Every call you make is like a dance. So how do you Tango phone dance with a Dentist, Lab Owner, Dental Technician, Office Manager, Receptionist or Dental Dealer? Lucky me I get to dance with them all every day! What do I try to do?
Well like any good dancer you have to prepare by first learning the 12 basic dancing steps, then you can do what we all do and improvise with your own style.
STEP 1
Know your material for what you are offering, informing or selling.
STEP 2
Who are you calling and why? Have answers for both those questions.
STEP 3
Practice what you want to say until you feel comfortable and more confident.
STEP 4
If this is a “Cold Call”, then learn all you can about your future dance partner by looking online for their office, lab or company. Look for photos, titles, skills, and equipment to learn what they offer their own customers.
STEP 5
Search for any possible past history in your own company data base on your potential dance partner, so you don’t step on their toes talking about things they have already gotten from your company.
STEP 6
What is this dance going to be about? Will it be a slow or fast dance conversation? Is this an inquiry, or do I have something to share like a new product offering, a special promotion, or a personal invitation to an event or educational class? However, I will definitely have to step out and pick up the conversation pace, when I am responding to my partner’s problem or question.
STEP 7
Before I start a phone Tango call, I take a deep breath and SMILE. I have my dancing shoes which are my phone and my computer. My pen and paper are my dance accessories, my talent is my voice and my skills are how I use that voice with my ability for quick thinking and problem-solving. I am ready to Tango!
STEP 8
Your voice will tell a lot about you. Stay positive and sound like a happy enjoyable person. Try to reveal some of your own personality and even use a little humor when appropriate. Do that and more people will be willing to listen to what you have to say.
STEP 9
Your phone partner needs to be invited into the conversation to follow in your footsteps. The dance twist is to ask them an intriguing question that they would have to answer, or a question they would have to go ask someone else to get an answer or bring that person to the phone. This is especially good to do when talking to gatekeepers.
STEP 10
Now we are conversation dancing. I had a call plan did I follow it? What did they learn about me? What did I learn about them? Did I twirl my partner and let them ask questions, or was I just talking? Was I really listening? Did I hear an opportunity on the call where I might pivot my phone partner to another one of our products, or to some additional new information that was even more helpful than what I called about? Did I maybe make a new friend? Did I develop some trust? Did I plant a seed for a future sale?
STEP 11
While phone dancing you might have an occasional misstep. Or in other words, there are some times when I tripped over my own tongue, and the conversation did not sound how I wanted it to go. There may also be those unfortunate times when the conversation was a real “Bust”, and we were just not the right partners at that time for the dance. Yes, but from even that Tango, I still learned something from trying so I will be better on the next call.
STEP 12
My final tip for when you are phone dancing is just to remember that engaging with a live person is a “Treat”, especially in this growing world of answering machines, computer chats and phone bots. As a “Treat” enjoy each phone dance conversation and learn from it because you will have lots of different partners to Tango with during your day. You can’t perfect your steps if you don’t enjoy dancing.
Take it from me...I can’t wait to talk to you, because I really like “Doing The Telephone Tango!”
Leave a comment