For every appallingly bad cold call you've received at home, disturbing your dinner with heavily accented platitudes there is a professional telephone sales professional using the medium of the telephone call to great effect. Make absolutely no mistake, there are seriously well trained professionals out there who know that selling by telephone is the very best way to reach people on mass and in this day and age no business can afford to ignore it as a marketing strategy.

We can probably all identify what makes a call bad, we've probably hung-up on enough unsuccessful sales calls to have a clear picture in our heads about what turns-us off and what we don't fall for, but what do those professionals who do succeed get so right that makes them different. Here are just five simple tips that will improve your next business sales call and take you closer to successful telephone selling.

Prepare. Know what you want to achieve from the call before you pick-up the receiver. Every call is different and so think about who it is that you are about to speak to. Scripts are not always a good idea, but notes and pointers are; have all relevant information to hand and an idea of what you need to say. Keep in mind how you want the call to end so that you can get there effortlessly.

Gatekeepers. You'll be very lucky if the person that answers your call is the business decision maker and so without doubt you'll initially speak with a call screener or 'Gatekeeper'. Always afford this very important person the respect they deserve, after all, they have it within their power to end your chances of a successful sales call before you even begin. Try to get as much information from this valuable source as possible, they'll usually have access to directors names, diaries, email addresses, and all sorts of inside knowledge that you could use on a second call.

Rapport. Whether the Gatekeeper or the decision maker that you are speaking to, you'll achieve nothing, however brilliant the object of your sales call, if you are disliked by those on the receiving end of your chat. A lot is talked of rapport building and it is probably the single most important ingredient in any call you make; it cannot however be forced; throw-out the sales manual for this one, all you really need to do is be nice. Show interest in what is being said to you, remember it, show respect and be honest. Be a human being first and a salesperson second and it will get you a lot further.

Control. However wonderfully glowing the report given of the nice chat you had with a particular Gatekeeper or how well received your pitch was by the decision maker that you eventually spoke with, it is essential to remember that you are not just chatting on the phone for the good of your health; you have an objective and you need to achieve it. Most professionals have mastered the art of effortlessly guiding prospective customers through the sales process so seamlessly it is barely noticed, but however gently it is done these professionals never hand over the reigns, every aspect of the conversation is designed to get from pitch to closing. Be assumptive and control the conversation, by all means go off topic, but always bring things back to where you want to be. Most people are comfortable with guidance and are happy to be lead to the next step as long as they trust you.

Trust. Selling to someone does not mean lying to them. There is nothing worse than asking a cold caller if it is a sales call only to be told "absolutely not" when you know that it 'absolutely is'. Once that simple exchange has taken place and the lie has been told and discovered all is lost; the trust has gone and with it the control and any rapport you may have hoped to develop. Honesty is important in sales, most people, especially decision makers, are not stupid and know when they are being lied to. Being great at telesales takes time, training and a little talent, but most people can be better at it than they are by taking note of the above and always remembering that telephone selling is a skill to be respected and taken seriously.

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