When working your leads it can be easy to let yourself get into a rut with your sales pitch, believing that your current method is “good enough”, instead of continually working to improve your approach. Even if you are pulling decent numbers, your technique can always stand some scrutiny, even if it’s just to tighten the screws and make sure you’re working at your best level.

First, let’s examine how you approach first contact over the phone with your prospect. Do you spend your time following up on qualifying questions, or outlining the plan rates that you can offer?

A better approach might be to take the time to go step-by-step through the different rate plans you have available, sizing them up against other plans so that your prospect can see how they compare to one another. Try and engage your prospect in a two-way conversation instead of just overdosing them with information, and be prepared to address any questions or concerns in a clear and concise manner.

Secondly, ask yourself how much work you’re making your prospect do to follow up on your proposal. If you leave it up to your prospect to call you back when they are ready, you could be losing out on potential sales. Make it easier for your leads to get in touch with you by following up with an email and mailer outlining a clear call to action. Once you and your lead have finished your initial contact, they should know exactly what the next step in the process will be and have an easy method of contacting you to move forward.

Third, if your lead doesn’t seem to be interested during your initial conversation, how and when do you follow up after your first phone call? Do you wait several days before contacting them again? Do you mail off some information? These are good starts, but also ask for an email address and subscribe them to your regular list of contacts so that they can receive offers and updated quotes during subsequent campaigns. They might not be interested just now, but by remaining in frequent contact you’ll be at the forefront when they do decide to take action.

Finally, examine your attitude as you’re placing your first phone call to a prospect. Are you counting on a successful sale before your lead has even picked up the phone? If you approach your conversations with a clearly sales-minded manner, you might be alienating your prospect before you start. Ease into your conversation and listen to what your prospect is telling you so that you can work together to find the best match to their needs.