Using the Phone In Direct Sales

I love the internet. I love communicating through written words. However there are times that there is no replacement for voice communication.

I’m a strong supporter of using auto-responders. They are a wonderful way to get written communication to leads, to team members and to customers. With some systems you are allowed unlimited messages, so you are able to prepare series of emails for someone wishing for product information or for someone wishing for opportunity information. You’re also able to keep your emails in front of a lead for a month or even a year.

I’m a strong supporter of email. Email allows you to communicate with others when it’s convenient for you. You can both read and respond to emails when you have the time. Emails also give you time to think and formulate both questions and answers. Email definitely has advantages.

The phone though is what allows relationships to really grow. With voice, you hear emotion. With voice, you can feel a sense of bonding with the person you’re speaking with. When you speak with someone, you can actually hear a smile in their voice. With written communication, it’s near impossible to detect when someone is smiling.

I tend to speak with humor. Over email this can be challenging. Over the phone, the person on the other end can hear my humor and hear my laugh.

Another advantage of using the phone is being able to answer questions in real time and get small commitments from the person you’re speaking with. For example, if you are speaking with a lead, you’re able to say, “How does that sound to you?” and get an answer or hear hesitation. With email, if someone says, “Thanks I’m not interested,” you really don’t know what happened or what they were thinking or where their question was. “I’m not interested” leaves you wondering what sentence or what word caused this uninterest. On the phone, you can ask small questions along the way.

Use email and auto-responders where you can, but don’t forget the benefits of using the telephone also.

Audrey Okaneko has been in direct sales since 1983. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or you can Become a Tupperware Consultant

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