Phone Reluctance Don’t Let It Kill Your Business by Odile Faludi

SYDNEY - May 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Every day as a cold calling specialist I speak to people from all walks of life and ask them how are things going in their business? Repeatedly, I hear similar responses like, “How can my business be dead when not everyone knows about it. If everyone knew how great it was I am sure they would want to buy.” I feel their sense of hopelessness and depression in their voices.

They tell me they have tried direct mail, door knocking, stands in shopping centres, emailing and the internet but still their sales isn’t what they had hoped for. Business is declining and those monthly employee wages are a nightmare to pay. Listening to their heartfelt story I know I can make a difference.

My half-day Starting Customer Conversations workshops based in the heart of Bondi Junction, Sydney started out six months ago as a bit of fun but now it has become my passion. It’s given me purpose and made me feel alive. I have worked in the not-for-profit, real estate and management consultancy space for the last 12 years and didn’t realise I was gifted in the area of starting conversations until I started to compare my results with others. I was flabbergasted to find out from other people that they were dialing 100 numbers to get one appointment. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to waste so much of their time doing something so ineffective. I would regularly make ten “qualified” calls and get five appointments.  

So this is my wish to teach people how to get their message out to the world by simply picking up the phone. What is the definition of a sale? Two or more people having a conversation which results in either person wanting to buy. Therefore, without a conversation a sale cannot  take place. The conversation is the catalyst for the sale. Sounds simple enough but why is there so much phone reluctance? Your mobile phone is attached to you like an intravenous drip feeding you oxygen why don’t you use it to breathe fresh air into your business.

I have noticed over the last few months a repeating trend from people who attend my course. All are highly educated professionals and I must say they all seem to be very good at what they do. At first blush, areas of improvement which would lead to immediate results with cash in the bank is hands down better lead generation. This is the backbone of any business. Working through “the process” of lead generation I immediately notice many of my participants come alive. When we discuss as a group lead generation it is very easy to stick to what feels comfortable. Contacting the same sector but never really drifting too far from that. In most cases, the service and product you are offering can suit a range of sectors and individuals but once again people are resisting to widen the net. I believe this is a big mistake and by opening the Pandora box of leads your business can get a new lease of life.  

To add relevance to the point. I recently trained a group of insolvency experts. They tended to only seek referral business from lawyers. After a robust discussion we agreed why not look in the newspaper for “Businesses for Sale” a clear indicator that a business may be in distress. I also suggested to them to keep an eye on the Australian Stock Exchange for companies where their share price was tumbling or receiving poor press. These are the tell-tale signs that a company may need some good advice on how to steer their business during tough times. There is never just one route to take there is generally many but they all end up at the same destination. This rule is fundamental to strong business development. Sticking to what has worked in the past will not necessarily work in the future. Remember this, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Is what the great Albert Einstein said.

I often sense a sign of relief from my participants after we exploit lead generation ideas. Knowing that there is always more areas to tap into brings great excitement to the group. So once we have worked out who to call then it’s phone reluctance which gets in the way of progressing the leads to change them from suspects to a customer. Most customer conversations are killed quickly after saying, “Hello.” It usually takes less than 30 seconds and there is a whole range of triggers that cause this result. Once again working through the “process of starting customer conversations” the group relaxes into a zone where they communicate with a different mindset. Their conversation flows and is not hampered by their lack of confidence or insecurities. The changes that take place as the hours pass in the Workshop was summed up by one participant Deb Carr Director, Voxy Lady Women's Speaker Bureau.  She said, “Thank you, I have been inspired and know what I have to do. What you did for me was give me a kick-up the backside and made it sound so easy to do.” It’s like anything when you know how to do it... It is easy!


Tansy Grant Corporate Brand Manager for Funkyzulu.com.au Photo On A Tshirt went further and said even though she has been in sales for 17 years she put one of the techniques into practice immediately and sealed a good deal within a week.