Converting Telephone Enquiries into Sales

A ringing telephone can be intrusive to anyone’s ears, but especially if you’re deep in conversation with a customer.

Yet, while you do need to give face-to-face customers your full attention, don’t overlook the potential sale on the other end of the telephone.

In fact it’s well worth the effort to determine the percentage of phone enquiries your business receives that are converted into sales on a daily basis. Improving the conversion rate is something all staff can aim for.

Developing a system for answering telephone enquiries is key to improving the conversion rate.

Twofold Approach
What you’re trying to do is twofold. Firstly you want to determine a response that will either encourage the potential customer to make a sale over the phone, or, follow up with another call or visit to the business premises at a later date.

The second reason for having a system in place is to ensure everyone in the business is saying the same thing to potential customers. If you know what works over the phone, make sure everyone else in the team knows it too.

One way to create the system is to categorise the different types of telephone enquiries your business receives, then work out an appropriate reply for each enquiry.

With a little work on the wording the team member taking the call could do a lot more than simply deal with the initial enquiry. By prompting the potential customer to divulge more about their needs, for example, the team member may be able to suggest a different model or an entirely different product or service.

It’s all about communicating, and the more you understand about a customer’s needs, the more easily you will be able to help them solve their purchasing dilemmas.

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