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Turn enquiries into sales

March 7th, 2011 by Ann Mayer
When people call your business for information, often there's a sale just waiting to be made. Ann Mayer points out how often the money is being left on the table, and what you can do to turn enquiry calls into sales.
Customer service rep taking enquiry on phone
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Recently I have needed to call to find out if a specific product was available and to buy the product.  What I encountered has prompted me to write this article.

You pay a great deal of money to get people to call you to enquire about your products and services.  When the call is badly taken, you are sending prospective clients to your competition.

Everyone normally assumes that the caller is 'shopping around', and so they may be, and amazingly, most people will give you the price and all the other information about the product or service without even finding out who you are, or why you are asking!

I believe the problem has a number of sources:

  • The person taking the call has the firm conviction that the caller is only shopping around, does not really want to buy at present and will not make a decision without getting all the prices, i.e. calling all the companies who sell the product
     
  • The person taking the call being very pressed for time, and treating the call as an interruption to the job, not the very purpose of it 
     
  • The person taking the call is taking the information on to scrappy bits of paper - that is if any information is written down at all (I once listened to a member of a sales office give twenty-two prices of different products, without taking the name of the caller, or writing any information down).

In order to make the incoming enquiry for price an efficient call, and one on which the prime objective is to sell, the following techniques need to be employed:

  • You need the right equipment for the task.  It is much simpler to write down the details if you are wearing a headset.
     
  • You need a recording and reporting system which should prompt you to ask the right questions and to keep the right records.
     
  • Take the call as if it is an order, rather than as if it is an enquiry.  This will change your attitude to the call.
     
  • If other members of the family may answer the phone, ensure they know exactly what to do.
     
  • Work out what it has cost you to get the phone to ring and see how much you need to sell to cover that cost.

If you ask for the order every time you take an enquiry, the worst that can happen is to get a rejection (the person at the other end of the phone can’t come down and punch you on the nose), but the best that can happen, and frequently does, is that you get an order.

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About the author

Ann Mayer's picture
Ann Mayer

Telephos helps New Zealand business use the telephone to make and retain profits. Every business, regardless of size must be easy to access and have successful strategies for collecting debts. They must also use the phone to keep in touch with and sell to clients and prospects.
Telephos provides a complete service in this area. We can train you to use the phone for sales and debt collection; we can do the calling for you; or we can help you set up a complete new department for your business. Even in today's web-based society, conversation by telephone is frequently needed to achieve business goals.