Sales technique in ten - smile when you dial..
Jul 10, 2021
A quick technique tip – smile when you dial.
Yes, I realise it sounds cheesy. But you CAN hear when someone is smiling on the ‘phone. In fact, you can hear what type of smile it is, too, apparently.
When you’re speaking on the ‘phone, you rely on aural cues, not just the words that you’re hearing but the tone, pitch and pace of the person’s voice on the other end. 84% of our message over the phone is based on our tone of voice, so it’s more important than ever.
I’m sure you would notice if someone sounded bored, unhappy or impatient. And you also notice, albeit subconsicously perhaps, when someone sounds happy, enthusiastic and.. well.. smiley. Smiling changes the tone of your voice.
The University of Portsmouth did some research on this*, but you know it’s true – you can hear when someone is smiley or not, can’t you? So why aren’t you smiling when you’re going through those calls?
Apart from anything else – treat the potential clients that you call as if they’re in the room with you. You would be distracted and glance over their shoulder, you wouldn’t fiddle with your phone while you were listening and you wouldn’t stand there stoney-faced, so why do it on the phone? At least I hope you wouldn’t do any of those things and still expect them to do business with you.
So the cheesy ‘dial with a smile’ advice stands – Try it out – when you next make a sales call, smile. Be the person they want to speak to. If it helps, put a mirror next to your monitor (Nestle do it, I’m told) so you can see that you’re smiling. It could also help you visualise a real person on the other end of the line. Even if a mirror next to your monitor isn’t for you – smile… smile..smile..
Good luck!
*Journal reference: Drahota, A., Costall, A., & Reddy, V. The vocal communication of different kinds of smile, Speech Communication (2007), doi:10.1016/j.specom.2007.10.001.
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