on inside sales. Voted one of the most Influential Inside Sales Professionals by The American Association of Inside Sales Professionals for the past five years in a row, Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. Mike is the best-selling author of “The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts” which Brian Tracy calls “One of the best books on inside sales phone scripts I’ve seen.” Mike is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. For more information, you can visit his website <a href="http://www.mrinsidesales.com/"> www.MrInsideSales.com</a>.