Lift That Phone So You Can Tote That Money

There is no question about it, the effective use of the telephone is important in our business. It is important for sponsoring as well as for supporting your organization. The biggest problem we all have is picking it up. For many reasons it seems to weigh a ton when we start to make our calls.

So that is the first secret to using the phone - once you pick it up, don't put it down. As soon as you are finished with a call, disconnect and dial the next number. That leads us to the next secret - have your calls laid out on a work sheet before you start calling. An effective method is to have the name of the person, address and phone number all on one line. That way you can use a ruler or blank sheet to guide you as you call. Experts recommend you move your guide to the next line as soon as you have dialed a number so you can rapidly dial the next number. If you have a computer, there are many contact management programs available to help you keep track of your calls as well as dial the number for you. I use and recommend for DOS based computers a very inexpensive program --Key Contact Tracker by Softkey Software Products, Inc. I paid $29.95 for it at the local OfficeMax store. It has everything you need to track calls, check it out.

The real problem that makes the telephone so heavy is the fear of rejection. The best way to over come the fear is by becoming the "rejector" not the "rejectee"! How do you do that? It is based on your philosophy of telephone sales. You have heard it many times, we are in the sorting business not the convincing business. Understanding and applying that philosophy is the key to becoming an effective, fearless phone user. The conversation should go something like this: Hello, this is Rich Strayer calling from Denver, may I speak to 'Susan'?" "Hi Susan, this is Rich Strayer calling from Denver, are you still looking to make some extra money?" If she says no, you say "Thank you very much, goodbye", disconnect and dial the next number don't wait for her to hang up, that way you are the rejector. If she says yes, then say "Is now a good time to talk?" If it isn't, find out when to call back and again say "Thank you very much, goodbye" and wait for her to hang up. This time we want to keep the relationship alive so we are more courteous.

When you get an answering machine - again disconnect right away and dial the next number. The probability of a call back is very remote. When you get a busy signal - again disconnect right away and dial the next number. Studies show people will normally answer before the 6th ring, therefore as soon as the phone has rung 6 times, disconnect and dial the next number. I hope you can see how this procedure for calling prospects makes you the "rejector" not the "rejectee".

Like all skills, you need to do it, to become proficient at it. Even after you become proficient, there still will be times when you have to give yourself a little shove to pick up the phone and get stated. Once you get started it becomes a game to see how many calls you can make. It is very important that you focus on the number of dials and not on results. The idea is to move through the calls, set a goal of 50 - 60 dials an hour, the results will follow. An outstanding book that has helped me and my downline is "Prospecting Your Way To Sales Success - How To Find New Business By Phone" by Bill Good, President of Telephone Marketing, Inc. It is published by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book was originally recommended to me by Doug Slaton, WA and has changed my total attitude about using the phone.