Having Success with Cold Calls
July 4, 2011
There is no doubt that in business to business telemarketing the cold call is often the most daunting task for the novice telemarketer. But if you keep a few basic items in mind, you are going to have more success than those who just dive in head first.Early mornings tend to work best for most businesses and you should keep that in mind. Morning calls to businesses tend to have a higher success rate than calls made in the early afternoon. This of course increases more if you have researched the market and found relevant businesses to approach.
Along with this, you want to ensure that most of the initial contact you have with other companies is done in a simple manner. Getting too in depth and giving technical benefits straight form the off can alienate the person on the other side of the phone. Give them the basics and work to a more in depth conversation if they want the additional details.
By doing all this, you should find that you are able to successfully close more deals and appointments, and so improve the stats you have that measure your telemarketing approach. Remember, there are plenty of future clients out there if you can learn how to hone your opening techniques and approach prospects in the right manner.
Basic B2B Telemarketing Etiquette
June 20, 2011
When you are making a business to business telemarketing call, there is a basic etiquette that should be maintained. These steps will help you to improve sales and you might even have a chance to reach a person that others have unsuccessfully been able to contact.
To begin this process, you need to ensure you have the name of the person spoken correctly. While some names can be difficult, you will want to ensure that if you do make a mistake you apologize. Along with that, if your company uses an autodialler and there is a delay, make sure you let them know that you appreciate them waiting on the line.
During this process, you should speak at a normal and comfortable pace that appears conversational. Don’t read from a script or rush through a presentation. Present yourself as a friend with a smile on your face and this will be reflected in your voice.
Make sure you keep your tone friendly and don’t ever become abusive in cases where bad manners appear on the other end of the line. You should never terminate the call without telling them goodbye in a professional manner either. There is nothing that says you must listen to the abuse, but you should remain respectful and this will have a positive reflection on both you and your company.
Preparing for a Telemarketing Call
June 10, 2011
In telemarketing, you need to ensure that you are ready and prepared at all times. Simply dialling phone numbers and trying to sell a product, service or plan to another business is by its nature a difficult to do.
Because of this, you need to keep some key ideas and answers in mind when you are getting ready to make the call. Begin this process by having some questions and responses setup to the normal elements that come up. These will be things like, “Why would I consider your service?” or “We already use another company for this.” If you don’t have a solid persuasive response planned, you will have a harder time making the sale.
Along with this, you will want to have a solid knowledge of the product or services you are trying to promote. If you have to look for answers on basic questions, this will raise a red flag for the company you are trying to sell your product to. In some cases, you might find that a future conversation with this decision-maker will be difficult. Remember, thorough product knowledge is the building block for good telemarketing calls that you make, and when you have the confidence of knowledge, you will see an increase in the successful calls that you make.
Developing Telemarketing Skills
April 25, 2011
Many businesses have a difficult time developing their telemarketing staff because they choose people that are not cut out for the business. No one would argue that not everyone can become a doctor or a scientist, but for some reason business often thing that they can hire telemarketers, give them a script and a headset and they will be successful. Telesales is a profession and (just like a surgeon is skilled with his or her hands) a telemarketer is skilled with their words and has to possess a personality that is conducive with the profession. If closing a sale or appointment does not excite a telemarketer, they are probably in the wrong profession. However, those that do have raw talent can be developed into productive and successful telemarketers. Therefore, the telesales professional needs skills that actually help to grow the company. For instance, a sales professional should know how to handle resistance and conflict and they should know how to relay excitement to the company in which they are speaking. Moreover, telemarketing professionals need to learn cultural sensitivities, which is crucial when you are on the phone and cannot see the person. Finally, the last skill a good telemarketer needs to possess is strong closing skills, because if you tell a client about a product and they are interested, if there are no closing skills, the sale or appointment can be lost.
Does The Quality of Call Centre Equipment Matter?
March 15, 2011
Your telemarketing sales teams are professionals and as such the need to have the correct equipment in the call centre is critical to their success and subsequentally your organisation’s success. There is certain equipment that every call centre must have in order to run smoothly and effectively. For instance, you sale staff must have an adequate and good quality headset, telephone handsets, batteries, ear cushions, as the minimum essentials to make your staff confident and successful. Why is this? Well imagine being a telemarketer and having to use a headset that had static or slight feedback – the customers cannot hear them properly, or they cannot quite hear the customer – at the end of a longer period such as a month – what would this do to your overall sales prospects?
Of course, any call centre also needs to have the proper hardware, software, and telephone systems that are functional and reliable, so that you do not have dropped calls. Providing your telemarketing staff with the right equipment boosts their confidence because they know they can depend on the equipment not to fail during a sales call. If your sales staff are worried about the equipment failing they cannot concentrate on their sales ability to bring in the clients, which of course hurts the entire business. Therefore, the equipment you supply your call centre will either enhance your sales or hinder them – make sure you use equipment that helps.