One of the first telesales strategies I have learned early in my cold calling career is the "ABC" - which stands for always be closing.

But this lesson seemed to be lost on a lot of telesales professionals because they do not ask for the sale. Think of all of those telesales opportunities that could have made businesses profitable by hundreds or even thousands of dollars if not for that simple but common mistake.

Telesales professionals are just too scared to get an objection or a "NO" that they fail to ask the one question that they are expected to ask. No customer will tell you that they want to buy your product right then and there (except in rare cases where a customer is ready with his credit card to make the purchase that is necessary to get things over with).

Going back to the time I was starting to learn the tricks of the trade by getting all the telesales tips I could find so I could hit the required number of telesales for the day, asking for the sale really helped me hit the numbers. It even surprised me I was able to make my prospects buy without making much effort and without encountering any resistance from them at all. Be always on the lookout for buying signals throughout your telesales call and ask for the sale as naturally as if you are asking for their name. In the first place, you know that people need your product or service and you can always show them the benefit of using your product or service so you should always bet on that.

You will get your share of rejections. It's part of cold calling. There are lessons to be learned in every call and each "NO" that you get should make you a better telesales person.

So sharpen your senses and look for those buying signals. If the customer asks you questions like "How soon can this be shipped?", it means they are ready to buy so you only have to pop in the magic question. You can ask "Do you want this shipped by next business day?" or "What type of credit card would you be using?"

Asking for the sale is a skill that can be learned. There is an endless list of closing techniques that you can apply in different scenarios and you need some telesales training in order to effectively apply most of those techniques. As a reminder, always remember your ABC in every call.

By: Heindrich Churchill link