Tips for reducing hang-ups in sales

Phone call leads are still among the strongest leads that companies can rely on. However, there are certain complications that can stand in the way of converting site visitors into customers. If it seems to you that too many prospects are hanging up during your calls, it’s time you do something about it. Start by taking a look at our tips for reducing hang-ups in sales.

Anyone who works in sales will tell you that hangups are a standard part of the process. Some calls go a lot better than you expected them to, and sometimes prospects don’t even pick up. It’s all part of the job. However, these two scenarios are easy to accept. The real problematic ones are when you talk with a potential customer, and then silence greets you from the other end of the line. They hung up – so what do you do now?

Well, the first thing is not to panic. You can’t let a lost sale hurt your feelings. If you’re a sales manager, this is one of the key lessons for sales reps you need to teach your agents. At the end of the day, it’s normal for prospects to leave calls this way. There are many reasons why they may do it:

• Maybe they’re annoyed by something else
• You might have ignored something they said
• They might have done it accidentally

Whatever the reasons behind them might be, you want to have as few of these calls as possible. Following the right practices can get you there. So let’s talk about what these practices are and how you can use them in your strategy.

Be sure to show respect

One of the most common causes of prospects hanging up is you not listening to them. If someone tells you something along the lines of ”Now isn’t a good time” or ”I’m not interested” and you keep calling them as nothing happened, you can’t be mad if they just put the phone down. You’d do the same if you were them, wouldn’t you?

Never ignore anything your prospect tells you, or you’ll come out as ignorant and unrespectful. Instead, find a way to answer these objections. Imagine yourself in their shoes and treat them how you’d like people to treat you. You can’t do wrong if you go down this path.

By showing respect, you’ll do the decent thing, but the person you’re talking to will also trust you more from now on. You’re increasing your chances of building a relationship, and that’s always good news for sales.

Use a script but try to sound natural

We can all agree that cold-call scripts are useful – but only when they’re written well. If what you say sounds scripted, it won’t feel genuine. Prospects won’t believe what you tell them, and they won’t buy from you.

To get around this, use words that you would use in everyday life. If you’re writing your own script, don’t strive towards sounding smart. Write it how you would say it, and then say it as you mean it. Also, don’t be afraid to leave the comfort of the script if it seems like the right thing to do. Doing this in a precise moment will help you get that sale quicker.

Of course, we’re not saying that you should avoid scripts altogether. They’ll keep you on the topic and make sure that you don’t ramble on for too long, and we love them for that. You can even write down some answers to frequently asked questions, so you don’t have to think too hard when the prospects ask them.

If you’re just starting out, they might feel awkward to you. That’s how most people feel at this point and don’t think of it as a bad thing. With time, you’ll get used to it, and you’ll start noticing why it’s one of the top phone selling techniques.

Don’t call out the wrong name

The next of our tips for reducing hang-ups in sales is about personalization. Call your prospects by name, and they’ll feel important. You want this, as if they know that you value them, they’ll listen to you. However, use the wrong name, and you’ve guaranteed yourself a hangup. According to our research, this is the most common cause of hangups in the sales process. It will harm even your relationships with lukewarm prospects, so keep that in mind.

A good trick here is to practice saying the name before you make the actual call. You’ll make sure that you know how to pronounce it, and there are no uncomfortable surprises along the way. If you have trouble with saying a particular name, use that person’s last name, and vice versa. Never go for it if you’re uncertain about the pronunciation. It’s better to stay safe than sorry.

Ask questions and listen to answers

Questions are yet another strong weapon in your arsenal, and they’re good for a couple of reasons.

• First, they get prospects to talk. As long as they’re talking to you, they didn’t hang up, so you still haven’t lost them.
• The second one is that they show off your interest. People will be glad to tell you about their problems if you convince them that you can help them. And when they let you in, it’s more likely for them to carry on with the conversation.

On the other hand, you can only use questions if you listen to their answers as well. Prospect will tell you what they need, but you must hear it and get it. In the perfect scenario, the prospect will start talking early on, and you’ll listen to them and think about how you can help them. To ensure you’re on the same page, summarize what they just said and repeat it to them. You’ll show them that you listened, and that will make them less defensive.

Use callback software

Using technology to your advantage is always a good idea, and here’s one way to do it. Get yourself a tech solution such as the ConvertMore callback widget, and you’ll make implementing all these tips a lot easier.

First of all, since people will be asking for your calls, you can safely assume that they’re warm leads and treat them as such. Secondly, these widgets have a lot of features that come with them. For example, the analytics dashboard that is a part of our callback software will make it easy to monitor your calls so you can always know how many hangups you had at what period.

With that said, if you use all the tips for reducing hang-ups in sales we shared today, we don’t think you’ll have any problems of this kind anymore.