These Words Can Get You In, or Hung Up On

by Art Sobczak – ArtSobczak@businessbyphone.com,  Smart Calling Tip

Actually getting someone on the phone is one of the biggest challenges we have in sales today.

So please, do not shoot yourself in the foot when you, at last, get that person listening to your greeting.

On the phone, you have about 6 seconds or less with your words to capture a listener’s initial attention, break their preoccupation with whatever they were doing when you called, and place them in a positive, receptive frame of mind to share information with you and continue to listen with an open mind.

You don’t want to muddy up your call with wasted, meaningless, or resistance-inducing words.

Here are some that are overused, and really are meaningless.

-“cost-effective,” as in, “We provide cost-effective products.”

-“leading,” or “premier,” as in, “We’re the leading company in this field.”

-“solution provider, as in, “We’re a top solution provider…