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"I hate making marketing calls. I don’t know what to say and how
to say it. I’ve been assigned to find new clients and in the
past 4 weeks I brought in zero new clients."

Making any of the mistakes below takes the fun out of your job
and can kill your sales.

1. Using Push Versus Pull Marketing
Most of us don’t like pushy people who talk about themselves all
the time. Think about your marketing. Are you constantly pushing
information out about yourself, your products and services? This
may be pushing prospects away when what you want to do is pull
them in.

Focus your marketing on prospects' concerns and offer them
something they want. You'll help them, convert them to clients
and increase your revenue.

2. Not Generating Enough Qualified Leads
Marketing is about starting conversations with prospects so you
can learn what they need and help them understand the solution
you provide. To bring in more business, help more people
understand what you do and prompt prospects to contact you.

Does your marketing help you generate enough leads and start a
conversation with prospects?

With the right marketing message, advertising copy and online
and offline strategy you can generate a steady stream of
qualified leads.

3. Responding To Inquiries With an Email or a Letter
Nine times out of ten, when you send a prospect a written
response to a query, it won't result in a salë. Pick up the
ph0ne and you can use their quëstions to start a conversation.
With just a couple of additional quëstions you can learn what
their objectives are and then you can sell them the solution.

4. Quoting Price Too Soon
When prospects call, one of the first quëstions they ask is
about pricing. Tell them right away and you risk ending the
conversation and losing the salë. Dollar figures by themselves
are meaningless.

When a prospect asks what you charge, don't tell them until
you've had a chance to learn what they want. Then put the price
in the context of the value and quality solutions you provide.

5. Wasting Time With People Who Aren't Buyers
No matter how good your system is for qualifying leads, you’ll
end up on the ph0ne with people who can't afford your services
or won't benefit from your products. Conversations like these
can take up way too much of your time.

Use your qualifying quëstions and their responses to determine
within the first 3 minutes of a conversation whether or not the
person you're talking with is a promising prospect. If not,
thank them for their inquiry and move on to your next call.

6. Doing Too Much Talking
You know your services and products inside out; you could talk
for hours, if not days, about your processes, product features
or benefits. Don't. You'll losë your prospects attention,
especially if you're marketing over the ph0ne.

Whenever you call a prospect or they call you, use the call to
learn what they want and need. Ask quëstions. Let them do the
talking so that you get the information you need.

7. Not Clarifying Value From the Client’s Perspective
You have a crystal clear idea of the benefits of your products
and services; you want prospects to understand these benefits
from their point of view.

To help prospects understand the value you provide, get them to
define what they are looking for and what it's worth to them.

8. Not Getting To "Yes"
Your primary objective is to get the prospect to say, "yes"
when you ask them whether they want to place their order or sign
up for your services. Set up a pattern of "yes" answers and
you'll increase the chances they will say "yes" when you ask
them to buy.

Review their objectives and ask them if that is what they are
looking for. Review the solution you provide and ask them if
that is what they are looking for.

9. Neglecting To Ask For The Salë
If you want people to buy your products and services, you need
to ask for the salë. This sounds obvious, but the tendency is to
wait for the prospect to say they are ready to buy.

Until you gain confidence in your ph0ne selling technique,
you're afraid of getting turned down when you ask for the salë.
It's common to compensate by talking endlessly about the
features and benefits of your products and services.

If you're working with qualified leads, many of the people you
are talking with want to buy your products and services.
Help them clarify the value and then help them make the
purchase.

10. Forgetting To Follow Up On Salës
When you make a salë it may seem like the end of your marketing
effort. Think of your first salë not as closing a salë but
opening the door to a long-term relationship and you’ll increase
future salës.

When a prospect becomes a client or customer, they've provided
tangible evidence of their trust in you and your products and
services. Follow up with a ph0ne call to find out how the
product or service is working and there is a good chance you'll
uncover a need for more of your products and services.

You don't have to hate marketing on the ph0ne. Learn what to say
and how to structure the conversation and you'll have more fun
and make more salës.
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2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small
business owners attract more clients and be more successful.
Sign up for the Frëë Marketing Plan eBook,
'7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business'
at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com