{mosimage}One disadvantage of selling by telephone is the lack of face to face contact. Mastering this phone skill will give you an advantage over most sales people.

When you are sitting with a prospect it's much easier to read their body language. You can see the look on their face when they're confused about something you said. You can see the delight when you hit a hot button for them. You can read the shifts in their body as they respond to your every word. Non verbal communication is missing when you sell by phone.

Selling over the phone puts you at a huge disadvantage because numerous studies have shown that 55% of what we communicate is non verbal. This phone skill will give you back that advantage you might have lost.

Asking The Right Questions

By asking questions that solicit a response from your prospect you will get an idea of what's going on inside the prospects mind. Normally you ask these questions during your presentation or while answering objections.

Let's say you are describing how your product or service will benefit the prospect and you haven't gotten any kind of verbal response from them. This is the time to ask a question like:

• Does that make sense to you?
• How does that sound?
• Are you with me so far?

If you are answering a question or concern you should ask a question that verifies that you have handled their objection, such as ...

• Does that answer your question?

You're looking for feedback from them so you can see what they are thinking and know how to proceed.

Let Your Ears Become Your Eyes

The second part of this phone skill is to listen carefully to their responses to your presentation and your questions. When you ask a question, shut up and listen.

Listen for two things. First what they say. When you get a response listen very carefully to the words they use and analyze and question them until you're clear what they are saying. Second, listen to the tone of their voice. Approximately 84% of what we communicate via the telephone is through the tone of our voice. If they answer a question one way, however the tone of their voice indicates something else. Stop and question further to get clarification until moving forward. Say something like...

• It sounds like you still have a concern.

This will show them that you're indeed paying attention and will get them to further clarify their position. If you get a very positive response with an “I'm with you tone in their voice”, you have a buying signal and should move forward with confidence.

Master this phone skill. By asking the right questions and letting yours ears become your eyes you will find your closing ratio on the phone will increase and so will your sales.