Essential tools before you make that Client call....coffee, phone, laptop, Mirror(?) Huh?
You know what it's like when you sit down to make your client calls. You grab your coffee (or tea), open your laptop and cell phone and settle in. It's probably not your favorite task but you know it needs to be done. There are so many other things you'd rather be doing......... having a root canal for instance!
Even if you're not a Realtor, most of us are SELLING something. We have follow up calls to clients; following up on leads; calling associates; and of course... the dreaded cold call!
Just as you wouldn't show up to a business meeting looking less than professional, how you "appear" over the phone is equally as important.
Trust me... if you're in a less than professional mood... if you're tired and just want not to be doing this... it will come across the phone line.
This is a trick we used in my previous life. I managed an office of anywhere from 9 to as many as 15 placement consultants. Everything we did was through the phone. This was also pre-email, Twitter, Facebook, text messaging and.... yes before cell phones.
I used to place mirrors on my sales counselor's desks, right next to their phones. Now, I knew my 
counselors and we all were nothing if not vain. They couldn't resist looking into the mirror as they spoke over the phone. And... that wasn't a bad thing. As I walked around, they were all speaking to clients over the phone and looking into their mirrors at the same time.......and they all had smiles on their faces!
Next time you sit down to make your calls, try looking in a mirror when you talk. What will it show?
Are you seeing someone with a scowl or frown? If so chances are the person on the other end is "seeing" the same thing.
Now the story ends here... but if you have just one more minute scroll down and read a funny side story to the mirrors......
it won't take long ...........
but I know you're busy so I won't be offended should you need to stop here and get back to work
.............you want to scroll down.... don't you....
go on.... it will only take a minute.
OK... glad you decided to take the time... as I was saying... I placed mirrors on my counselors desks to help them "see" how they were coming across over the phone. This suit one of my consultants perfectly as she was always looking in the mirror anyway... it wasn't that she was vain, but she took to this like a fish in water. Weeks had gone by and she and that mirror were like working buddies.
One day, when we were all in need of some levity, I saw that she was on the phone..... staring into that mirror. I walked by and (making sure she was not on an important call)... removed the mirror from her desk.........
You probably know where this is going.... she had become so attached to that mirror that as soon as I lifted the mirror she became all tongue tied and couldn't speak!
