Get to the point.

When working in a commission based sales position and selling over the phone, competition can be fierce. I am not talking about the competition between you and other salesmen. I am talking about the competition for the time and attention of your prospect. Learn to compete for it effectively, and you will be making those fat stacks.

When you call your prospect, it is fairly unlikely that they will answer the first time. Most of us don't answer phone when it is a number that we don't know. This means your first contact is almost always a voicemail. Keep your voicemail EXTREMELY short! "Hi NAME, this is NAME, give me a call as soon as you can" is my favorite way to leave a voicemail. If the voicemail is too long, they will delete it without hearing the whole thing. If you're reading your voicemail message from a script, they will hear that scripting in your voice and disengage. You can't close a sale in the voicemail anyway, so less is more. 

When you do finally get connected on the phone with your prospect, be mindful of the limited time and attention they have and be mindful about the competition for that time and attention. There is television, social media, their kids, pets, snacks, noises outside, thoughts of other things they would rather be doing... the list is endless. All of it is vying for the same attention that you need in order to close your sale. You need to get to the point as quickly as possible. I am not suggesting that you don't follow your full process, or that building rapport is not important, of course it is important, but I am encouraging you to examine your process and trim out any language that doesn't need to be there. Keep the main thing the main thing, keep your transitions relevant and always make sure you get to the close. This will communicate two things: First, it will demonstrate that you respect the time of the person on the other end of the line and you are not willing to waste it with frivolity. Second, it will demonstrate that you value and respect your own time as well, which will in turn encourage the prospect to regard your time as valuable. 

Now it is time to pick up the phone, get to the point, and make those fat stacks.

~Kat Jack