Avoid these five sales call mistakes, and you just might find a willing listener.

In more than 24 years of helping salespeople use the phone most effectively to prospect, sell and service customers, I’ve seen just about every mistake imaginable. These mistakes practically guarantee that sales reps will be screened out or blown off, have their voicemails ignored or even lead prospects to create new objections to receiving a call.

I’ve found the best road to success is to recognize and avoid common errors, and instead focus your energy on the processes and tactics proven to stimulate attention and interest.

Let’s take a look at the top five sales call mistakes I’ve identified, starting at number five. We’ll also go over actions you can take instead to get a more positive response from prospects and customers.

Mistake #5: Objection creation

When I deliver in-company sales training programs, I ask managers which area in their organization needs the most improvement. When they say, “Overcoming objections,” I know I’m in for a lot of work.

More objections are caused by sales reps than any other factor. Prospects object when reps don’t question effectively (we’ll get to that mistake shortly), talk too much and try to pitch features that don’t fit. When the prospect objects, some sales reps are mistakenly taught to shoot back a slick rebuttal that they believe will change the objector’s mind.

Yeah, right. How do you feel when someone tells you you’re wrong? Same here, and the same for prospects: It makes them angry, and probably even more defensive.

Solution: The best way to deal with objections is to prevent them. Before making your pitch, try to imagine all the objections and questions the prospect might raise, then tailor your presentation to address their concerns.

When objections do arise, respond professionally. Objections are symptoms-you can find the problem by digging for the reason behind them.

My favorite response to an objection is, “I see. Well, let’s talk about that.” This reassures my prospects that I won’t pounce on them for their beliefs, but I intend to have a serious discussion about them. It’s a painless, nonconfrontational way to deal with objections.

Mistake #4: Poor preparation

An airline pilot’s voice crackles over the intercom: “Thanks for flying with us today. We’re flying somewhere, I’m just not sure exactly where.” Absurd, right?

Now consider a sales rep sitting down, pulling out a phone number and immediately dialing. If you ask him what he plans to accomplish on the call, you’ll get a vague response about a sale, appointment, lead and so on. But he wouldn’t be able to tell you any more about how he planned to make the sale than the hypothetical pilot could about reaching his destination. Poor preparation ensures a sloppy, rambling call.

Solution: The most important step in a successful call is the first one: Set your primary objective. Your primary objective is the next step you want both you and your prospect to take at the end of the call. This objective must involve action. If nobody does anything after you hang up the phone, you’re no better off after the call than you were before.

Mistake # 3: Fear of commitment

This sales activity takes the least amount of skill to execute, yet seems to be the hardest for many people to actually perform: asking for the sale or for commitment to take action.

I’ve seen a lot of money left on the table and hours wasted on unproductive follow-up calls. Both result from failing to ask prospects directly for their business, or at least some form of commitment.

Solution: Get into the asking habit. There’s no secret or magic to it, no hypnotic words that guarantee a “yes” reply. If you want different results, you must change your routine. If you’re not asking for a commitment or a sale often enough, you should ask yourself why-and then make a change.

The asking habit can impact all areas of your life. Take risks. Ask for more of what you want. Sure, you’ll hear “no” sometimes. So what? Reward yourself for making the attempt, and soon you’ll see results you never thought possible.

Mistake # 2: Nonexistent or inadequate questions

If I asked you for a suggestion about what to get my daughter for her birthday, you’d likely want to know a few things about her-her age, her interests and so on. Otherwise, you couldn’t make a sensible recommendation.

Why, then, do salespeople make recommendations (in the form of presentations) without knowing anything about a prospect? This is a common error. People buy for their reasons, not yours. Find out what theirs are.

Solution: Map out your questioning strategy before you pick up the phone. Instead of just making a list of features and benefits, consider the benefits individually. Determine the need or problem each benefit satisfies. Then develop questions to determine if those problems exist for your prospect.

For example, let’s say a business offers overnight delivery on orders received by 5 p.m., while all their competitors cut off orders at noon for next-day delivery. The problem is that customers often have last-minute orders requiring overnight shipping, and their existing vendor may not be able to meet those requests-causing at least an inconvenience, and possibly even lost business. Therefore, overnight delivery would be the benefit that solves this problem.

Asking the right questions means you won’t present what you think is a benefit until you’re sure the prospect agrees. For the example above, some useful questions would be:

• “How quickly do you normally need delivery?”
• “How often do you need next-day delivery on orders placed later in the day?”
• “What happens when you need next-day delivery, but have to wait for two days instead? What kind of inconvenience does this cause?”

Drum roll, please. The biggest mistake I see and hear sales reps make on the phone is...

Mistake #1: Openings that create resistance

Within the first 15 seconds of a sales call, you create one of two emotions in your listener: resistance or interest. Nothing else.

Unfortunately, most callers create resistance. They start with an uninspiring line like, “We sell ______, and I’d like to talk to you about it.” The listener then justifiably thinks, “So what? Why should I listen?”

Here’s another sure resistance-builder: “I sent you a letter, and I was wondering if you received it?” What if they did? What are they supposed to say? “Oh, yes! Glad you called. I was just sitting here thinking I should buy from you.”

Solution: So, what should you say during an opening to evoke interest? Here’s a simple three-step formula for success:

1. Introduce yourself and your organization.
2. State a benefit that stimulates the prospect’s interest and piques her curiosity.
3. Get the prospect involved in a conversation. Tell her that in order to deliver the potential benefit you mentioned, you’ll need a little more information.

Here’s an example of this formula in action:

“I’m Dan Fleming with Graphics Industries. We specialize in working with retailers to lower overall advertising expenses while generating more store traffic. I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to discuss to see if this would be of value to you and your company....”

If you ask the prospect the right questions, you can use whatever you learn to personalize the conversation even more:

“Ms. Davis, I’m Paul Cooper with Public Engineering. I understand that your division is looking to upgrade your finishing process. We have a process that has worked well for other manufacturers, and, depending on your requirements, might fit nicely with your current system....”

Avoid these five mistakes, and you’ll minimize resistance. Use the solutions I’ve provided, and your sales calls will help you achieve more positive results.

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art sobczak is president of Business by Phone, and he has even more tips to share about common sales errors and how to avoid them. He has posted mistakes 6-10 on his Web site, on a page set up specifically for Executive Travel readers. Email Art at editor@executivetravelmag.com.