Graham

Roberts-Phelps
IFC
Telephone Tactics
Reprinted by Thorogood 2002
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About the author

Graham Roberts-Phelps
Graham Roberts-Phelps is an international specialist consultant in
business and personal development, sharing his ideas and insights
with thousands of people and organisations every year. With an exten-
sive background in management and business development, Graham
works with organisations of many different types and sizes, as a profes-
sional trainer and consultant.

Introduction
My purpose in writing this book, is to provide you with a practical
handbook on using the telephone to improve your business.

Whether your focus is customer satisfaction, gaining sales, making

appointments, getting paid faster, or simply to communicate with
colleagues more efficiently, I am sure you can glean some new tips
and techniques. You may find that you remember a few old, and
perhaps forgotten, skills and ideas too.

Good luck.

Graham Roberts-Phelps
Look out for these!

Take a tip…
Throughout the book handy tips
These
relevant to the particular subject
matter will be displayed in the are extremely useful
quote marks featured. TIPS to remember while
you are conducting, or
planning a telephone call!

Draw on your initiative!

A pen or pencil will be useful when you
complete numerous questionnaires, action
plans and tests.

Remember!
Make your own notes – add ideas, highlight or mark passages that
you might want to review later.
Contents

Section 1:
Telephone tactics for
customer satisfaction..................................................................................3
The telecommunications revolution ......................................................................................4
The great telephone challenge .........................................................................................5

Creating a positive impression ...............................................................................................6

Non-verbal communications ...........................................................................................6
Reduced feedback ..........................................................................................................10
Quick solutions to common difficulties ........................................................................11

Master the basics ....................................................................................................................12

People like people who sound... ....................................................................................12
How to create a positive physiology ..............................................................................13
How to change your voice ............................................................................................14

Effective telephone guidelines .............................................................................................17

Focus on the customer ..................................................................................................17
When to answer the telephone ......................................................................................20
Helpful words and phrases ............................................................................................22
Unhelpful words and phrases ........................................................................................23
Don’t ask people to call you back! ...............................................................................24
Prepare for telephone calls ............................................................................................26
Take notes .......................................................................................................................27
Be aware of time .............................................................................................................28
Screen calls .....................................................................................................................28
Self-assessment ...............................................................................................................30
ii telephone tactics

Advanced telephone rapport .................................................................................................30

Matching .........................................................................................................................30
Mismatching ...................................................................................................................32
General points about matching skills ............................................................................32

Structuring a telephone call .................................................................................................34

Open and initiate ...........................................................................................................35
Gather information ........................................................................................................35
Solutions and options ....................................................................................................36
Confirm and close ..........................................................................................................37
Difficult situations ..........................................................................................................37

Telephone skills assessment ................................................................................................38

Gathering information – key skills .......................................................................................42

Listening and encouraging ............................................................................................42
Questioning ...................................................................................................................43

Turning customer problems into opportunities .................................................................44

How to turn problems into solutions ............................................................................44
Handling customer questions ........................................................................................45
Structure for handling customer questions ...................................................................47

Confirming – key skills ..........................................................................................................48

Difficult situations – key skills .............................................................................................49

Handling complaints ......................................................................................................51
Remedy for complaints ..................................................................................................51

Dealing with angry customers ..............................................................................................52

Techniques ......................................................................................................................52
Handling conflict ...........................................................................................................55
 contents iii

Assertiveness on the telephone ...........................................................................................57

Why people behave aggressively or submissively ..........................................................57
Recognising assertive, submissive and aggressive behaviour .......................................58

Attitude ......................................................................................................................................59
Your attitude is critical ...................................................................................................59
An action plan for self-development .............................................................................61

Telephone skills – best practice summary .........................................................................62

Customer service – application assignments.....................................................................63

Section 2:
Gaining appointments by telephone ..................................67
The importance of proactive prospecting ..........................................................................68

Sales is a numbers game ......................................................................................................69

Filling the funnel ............................................................................................................71

The most important step in the sales process ...................................................................72

Influencing tomorrow’s sales today ...............................................................................73

Ten top tips on making appointments .................................................................................74

Making appointments: planning and preparation .............................................................78

Opening the call .............................................................................................................78
Building interest and qualifying .....................................................................................78
iv telephone tactics

Overcoming objections ..................................................................................................79

