No matter how long you have worked in sales, selling over the phone can be intimidating. Do you follow a script or should you wing it? You don’t know how the person on the other end will respond—or if you’ll even get through. You might get blocked by a gatekeeper. And if you are fortunate enough to connect with your prospect, you have to convince them you’re worthy of their time. Phone sales can be stressful on many levels.

Despite the intimidation factor, best-selling author Marc Wayshak says the phone is one of the best tools for setting great appointments. Before you dial your next prospect, check out this issue of Promotional Consultant Today. We share Wayshak’s top phone sales techniques.

1. Reach out before you call. Instead of cold calling, make sure your prospect has an idea of who you are. Send them an email or LinkedIn request to warm them up, recommends Wayshak.

2. Look to LinkedIn for a cell number. Want to make sure you reach your prospect directly? Get their cell number from their LinkedIn profile. Wayshak notes that about half of LinkedIn users share their cell phone numbers.

3. Call after they open your email. One great way to master phone sales is to call the prospect immediately after they see your email. When you use a system to track your emails get opened, you can jump on the opportunity. When they answer, say something like, “Hi, this is Sarah. Does my name ring a bell?” And they may say, “Yes, it does. I just opened your email.”

4. Have a script. If you shy away from using a script, Wayshak encourages you to give it another try. It’s not the script that makes you sound scripted—it’s not knowing how to use a script, he says. Plus, without one, you may veer off track.

5. Personalize your script. Taking time to customize each script shows the prospect you know who they are and you’re not just regurgitating the same thing to everyone you call.

6. Research in advance. Wayshak says it’s helpful to look up information ahead of time and store the data in a document or CRM system. Then do all your dials in a row. This is a simple way to boost your sales productivity and help you stay focused on conversations.

7. Use voicemail to your advantage. Remember the goal of a voicemail isn’t necessarily to prompt a return call from the prospect, but to show that you are a real person. Consider it another touchpoint in your overall prospecting campaign, says Wayshak.

8. Accept that you may annoy people. In phone sales, you have to understand that some people won’t want to hear from you. They may be having a bad day or they may be in the middle of a stressful project. While it’s never the goal to annoy people, it happens—and that’s okay, says Wayshak.

9. Expect pushback. Along the lines of the point above, you should always be prepared for the prospect to want to end the call as quickly as possible. You are interrupting their day, after all. Wayshak encourages sales reps to have contingencies in place to break through the pushback.

Every time you dial a prospect, you have an opportunity to build a new connection and set yourself apart. When you apply the techniques above, you can begin to master the art of phone sales.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Marc Wayshak is the best-selling author of three books on sales and leadership, including Game Plan Selling and The High-Velocity Sales Organization.