The first of the 13 hottest prospecting phone tips I can give you is to be up-beat. :-)

Now, what does that mean? The word upbeat means to be full of optimism or cheerfulness.

As a phone tip, your actions, the tone of your voice, what you talk about and how you respond to your prospect's questions and comments should be full of optimism and/or cheerfulness.

Why would you want to be cheerful and optimistic to your prospect? Why not be the opposite—negative and sad? Because people (your prospect) enjoy talking with, being around and working with people (you) who are cheerful and optimistic.

Now, let me warn you about a common mistake. DON'T BE TOO FULL OF OPTIMISM AND CHEERFULNESS. Before I explain this—please know that I didn't make this rule, I only observed that it's there! Around me and when you call into the office, I urge you to be as happy as you can be!

But if you're considerably more cheerful and optimistic than the person you're talking to, you are at a different level than they are and this will make communication more difficult.

Imagine that you just won the lottery and you are jumping up and down and screaming with cheerfulness. You're standing next to someone who just got fired from their job. The two of you are very different in your mood. You will just annoy this unemployed person. So what's the "right” amount of cheerfulness—for any prospect?

Optimally, use slightly more optimism and cheerfulness than the prospect is showing you.

If you're someone who follows my training, this may sound a lot like Communication Quality #4: Use the right amount of assertiveness. But it also looks a bit like Communication Quality #6: Ensure your body doesn't distract the prospect and Communication Quality #9: Communicate at the prospect's level of understanding.

The truth is that there are many communication qualities this prospecting tip is similar to because it is part of the basic underlying issue when you talk to prospects.

How would you know if you're being too optimistic or cheerful? As always you must observe the person you're talking to. Remember, you're interested in him or her and the reaction they're having about you.

With heaps of admiration,

Tim Sales