Handling objections .......................................................................................................80
Closing the call ..............................................................................................................81
Setting objectives ............................................................................................................82
Attitude and motivation .................................................................................................83
Every call counts ............................................................................................................84
Failure is the essence of success ....................................................................................84

Getting past gatekeepers .......................................................................................................84

Handling assistants – notes ............................................................................................88

How to structure a call ...........................................................................................................89

Introduction ..................................................................................................................89
Making progress .............................................................................................................91
Effective capability statements – examples.....................................................................92
Developing your own capability statements ................................................................93

Cold-calling blues ...................................................................................................................94

Reasons for cold-calling blues .......................................................................................95
Solutions to the cold-calling blues ................................................................................96

‘Warm-calling’: A three-step method to increase your sales .........................................97

Step 1: The target list ......................................................................................................97
Define your ideal customer ............................................................................................98
Step 2: The letter ..........................................................................................................100
Step 3: The telephone call ............................................................................................101

Ideal appointment times ......................................................................................................105

Example call ............................................................................................................................106

Prospect tracking ..................................................................................................................107

Appointments – application assignments..........................................................................109

 contents v

Section 3:
Achieving better sales results
on the telephone.............................................................................................113
How to get even better sales results .................................................................................114
Qualities of a successful telemarketer .........................................................................114
Personal qualities .........................................................................................................114
The power of the telephone .........................................................................................115
Advantages and disadvantages of selling by telephone ..............................................116

Customer focus ......................................................................................................................117

Develop a positive customer attitude ..........................................................................117
Know your customer as well as your products ...........................................................117
Know your product ......................................................................................................118

Selling and customer service .............................................................................................118

Service ..........................................................................................................................118

An introduction to selling on the telephone .....................................................................119

Selling ...........................................................................................................................119
Helping people buy ......................................................................................................121

Structuring a sales call ........................................................................................................124

Opening the sales call ..................................................................................................124
Building the sale ...........................................................................................................124
Gaining commitment ...................................................................................................125

Preparation, organisation and planning ...........................................................................126

The sales process – at a glance......................................................................................126
The sales process ..........................................................................................................127
Why do people buy what they buy? ............................................................................128
How people buy ...........................................................................................................129
vi telephone tactics

Converting incoming calls into sales ................................................................................130

Outgoing calls – working a list ...........................................................................................132

1. Define your ideal customer.......................................................................................133
2. Develop a good ‘script’ .............................................................................................133
3. Elimination ................................................................................................................134
4. Persistence .................................................................................................................134

Personal organisation ..........................................................................................................136

Prospect tracking ..........................................................................................................136
Organised persistence ..................................................................................................137
Activities levels .............................................................................................................138

Voice projection ....................................................................................................................140

Smile when you dial .....................................................................................................141
Project a winning voice tone ........................................................................................141
Have excellent product knowledge .............................................................................142

The sales call .........................................................................................................................142

Essentials ......................................................................................................................143

The voice that sells ...............................................................................................................143

The three V’s .................................................................................................................143
Ways to improve the way you sound ...........................................................................144

Telephone sales questioning techniques .........................................................................145

Features and benefits (FAB) ................................................................................................157

Feature statement. Facts ...............................................................................................158
Advantage statement. Functions...................................................................................158
So what is a benefit? Value...........................................................................................158
 contents vii

Developing FAB statements .................................................................................................159

People buy for different reasons ........................................................................................160

Matching .......................................................................................................................160
Selling benefits that need both emotional and logical needs .....................................162

Handling objections and questions ...................................................................................162

Handling customer objections .....................................................................................162
How not to overcome objections ................................................................................164

Overcoming objections ........................................................................................................166

Sequence overview .......................................................................................................166

Closing the sale .....................................................................................................................168

Why don’t salespeople close? ......................................................................................169
What should a closing question be? ............................................................................169
Examples of closing questions .....................................................................................171

Ending the call .......................................................................................................................172

Confirm agreement .......................................................................................................172

Telephone selling – application assignments ..................................................................173

viii telephone tactics

Section 4:
Credit collection by telephone ................................................177
Introduction ............................................................................................................................178

Calculating the real cost of bad debts ..............................................................................179

Why debtors don’t pay .................................................................................................180

Prevention is better than cure ............................................................................................181

Credit management effectiveness ................................................................................181
Credit risk assessment ..................................................................................................183

