Small Business, Big Lessons® — Sharing an Old Sales Secret

Sometimes we get so enamored by the latest technology or marketing tool we forget the basics. While this post is targeted towards sales, I would encourage everyone to read and see if there is at least one nugget you can apply in business or life. I do not think we can go more than 30 minutes without someone mentioning AI. People are looking for AI to develop business intelligence to write a compelling email to win the next order. Today we’ll discuss that old fashioned device invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone.

While it has taken on new forms such as wireless and cellular, the basic functionality of connecting people via voice has not changed. Yes, quality has improved, and costs have come down, and one doesn’t even need a physical “phone” to make and receive calls. Hard to believe the invention is almost ready to celebrate 150 years. For some, it has taken on a fear worse than death and taxes. Many refuse to answer or call anyone!

Let’s talk about the reason why voice communications are avoided and situations that are best suited to utilize the good old phone:

1)    Phone hesitancy – There isn’t much new in this area other than it is getting worse. Pew Research Center back in 2020 reported that 8 in 10 Americans do not answer a call from an unknown number. Even older data from 2017 in The New York Post reported Americans ignored 337 calls a year and that includes coworkers, friends, and family! So why use a phone when you’ll either end up in voicemail, or the voicemail is full? My best estimate that number has more than tripled.

2)    Productivity – Isn’t it so much easier to text or chat than make a dreaded call? Many times it is and to be honest, tends to be my personal “go to” method of communications followed by email. As every industry is constantly pushing for more productivity, it is so much easier to chat or text with quick questions – we pick up the phone and if the person answers, could consume 30 minutes of your productivity? On the flip side – one of those “quick” interactions can easily turn negative and if not corrected quickly – will consume far more time than a call.

3)    The correct use case(s) – Have you even been in a situation where a chat, text, or email starts to include more and more people and the tone starts to quickly take a turn for the worse? Before something escalates over a misunderstanding (and most issues are just that – a misunderstanding), PICK UP THE PHONE!!! You will not regret that you did for something that could have been solved in a very short focused call vs escalation after the fact. In most cases – use the last text, chat, email, or other communications to state “I am calling you now” or “do you have 5 minutes for a quick call between x and y” with a few optional times you provide “to try and resolve this quickly?”

Think through

While this was written with “sales” as the intent – the reality is this applies to all roles and frankly in personal life. I’ve been on way too many email chains where all I did was either picked up the phone or suggested to the person responsible for resolution, pick up the phone. I had 2 such situations and sensed the temperature was starting to heat up. One of them was not my issue -directly – but anything in the customers perception that is negative, will prevent a sale. I just called the person before they could send off another email, made an introduction, stated I think there may be some miscommunications, and I’d like to hear their concern and see if I can help. At the end of this very short call, less than 10 minutes, they thanked me and the issue was resolved. It was as I suspected. a lack of understanding “company speak” and just needed a human to human translation. Maybe someday AI will do that for us, but for now – it is our role to do that.

I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with me and any recent examples. Feel free to post comments or email them to me. Small Business, Big Lessons® – Remember – use the “old sales secret” or become extinct!