It is important to focus on what the customer is saying in any telephone conversation.

Multi-tasking for example is just not compatible with effective listening. It might be that one task takes your full attention away and you miss the context of vital words being said in the telephone conversation.

There are people in selling who are so busy talking themselves they don’t realise that their prospect has tuned out of the conversation long ago. You cannot hear what is being said if you are doing all the chatting! 

Having spoken ensure your target has understood what you’ve said by asking them – they could seek clarification on a point opening up another line of interest than can be explored, extending the conversation.

If you practice the art of being attentive on the phone it will start to come more naturally and you will see what an improvement this makes to rapport with your clientele. Doing this actually creates an opportunity for your client to think as well as speak and you then find yourself in a discussion instead of a one-sided diatribe.  Because you have more time to consider your response on the telephone call you have a bigger chance to steer the conversation towards a sale. The potential buyer will feel confident with you too and suddenly sales become more natural.  

It is a good idea to tape your telephone conversations. Many telephone systems have call-recording facilities. This way you can decide the areas where you need to make adjustments and this will improve your telephone techniques.