Organising credit management ..........................................................................................186

Follow-up procedures ..................................................................................................186
Customer categories .....................................................................................................189
Big debts – try to collect them first ..............................................................................190
Two top tips for effective cash collection ....................................................................191
How to get people to pay .............................................................................................192
Collecting by telephone – preparation ........................................................................195
Structuring a credit collection call ..............................................................................196

Types of question ..................................................................................................................197

Dealing with excuses ....................................................................................................198
C.A.S.H – getting results on the telephone .................................................................200
How to deal with objections ........................................................................................201
Dealing with ‘the cheque’s in the post…’ ....................................................................203
Ten golden rules ...........................................................................................................204

Collection letters ...................................................................................................................204

Debt collection – application assignments.......................................................................207

Blank page
 3

Section 1:
Telephone tactics
for customer satisfaction
The telecommunications revolution .....................................................................4

Creating a positive impression ............................................................................6

Master the basics .............................................................................................12

Effective telephone guidelines ..........................................................................17

Advanced telephone rapport .............................................................................30

Structuring a telephone call .............................................................................34

Telephone skills assessment .............................................................................38

Gathering information – key skills .....................................................................42

Turning customer problems into opportunities ...................................................44

Confirming – key skills .....................................................................................48

Difficult situations – key skills ..........................................................................49

Dealing with angry customers ...........................................................................52

Assertiveness on the telephone .........................................................................57

Attitude ...........................................................................................................59

Telephone skills best practise summary .............................................................62

Customer service – application assignments ......................................................63

4 telephone tactics

The telecommunications revolution

We are in the midst of what experts call ‘the telecommunications
revolution’. Just as the development of the four stroke engine and
the production line system revolutionised industry earlier this cen-
tury, so telecommunications involving the merger of computer and
telephone technology is doing so now.

Many industries such as the financial services and banking sec-

tors, have already seen a revolution in dealing with customers over
the telephone. Telephones are also very important in helping busi-
nesses to retain customers, and in particular, to keep them happy
– that is, if we are able to use the telephone correctly!

Telephones offer us tremendous advantages as well. They are a fast,

efficient and an effective method of communication. We can speak
to as many people in a few minutes on the telephone as we might
see all day in face-to-face meetings.

They also make organisations work. Many organisations today are

extremely complex, with divisions and departments spread over
many different areas. A telephone can link them all instantly and
effortlessly. Love them or hate them, telephones are here to stay, and
getting on with others means using them well.

As the telephone is so widely used in business, indeed it may be our

major (or in some cases only) contact with customers, it is vitally
important that we excel in all areas of telephone communications.

It is also important to remember its effect in helping our company or

organisation to run more efficiently. A great deal of our internal com-
munication (that is with our colleagues), indeed some of our most
important communication, is effected over the telephone.
 section one telephone tactics for customer satisfaction 5

The great telephone challenge

Your goal when using the telephone for internal or external cus-
tomers should be to:
• make that caller believe that you are pleased to hear from
them
• sound awake, alert and ready
• make the caller feel special
• have patience with those who perhaps deserve it the least
• direct your personality and enthusiasm down the telephone
• make a good first impression
• make a good last impression
• keep in control, without interrupting or bullying
• inspire confidence
• make the customer feel they are dealing with a person and not
being processed
• not use any negative words or phrases
• be believed
• use the customer’s name regularly
• conduct the call efficiently and quickly without rushing the
caller.

That’s all!
6 telephone tactics

Creating a positive impression

Have you ever spoken to someone on the telephone before meet-
ing them – were they what you expected?

When we communicate on the telephone, we are attempting to

transfer an image from our mind to the minds of our listeners. To do
this, we need to speak and select words with which we describe our
mental image or ideas and thoughts.

Customers create an impression of you and

your company based on how you sound.
When our listeners hear our words, they form a mental picture of
what we are trying to convey through these words. However, peo-
ple don’t always have the same meaning for a given voice tone,
word or phrase and so we have communication breakdowns. For
example, we could say ‘No thank you’ to mean several things, and
depending on how we say it – even ‘YES!’

As with face-to-face contact, telephone communication provides an

exchange of views and some form of feedback on our presentation.
However, there are some important differences between telephone
communication and face-to-face contact. Understanding these dif-
ferences is crucial to success in using this medium.

Non-verbal communications
In normal communication the make-up of communications is: