Chapter 17

How to Sound Smart

Effective Telephone Communication

I’m assuming that if and when you visit a prospect or customer, you are concerned with your appearance. You certainly wouldn’t look like you just crawled out of bed, nixed the showering, shaving, grooming, and makeup, having thrown on tattered clothes and beat-up shoes.

However, that’s the impression some people give over the phone. You can probably recall some of them right now. Just as you form impressions of others within seconds over the phone, they do the same with you. If your calling “look” resembles what I described earlier, it can negate everything you say, since how you say it will quickly alienate the prospect.

The good news is that it’s easier and quicker to modify and improve the way you sound than it is the way you look. There’s no dieting, sweating, vitamins, or surgery required, just some knowledge and practice. Let’s explore how.

Don’t Sound Like a Salesperson

Whenever I conduct customized training and presentations for companies and associations, I ask for recordings of phone calls as part of my preparation. On one recording, I heard a sales rep say in a very seductive, Kathleen Turner–like voice: “Yeah, this new guy at my gym, he’s totally hot. They might have to call security one of these days because he’ll complain I’m staring at him. What I wouldn’t love to do to that guy.”

She spoke with great emotion. Oh, she wasn’t talking to a prospect or customer. She was talking to her friend, apparently elsewhere in the office. Seems as if she forgot she was being recorded. (If you’re a client who has provided me with calls within the past two years and think this might be one of your reps, don’t worry; I destroyed the recording. Well, the original, anyway.)

What was interesting about all of the actual sales calls I heard from her, though, was that she sounded somewhat like a telemarketer reading from a script—just going through the motions, with little feeling behind her words. But on the personal call, her voice could have melted headsets. Why the difference?

My guess is that in real life she sounds like she did on the call to her friend. When she got into sales call mode, her voice was the picture of her feelings about her job. Perhaps she looked at her position as though it were assembly line work, stamping out one call after another. Humans, prospects with real needs, were viewed as one more tick on the contact counter. She went through the motions like a robot, just mailing it in, call after call. But, oh, when she described the health club experience, I couldn’t believe it was the same person.

Actually, it probably wasn’t. And that’s an all-too-frequent occurrence with sales reps. Far too many of them put on a game face that is much different from who they really are.

Here’s a simple point that will serve you well in the way you look over the phone: Pretend you’re talking to a good friend, on a subject you are truly passionate about. Picture that person as you speak with prospects. You’ll sell more by not sounding like a salesperson.

Record Your Calls and Review Them Regularly

This is without a doubt one of the best activities you can engage in to improve and to make more money. Let’s look at the benefits of recording and reviewing your calls.

You Improve the Way You Sound

You might have a great product or service with extraordinary value, and perhaps you have stellar sales skills. But you won’t be effective if you sound like the AFLAC duck. Listening to yourself usually elicits dissatisfaction with some aspect of your voice, which is good if it translates into action. Perhaps you’re too slow, too fast, monotone, too loud, too soft, nasal, or whiney, or maybe you possess one of many other common speaking problems. Your recordings can help to motivate you to sound like the person you want to be.

You Minimize and Eliminate, Uh, Filler Sounds

Because they can’t see you, your prospects’ pictures of you are painted by what they hear. Therefore, uhs, ahs, and ums are amplified over the phone. The first step in eliminating them is being aware of them. Your recordings are brutally honest.

You Realize Other Habits, Know What I Mean?

Think of that person who uses a word or annoying phrase, over and over and over, like, you know what I mean? It’s like, annoying, ya know? Do you own any of these? The recordings tell you; your friends or customers probably won’t. They’re just thinking about them when you’re using them.

You Hear Valuable Information You Missed the First Time

Although not sound-related, this is an added bonus for you. There’s a lot going on in your mind during a call, and you might overlook some things when you’re experiencing it live. Reviewing a recording of an important call can help you discover information you might have missed the first time. It’s like seeing a movie a second time and noticing a whole slew of new things about it.

You Improve Your Sales Skills

Similar to the previous point, you’ll pick up on buying signals you might have neglected, questions you should have asked, answers you should have given, and other areas you can improve on when you review your performance. Every successful performer in entertainment and sports reviews video of their performances. You should, too.

In addition to reviewing your own recordings, I suggest that you exchange them with a fellow sales rep. It’s said that we don’t know what we don’t know—which means that we might not even realize that what we’re doing is wrong or that there might be a better way. I know of reps who get together during lunch sessions weekly and take turns bringing their recordings for review.

Bonus Benefit of Recording Your Calls

Another benefit here is being able to use recordings as a review and preparation tool for calls. For example, let’s say that you record an in-depth call with a prospect or customer. You proceed with whatever actions you agreed to after the call. Then, when it’s time for the next contact, you retrieve the recording and review it as part of your precall planning. Their exact words are now fresh in your mind, and you might come up with new ideas for this next call as a result.

Legalities of Recording Calls

If you’re wondering about the legalities of taping your calls, at the time I’m writing this, 12 states require that you let the other person know (which really ruins the mood at the beginning of a sales call). The remaining states require that only your end (that would be you) knows that the call is being recorded. Although I always thought I would be a good trial attorney, I’m certainly not one, nor am I qualified to give you a legal opinion. I suggest you do an online search using “is recording phone calls legal?” and you will find numerous sites listing the various state laws and, interestingly, different interpretations.

So how do you record a call?

Many companies have that capability built into their phone systems. If yours does, take advantage of it. If not, or if you want to do it on your own, there many options available if you search online. Obviously you will want to find something compatible with the type of phone, and phone service you use.

Here’s one that I use that records digitally to your PC: www.headsets.com/headset/personal-usb-call-recorder/

Stand for Sales

The next time you’re on the phone, try standing up as you speak. Researchers at the University of California found that we can process information 5 to 20 percent faster when we’re standing than when we’re sitting. According to Perry Buffington’s Cheap Psychological Tricks, standing increases a person’s heart rate by about 10 beats per minute, which in turn stimulates brain activity. So, when you have particularly important calls—or when you hit the wall after lunch—get on your feet to get the mental juices flowing.

And if you don’t use a headset, get one. They are proven to make you more productive. I don’t want to hear the arguments about how they don’t feel good; just invest in a good one. There are a number of models that you can barely feel when wearing them. I personally use what I consider the best on the market, the OfficeRunner. Get it at www.Headsets.com.

Voice Improvement Self-Study

If you are really serious about improving the way you sound—both on the phone and in person—check out the book by top voice talent and coach Susan Berkley, Speak to Influence: How to Unlock the Hidden Power of Your Voice, www.GreatVoice.com

Smart Calling Action Step

What will you commit to do as a result of this chapter?