Qualifying on the Phone: Part 3- What Not To Do

This post is part three of a series on “Qualifying over the Phone”.  If you missed any part, click here now to catch up!

Chalk this one up under ‘Case in Point: In-Person Appointments Reduce Confusion’

A trained sales professional of more than 25 years came to our company. He was going to show us how to do this business easier and how he could better understand his potential clients on the phone, schedule more appointments and close more deals.

I wasn’t going to burst his bubble, so I sat back and watched.

After a 40-minute call, he finally hung up the phone. I’m not sure how many times that egg timer would have had to be turned over. The only thing I remembered hearing was a discussion about the screw in a pair of eyeglasses.

Here is the conversation:

Me: Why were you discussing a screw in the eyeglasses?

Him: She asked about vision.

Me: Why were you talking about vision?

Him: I told her we covered vision and dental.

Me: Why were you talking about dental?

Him: We talked about x-rays and testing.

Me: Why were you talking about testing?

Him: We were talking about hospital coverage.

Me: WHY WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE HOSPITAL?

Him: I decided to go over the plan on the phone so I was sure she understood it and then would be picking up a check.

Me: Did you get the appointment?

Him: No, she was confused.

Had he been in front of her, she may not have been confused. Had he been in front of her, he could have seen the confusion in her body language and facial gestures and addressed that. Had he been in front of her, he may have been able to help her.

Do you see the value of that egg timer yet?