As part of some desk research today I found that the communication ratio of 7:35:58 (words, tone, body language) is altered when communicating on the phone.
On the phone the ratio becomes 25% words and 75% tone though there was no research reference and I only found the figure once.
I read that you should stand up to call to raise your energy. You should smile, you should wait 4 seconds at the end of every sentence to allow the prospect to speak. You should ask checking questions frequently, more frequently than you need when you can read a face to check for understanding and or continued interest.
After the search up I did wonder, is there really still a place in the world for cold calls?
I’m not a big fan of talking on the phone, I love a text message or a What’s app but I don’t think I’ve answered a phone call more than once per month for the last few years. Antisocial? Maybe a little, but I still manage to see friends and family regularly and could argue that I see them more because we don’t speak unless we’re physically together. Though I do Zoom, FaceTime and Skype but not as a replacement phone, more for social distancing and relatives living abroad.
When making a decision about a purchase it is really helpful to get some advice. But we tend to get this advice from friends first and then the specialist when we have all but made up our minds.
What do we really need sales people for these days? Do they make a difference? Isn’t there so much information on the Internet that you can make these buying decisions yourself?
I know some people like to be ‘lathered in customer service’ (I heard a man say these actual words when complaining to a friend about a holiday stay that resulted in a ten page letter of complaint – 10 pages, I wonder if the hotel counted them and noted that it must be a serious complaint from a very important person who made time to vent a spleen in a long and protracted format to then boast about it to others). I do not look for customer service, I look for good value and a fair and honest exchange.
The high street is pretty much dead, so although we consume more goods now than ever before, we buy most of it online trusting other peoples reviews.
It’s a lovely experience being sold to well, it is just a rare thing.
I am definitely buying, but I just don’t really need the ‘person’ selling anymore.
This is where we are headed.
MrsSlimmer 