Want Better Tele-Sales Results Tomorrow? Do These 7 Things Tonight

Written by Jim Domanski

If you want to improve your tele-sales results tomorrow start by preparing today. Here are seven actions you can take tonight that will help make you more productive and effective tomorrow.

1. Create a Master List

Before you leave your office tonight prepare a 'master list' of the top 20-30 clients or prospects that you plan to call tomorrow. Put the names and numbers on a spread sheet or a legal pad so that when you arrive in the morning they are there, in front of you, ready to go.

This simple act gets you going; gets you dialling; get's you DOING. The trouble with tele-sales or tele-prospecting is that it gets easy to avoid picking up the phone. We find ways to avoid it (as you'll see below) and consequently, many reps pick up the phone 30 or 40 or more minutes after they arrive. Similarly, turning on the computer and beginning the day by 'searching' the database for prospects or clients can take considerable time. Don't squander that time. Have those names ready to go for the morning.

2. Write Your Goals

After you have completed your master list, write your goals for the next day. This is a classic 'time management' technique and no less important now than it was twenty five years ago. Take the time to write down key goals such as dials, connects, leads generated, presentations made, sales made, revenue objectives, profit goals ...whatever.

When you arrive in the morning knowing precisely what you want to accomplish, you increase your odds of making it happen. Written goals bring clarity and focus. Waltzing in with a vague idea of what you want to achieve typically yields vague results. Be precise. Be laser like.

3. Clear Your Desk

How tempting is it to start your day by organizing your desk, clearing papers, and 'getting ready' for calling? It's a task that can easily take 20 'delicious' minutes away from having to pick up the phone. From another perspective, a chaotic desk in the morning often contributes to a chaotic approach to calling. You search for a pen, paper, marketing material, notes ... whatever. You can't focus on a call because there is always something to pull you away.

A clean desk is refreshing. Because it's not cluttered, your mind is less cluttered. That means more focus and attention to the calls you are about to make. Clear off your desk the night before. The only thing on your desk should be your Master List and Goals for the Day Sheet.

Seriously, a simple thing like clearing your desk can have a SIGNIFICANT impact on your bottom line results.

4. Clear Up Your E-Mails

E-mails are an absolutely wonderful way to procrastinate, aren't they? You waltz in, crank up the computer and check your messages. Invariably there are messages from the day before that 'absolutely need' a response (or so you think). So you review your messages, compose replies, edit them and send them out. And of course, there's always a message or two from a friend, and a newsletter you should read, a web site link that you can't resist, and before you know it, 40 minutes have past.

Don't let the lure of e-mails distract you from your prime objective: to make calls, reach clients and sell or prospect. Answer your e-mails the day before so they are not lingering the next day. When you do get in, resist the urge to check them until after you've called your Master List.

5. Clear Up Your Voice Mails

Voice mails are the audible equivalent to e-mails. Clear them up the night before. Make your return calls before you leave for the day. Leave messages for those who you don't reach. Call them back later the next morning but ONLY AFTER you've done an hour of calling.

6. Arrive 15 Minutes Earlier

Want better results almost instantly? Go to bed 15 minutes earlier tonight, get up 15 minutes earlier tomorrow, leave for work sooner and get in 15 minutes early. That's it. Get in and start working 15 minutes earlier. Do the math. In a week that amounts to an additional 1.25 hours of dialing. In a month, that's five additional hours. In a year that equates to 60 more hours or 7.5 days of additional calling! It cannot help but increase your results!

Arriving 15 minutes early reduces distraction because there are fewer people around you. When your co-workers arrive they'll see you on phone. They'll be less likely to talk about what they did the night before. In the meantime, you'll have a sale or a lead or an appointment before they ever switch on their computer!

7. Schedule Your First Call

Schedule your first call for the VERY first thing in the morning. In fact, block out an hour or more for calling. Treat it as an appointment with yourself and your success. To make this happen, create an appointment or alarm in Outlook (or whatever you use) so that it pops up on your screen the moment your turn your computer on. You'll have an instant reminder.

Summary

Assuming you arrive 15 minutes early to a clean desk with a Master List in plain sight, sit down, turn on your computer, and dial the first name on your list.

Et voila.

You've started the day off right. You'll get more sales, leads or appointments if only because you have purpose, direction, and focus with no niggling little distractions.

Repeat this process before you leave today. And do this every day. Watch your result pour in.

Jim Domanski -
	Jim Domanski is president of Teleconcepts Consulting and works with B to B companies and individuals who struggle to use the telephone more effectively to sell and market their products. The author of 4 books on tele-sales, Jim has been seen on various radis and television programs such as CBC’s Venture Magazine. Dubbed by the Financial Post as “Canada’s reigning tele-management guru…” For over 17 years he has worked with companies big and small throughout the US, Canada and parts of Europe. Read More >>
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