Marketing Books Successfully By Phone

Some book publicists and marketers operate almost exclusively by email, social media, and texting.  Many consumers and members of the media prefer it that way.  But there’s still a place for good ol’ fashioned phone calls and because some people use the phone far less often than a decade ago, any phone call seems to stick out with far more greater impact.

So what are the keys to good phone etiquette?

1. Keep it short  - no one has time for you to blab on.

2. Only call people that you cannot seem to reach any other way and are too important/valuable not to call.

3. Don’t bother leaving a message; instead, try again at another time or on another day.

4. Be a polite caller and a good listener.  No one wants a call that comes on with blatant selling.

5. If you get through to the person you want, don’t ever put them on hold.

6. Use the call to get their attention for your emails or letters and leave the details in your correspondence.

7. Give them your best pitch and then get a sense of their reaction, needs, roadblocks or desires.

8. Get the recipient to agree to an action step to click on a site, agree to receive a book, a promise to respond to an email.  It can be step one of a two-part closing process – just get them to agree to do something.

9. Use the call to hear the passion, conviction, sincerity, energy, and happiness in your voice.  Let them fall in love with your phone persona.

10. Do not hound them or call back repeatedly.  You get one shot to impress them.

How you establish rapport with someone depends on who you are calling and the subject matter but suffice to say asking how the weather is, flirting, or expressing extreme or controversial viewpoints on unrelated topics is probably not the way to leave a good impression.

Lastly, even if they can’t see you, those whom you call can sense it if you are smiling.  Always smile and talk as if someone is right in front of you.  Sometimes a friendly voice and a nice smile go a long way.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2012 ©