When Customers Call Back

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I spend a great majority of my time in telephone sales. Roughly 80-90% of the prospects that I attempt to call don't answer at first. I end up leaving voicemail messages for them. On the rare occasion that they actually call back, I am all too often caught off guard. It is like I don't expect a call back and, when it actually happens, I am so surprised that I don't know what to say. I stumble through the phone call with a medicore attempt to communicate the message of what I am offering. Big mistake. Customers are busy. It doesn't matter whether they are C-level execs you are trying to sell software or end-consumers you are trying to sell cars. Buyers never have time for sellers. Everyone has something more important on their minds--something that renders you, the salesperson, irrelevant. Given this simple truth, salespeople like myself need to realize what an unlikely miracle it is when a customer actually returns a call.

In many ways, the customer who returns a voicemail message is leaps and bounds more qualified than the customer who answers upon first attempt. The person who answers the phone when you first call him does not know of your intentions. The person who returns your call, though, is sending you a signal. He is telling you that he is interested. More than that, he is telling you that he is so interested that he will take the time out of his busy schedule to give you a shot. He is practically begging you to sell him.

The lesson for salespeople? Be prepared. Have a script. Know exactly what you want to say and how you want to say it when a prospect calls back. Sure, prospects want authenticity. They want you to be you when you are talking to them on the phone. But, more than that, I think they want you to not waste their time. They want you to communicate your message efficiently. They don't want you to stumble through the conversation. They don't have time for ill-prepared sales pitches. They want you to demonstrate that you are cognizant of that fact.

Do you know what you will say when a customer calls back? My suggestion? Write it down. Be prepared. Make a script that you are comfortable with and that effectively communicates what you are trying to say. It can make all the difference in the world.