After years of coaching sales and business people in a wide variety of industries, there is one thing that stands out as an important differentiating factor between those that have average success and those that consistently soar. It is not enough to go on appointments, send out fancy packets and pass your card around. You have to be willing to become masterful at using the phone. Phone mastery is an important business skill like any other. No matter how good you already are you can always improve. Review these "quick tips" for making every call count and next time you make some calls you will be more successful.

Psyche Yourself Up
Do not simply locate the masterful the number and begin to dial. Visualize the result you want before each call. See the person picking up the phone, saying how glad they are to hear from you.

Preplan Your Points to Make
You do not n need to script every word you want to say. If you do you will sound like those telemarketers that call you during dinner. Instead, jot down key words that remind you of the points you want to make. Keep your desired outcome from the call in mind.

Smile
Smile. Some phone experts suggest putting a mirror in front of you so you can see yourself smiling. If you are listening to someone on the phone, you can always tell if they are smiling, they sound different, better, more inviting.

Ask for Agreement to Talk
Most people hate to be called by someone who starts a spiel as soon as the phone is picked up. Once you reach your party, state your name, why you are calling, and ask if they have a minute to talk. If they say no, ask when would be a good time to call back. Make sure you call back at that time. If you do, they will gladly give you their attention.

Read The Level of Rapport
You want to build rapport with the person you are speaking to. Some people play "Relationship Geography" asking people questions to try and find a person they know in common. This is fine if the person is friendly, interested and has time to spare. Other people find this intrusive and frustrating. You have to be able to gauge the level of warmth, interest and enthusiasm of the person and match that level, plus just a bit more. If they seem stoic, be a bit warmer than stoic. If they are enthusiastic be a bit more enthusiastic.

Be Brief
In order to hold the attention of the listener and keep them engaged, speak in short sentences. Do not use a marketing monologue.

Be Benefit Focused
What ever you say it has to matter to your potential customer and it has to be of benefit to him/her. Think client-centered rather than self - centered.

Open Ended Questions
Ask questions to help you identify how to better serve each potential customer. Avoid yes/no questions ask open-ended questions that require an explanation for an answer. For example instead of asking how long have you been using product X, ask what has been the most valuable benefit of using product X.

Ask Questions that Identify Challenges
Your job is to solve the client