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Want to close a deal every time you pick you the phone? Master the art of cold calling with our ten essential phone sales tips.

Picture the first time you cold called someone. The dial tone starts to buzz. You look down at the script, and the words start to jumble together. What are you going to say? Will they hang up on you? Finally, a soft click noise, a slight pause, and then a stranger’s voice: Hello?

Selling over the phone is scary for first-timers (even seasoned salespeople get butterflies once in a while). But there is no denying that selling over the phone still works. With the right attitude, excellent preparation, and these awesome phone sales tips under your belt, you’ll be on your way to doubling your sales in a matter of months.

phone sales tips

Turning your phone into a secret weapon

1. Purchase a headset and move around

Sitting at your desk all day isn’t productive or healthy. But, more importantly, it affects your mood and energy levels (which directly impact how your present yourself over the phone). Do yourself a favor and purchase a headset or Bluetooth so you can walk around the room, the hallways, or even outside. It allows you to use your body (more on this below) and to immerse yourself into the conversation as if the customer were talking to you in-person.

2. Put a smile on your face

Have you ever listened to the difference in your voice when you smile? Try it right now. Say, “Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. Thank you for speaking with me today.” Say it first without an expression, and then while smiling. Hear the change? There is a higher pitch in your voice, and you sound more relaxed, confident, and helpful.

Use every available trick in the book to establish rapport and trust. The person on the other end of the line can only hear your voice, so make sure it’s as close to perfection as possible.


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3. Leave a voicemail that deserves a callback

Improving your phone sales game means that you’re focusing on every aspect of the process. You’ll have a lot of calls that go to voicemail. People aren’t available, or maybe they don’t pick up unknown numbers. Don’t shy away from leaving a message!

Here are a few quick points:

  • Speak with confidence and never apologize
  • Quickly describe the product or service and how it benefits your prospect
  • Offer a strong incentive to call back as soon as possible
  • Use the prospect’s first name
  • Try to keep the call under thirty seconds

4. Know your product inside-out (and how it benefits your prospect)

How do you expect to convince someone to buy if you don’t even care about the product? Fake it all you want, but at the end of the day, sales happen by people who know their product and believe in its benefits.

Study what you’re selling. Know everything there is to know about it.

Once the information has soaked in and taken root, explain those features and advantages and how they benefit customers. Explain not only what the product does, but how it will change your prospect’s life for the better.

5. Use client-focused scripts as guidelines

Experts will offer you phone sales tips that revolve around a building a fool-proof script. But here is the truth: there is no magic script. It doesn’t exist. Using scripts is like using barriers while bowling: they keep you out of the gutter and rolling toward the pins. You should always have one by your side (especially when you start out), but never expect it to give you a strike.

Make sure your scripts are edited and structured to a particular client. Know their pain points, the reasons behind their top five objections, and how to overcome them.

6. Strategize your calls by targeting geographic locations

Break down your call lists into specific regions, demographics, and markets. Upfront research and organization will save time down the road and give a clearer picture of your target audience.

Start by collecting zip codes for every lead you receive. Zip codes allow you to map out where these people live and how they group together. Add in the information you have from your CRM with these locations and patterns may start to take shape.

7. Create a goal number of calls to hit every day, not sales

Cold calling is a numbers game. Don’t get caught up in how many sales you want to make—just focus on the simple act of picking up the phone and dialing a number. The more calls you make, the better you’ll get and the more deals you’ll close. Persistence and discipline are the foundational principles of solid phone sales tips and advice. Over time, your efforts add up to impressive revenue boosts.

8. Mentally prepare yourself for objections, rejections, and “No!”

Most of your sales calls won’t end in a closed deal. Plain and simple. The sooner you accept this, the quicker you will succeed in doubling your revenue.

Why? If you get bogged down by rejection, you will have a miserable time trying to make ten calls per day. However, if you mentally prepare yourself and expect this kind of feedback, you will develop confidence and endurance.

Before your first phone call of the day, take a few minutes to write down the most common objections you hear from prospects. Next, write down five separate ways to counter each of those objections and practice them out loud, as if you were on the phone.

9. Record yourself, take notes and make adjustments

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember how we act during a sales pitch. Where did you fumble on your words? Did you maintain a relaxed tone and pace? What questions did you ask? Did you use the phone sales tips you’ve been practicing?

Recording your sales calls (no matter how painful it might be to listen to) can seriously benefit your growth and effectiveness. Take notes on all of the hiccups you notice and where to improve next time.

10. Reward yourself for your time and effort

Making a sales call is difficult—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! Most people are terrified of selling over the phone. You deserve to give yourself a pat on the back after a day or week of prospecting.

Think of your accomplishments regarding raw numbers. If you have a goal of making twenty calls a day, give yourself a reward for hitting that goal. It doesn’t matter if you sold or not—you still deserve something for the hard work. Making a steady effort every day, and by using all of the phone sales tips included is this post, it’ll only be a matter of time before you start closing deals.


lead-managerlead-managerWant to dial your prospect from your CRM system? Our features give you the tools to close deals. Schedule a free demo of our lead management software today!


How you do you sell over the phone? Tell us what you think about our tips and tricks!