• Stand up. Because your diaphragm and lungs aren’t cramped when you stand, your voice will have more resonance and power, making you sound more confident and energetic. • Vary your tone. How you say something is as important as what you say. Vary your inflections and volume to sound sincere. For practice, say a simple sentence like, “I didn’t know she did that,” over and over again, emphasising a different word each time and changing the volume of your voice. Observe how that affects the meaning of the sentence. KNOW WHAT TO SAY Focus on setting an appointment. “The purpose of that phone call is just to get the appointment,” says Laura. “Don’t give any more information on that phone call. You need an hour of their time, you need to be one-on-one.” The Melaleuca Delivering Wellness Overview was created to introduce Melaleuca in a way that makes sense and answers objections as they come up—avoid doing that during the call. • Let them know why you’re calling. Feel free to catch up a little, but quickly state the purpose of the
CONTROL NERVOUSNESS “Every single time we face something new or unexpected, there’s nervousness,” Laura says. It’s normal to feel nervous, but with some forethought you can feel in control of your nerves and still make effective calls. • Prepare your conversation. Write out your key talking points in advance so you can refer back and make sure you’re on track. • Take a deep breath before the call and remember to breathe during the call. Nerves often manifest in shallow breathing, which can tighten the vocal cords and make you sound strained. • Look at something that makes you happy like a family picture or a scenic postcard. • Remember that you have something that your potential customer needs. “You’re going to impact their lives in such a wonderful way that day that you’re making the phone call,” Laura says. “They already need this. Keep that in mind.” SOUND YOUR BEST Even though the person on the other end of the line cannot see you, your body language projects through your tone. “Your tone, your voice is everything because you’re showing who you are through your voice,” says Laura. • Smile. Research from the University of Portsmouth confirmed what most people suspect—smiling affects
North American National Director 9 Angela Cook shares her phone approaches Angela always looks for a need that a Melaleuca product can fulfill, then asks if the person has tried it. When the answer is no, she says, “I do some marketing for a U.S.— based manufacturer who makes that product and there is story after story of how it works wonders. I do not sell it, but I can show you how you can get it at the same price I pay. They also make a lot of other amazing products, so it would be best if we met over a cup of coffee and I can show you.” When it comes to introducing others to the business aspect of Melaleuca, Angela says, “I have kind of a crazy question: are you open to looking at other ways of generating significant passive income alongside what you are currently doing?” Angela says she prefers the phrase “are you open to” rather than “are you interested in” because it’s human nature to pride ourselves on being open-minded and it feels like less of a commitment to say yes.
call. If the call meanders for a while before you state your purpose, the potential customer on the other end of the line might feel like all the previous conversation was insincere.
• Set a time limit for each call. This will help you control the conversation. You won’t get
the way we speak and listeners can not only discern whether or not the speaker is smiling, but how genuine the smile is.
distracted by meandering conversation or be tempted to give an Overview on the phone. • Give specific options when setting an appointment. Ask, “Do you have forty minutes tonight or tomorrow?” rather than asking something open ended like, “When are you available?”
• “A voice contains a variety of acoustical characteristics,” says
Amy Drahota, lead author of the study. “When we listen to people speaking we may be picking up on all sorts of cues, even subconsciously, which help us to interpret the speaker.”
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | MELALEUCA.COM
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