Make Every Call Count Part 3

***After you read this post, be sure to visit me at my new home here.***

In this series, I share tips for making every call you make count. You can't not make calls, and your excuses aren't cutting it because they simply aren't adding cash to your bottom line. 

Here are the final six tips you must use to make every call count:

Ask for What You Want. Do not hang up the phone before you ask for what you want. Even if you think you will not get it, ask anyway (Go for No!). You may be pleasantly surprised with the answer. If you do this consistently and you are making enough calls, eventually you will be successful. As Wayne Gretzky says: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." I say: "You have to a-s-k to g-e-t."

Use an Accent to Your Advantage. If you have an accent and have mastered the other tips discussed here, use your accent to your advantage. People with accents sound appealing, and other people like to listen to them. If the people you are calling ask you about your accent, use it as an opportunity to ask them about themselves and build rapport.

Call* When You Say You Will. Make sure you call exactly when you said you would. Even though your potential client may not remember when you said you would call back, by doing so, you create urgency and trust.

Follow Up Immediately. If you have agreed to send out information or fax over a registration form, do it immediately. This also creates urgency -- and if you act with urgency, the potential client may also respond with urgency, allowing you to get your goal sooner. This also helps to create trust between you and your contact more quickly. You can also send a quickly handwritten note using the Rule of 3: 3  lines, takes 3 minutes to write, address, and stamp, sent within 3 days. 

Track Your Calls. Set a goal for yourself every week and decide how many calls you are going to make. Estimate how long it will take you to make that many calls, and block the time on your schedule. Act as if this time block was an appointment with a client -- the call time you set aside to develop new clients must be viewed as very important.

Pick Up the Receiver.  The more you make, the more you make (and you'll want to make!). The more you place calls, the easier it gets. The more you place calls, the better you get. The better you get, the better the results. The only way to get masterful at using the phone is to use the phone.

Be the Last to Hang Up. Let the other person hang up first. That way you can be sure they don’t hear a loud “bang” or “click” as you hang up. (And by all means, be sure you've disconnected before you start talking to someone else, or utter anything you definitely don't want the other party to hear ...)

Engaging these strong phone tips into your daily practices will yield untold results. Integrate them immediately for immediate results. Happy calling!

*Call, write, show up ... anything you give your word that you are going to do, do it!

Related Reading:

How to Handle Phone Objections {Paul Castain}
Top 3 Ways to Stay in Touch with Your Clients {Honoree}
Seven Secrets to Cold Call Success {Entrepreneur} 

"…some of the reasons that I have taken so long to get to "the next level" are that I have failed to put some basic things in place. This book reminded me to do those basic things." ~Andrea Waltz, author, Go for No! Read the entire review here. Buy this book here.

Honorée Enterprises, LLC. turns service providers into rainmakers, average producers into rock-stars, and dreams into reality. For more information on how we can specifically help you or your organization, click here. You can read all about Honorée here.