12 Cringe-Inducing Mistakes Salespeople Make on Prospecting Calls

勘探电话是每个好销售人员曲目中的宝贵工具。如果您正确播放卡片，则可以在与某人的五分钟通话中找到更多的信息。但是，在极少数情况下，潜在客户想谈话并想交谈，许多代表浪费了他们的机会。

The 12 behaviors below are a quick checklist of classictelephone prospecting mistakesyou can refer to before your next call. Are you making any of them? If so, take action to correct your behavior before you sabotage your next outreach call.

12个普通销售勘探呼叫错误

1) Opening the call with “How are you today?”

This smacks of telemarketing -- and bad telemarketing at that. This is not a question you ask a stranger, unless you want to put them on the defensive immediately. Since you haven't scheduled a call, assume you're being interruptive and get to your point quickly.

2）问“你很忙吗？”

当然是 - 每个人都很忙。您的潜在客户会说“是”，您会立即感到压力缩短通话。相反，说：“我知道您很忙，所以我会正确地求助于我打电话的原因。”说明自己的理由并打开电话后，您可以跟进：“现在是说话的好时机吗？”

3）假设潜在客户是您的业务的匹配，并且您的情况是一项匹配。

通过电话资格在您尝试预约之前。买家将感谢您确保您不会浪费时间的仔细方法。实际上，这么明确地说并没有什么伤害。尝试一个像：“我不想浪费我们的任何时间，所以我在今天的电话中的目标是弄清楚继续进一步讲话是否有意义。”

Double down on that promise by not leading with your elevator pitch or even talking about your product until you've gotten buy-in from the prospect.

4) Thinking you can wing it.

Have a clear goal in mind for the call and your likely path to get there. Think through your calls and potential outcomes before you pick up the phone. If you're new to your role, run through different scenarios with your manager and teammates so you're prepared to handle a handful of common situations. Even if you're a veteran, do some homework (see #11) to determine whether this prospect seems similar to customers you've sold to in the past to anticipate potential responses.

5) Reading from a script.

可以写出您的脚本，但是您需要通过一致的练习和现实生活应用来拥有它们。如果您过多地依赖脚本，那么您将没有灵活性。您必须在广告播放和听起来脚本之间取得平衡。依靠模板或一般呼叫框架，该模板包含每个潜在客户可自定义区域，而不是阅读索引卡。

6）说话太快。

慢一点！说话太快会使您显得紧张或缺乏信心。将您的电话号码留在语音邮件上时，请花点时间并将数字留两次……慢慢……这样，潜在客户可以写下来。

7) Using the “alternative choice” close.

不要说：“明天在3:00或星期二11:00怎么样？”只需要求潜在客户拉出他们的日历并与您的日历与您的日历匹配。您不想欺骗他们与您进行约会。那是一场不等待的事情。

8）预约而没有提前几天确认。

Consider emailing or mailing something of value before the appointment. A report that teaches the prospect how to buy what you sell is always appreciated. For example: “7 Tips to [solve X business problem your product addresses].”

9）期望一封电子邮件或一封电话导致预约。

您必须有一系列保持联系的理由才能保持联系。时机就是一切，通常需要五个或更多的联系人才能产生约会。不要轻易放弃！

10) Expecting time for calling prospects to magically appear on your calendar.

Prospecting is one of those sales activities that's easy to brush off because its impact isn't immediate. But by the time you notice your empty pipeline (due to a lack of prospecting), it'll be too late.

Block off enough time each and every week for prospecting calls. Treat that appointment with yourself like a client appointment. Don't move it.

11）在拿起电话之前，对您的买家一无所知。

很明显,你不知道一切关于你的公关ospect's problems before you get on a call -- that's the point of having a connect call. In fact, you should never enter a prospecting call assuming you know everything about your prospect. You should actively work to discover new information.

但是，您也绝不应该完全盲目地进行勘探电话。如果您能够提出周到的问题，您只会让您的潜在客户开放 - 这意味着进行一些研究。

12) Not asking for a next step.

Every touchpoint in the sales process should build upon itself, and set the stage for your next interaction. Never close a prospecting call without asking for something from your prospect. Do you want them to review a whitepaper? Get on another call with the decision maker looped in? Try out a sample of your product you'll send in the mail? Define a next step and then ask for it before getting off the phone.

总而言之，要进行周到，准备，并且系统性的勘探电话。考虑一下您的过程和计划使用的单词。您所做的工作太重要了，以至于从一开始就不要尽力而为！

编者注：该帖子最初于2015年10月发表，并已更新，以获得全面性和准确性。