5 Strategies in 2023 to Improve Conversion on the Phone

This week, I've got the top five strategies to increase your conversion in 2023 over the phone. So let's jump right into it!

1) Assume the Lead!

When you get on the phone and you're calling a new sales lead and they pick up the phone ... what do you say? If it is something like, "Hi, is this _____?", you're hurting your conversion.  Here's why...

Exactly ZERO of their friends, family (or anybody they would actually want to be talking with in that moment in time), would ask that question. It's as if you're saying, "Hey, is this who I'm hoping it is?!" As soon as you utter that line, they immediately know that you are not somebody that has any familiarity with them whatsoever. And so you immediately have to dig your way out of the hole you just dug!

So assume the lead. Assume you're talking witht he right person.  If you're wrong, guess what ... they're going to tell you! So assume the lead: "Hey, Dave, this is Alex with the Valor Group and [whatever your opening line is.]"

2) The two most important parts of the conversation

There are two places in the conversation that you have to nail it. You can mess up the rest of it to a degree, but you've gotta nail these two parts. It's the opening and the closing.

Now, the middle of the conversation, the sales script or whatever you're talking about, you can flub the middle a little bit, but the opening and the closing you've got to knock it out of the park. Get those down pat!

3) Go in with a game plan

The worst time to think about what you want to say is when you are actually saying it. So make sure you go in with a game plan.

For example, when we are calling sales leads, we tend to try to bunch them together in terms of where each may be at in the sales cycle: "these 50 folks I am dialing right now are all folks I have never talked to, so I know my opening is going to be the same, and we are going to work through the conversation much the same." Then we call a group of current clients that we have a really good relationship with, and so the conversation we know is going to sound a little bit different than the first group.

In doing this, we are pregaming in our head how the conversation is going to go ... because the worst time to think about what we want to say is when we are trying to say it.

This also works for handling objections. I talk on our team a lot about if you get an objection from a sales lead, a buyer, a seller, whatever the case may be, and you do not have a great response for it, make sure after the appointment, after the phone call, you debrief with yourself, and figure out how can I answer that better next time. Make sure you are doing that, because WHEN you get the same objection a second time, and you flub it again, then shame on you. Getting an objection that you don't handle well is an invitation for you to recognize a hole in your game that needs to be tightened up.  And when you hear the same objection a 2nd, 3rd and 4th time, you know exactly what to say.

4) He who asks the questions is in control

When a sales lead asks you a question, of course you should answer it: scratch their itch. But the thing is, he who is asking the questions is in control of the conversation. Common mistake is believing the person who is doing the talking is in control, but that's dead wrong:  it is the person asking the questions.

The problem comes in when we end up relinquishing control of the conversation by getting into the reflex of answering questions and never take back control, a hundred times out of a hundred, the sales lead or the client that we are talking to will typically crash that plane into the rocks! You want to make sure that when they ask you a question (they took control of the conversation), you answer it and - without taking a breath - you go right into the next question. You are taking back control of the conversation and leading it where you need it to go.

5) Don't forget that business is just a numbers game!

Business is a numbers game. It does not matter if you are selling houses, lawnmowers or widgets. It is just a numbers game. And so your job is to put the numbers in your favor by talking to as many people as possible. If the person on the other end of the phone is a "No", no problem. Ask if they know anybody who is thinking of needing to transact in your sales business. 99 out of every 100 times you ask this, you're going to get another "No", but that is okay, because that 1 in 100 that is something else - for the extra two seconds you took to ask the question - is going to be another payday for you and your family, another opportunity to build a relationship, etc. But ask the question.

That was the top five different strategies that you can use today to improve your conversion on the phone. Never hesitate to reach out if you need any help at all.  I always love to assist!