Telemarketing Related Information

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The following is an article relating to the telemarketing industry including products and services in our business areas.

By Art Sobczak

Telemarketing, telesales, cold calling ... whatever you want to call it (and I'll use the terms  interchangeably), the professional use of the phone in sales is a process, not a goofy technique or gimmick.

We're going to travel through every part of the professional telesales- telemarketing call, in order, discussing proven tips that can help you right now. Let's go!


PRE-CALL PLANNING

1. Have a primary objective for every telemarketing call, defined as, "What do I want them to DO as a result of this call, and what do I want to do?"


2. Prepare questions for your telesales call using your call objective. Ask yourself, "How can I persuade them to take this action as a result of asking questions, as opposed to talking?" Remember, people believe more
of their ideas than yours.


3. Also have a secondary objective for each telephone sales call...something you'll strive to accomplish, at minimum, every time. Pick something you'll have a reasonably good chance to succeed with, such as, "Getting their
agreement they will accept my literature and place it in their 'Backup Vendor' file." This way, you can enjoy success on every call you place, and that does wonders for your attitude.


BEFORE REACHING THE DECISION MAKER

4. Treat the screener as you would the customer--this person determines whether or not you'll even have a chance to speak with the buyer.


5. Gather as much information as you can from whomever you are able, prior to speaking with your prospect; busy decision makers get bored when they have to answer your basic qualifying questions. Use the "Help" technique: "I hope you can help me. So I'm better prepared when I speak with Ms. Big, there's probably some information you could provide me..."


6. Before cold calls, think of a good reason for needing to speak with the decision maker, and be prepared to sell this to the screener. What they're thinking about you:
"Does this person have anything of interest, or of value for the boss?"


7. If leaving a message on voice mail, or with a screener, be certain it offers a hint of a benefit/result that sparks curiosity, but doesn't
talk about products/services.



INTEREST-CREATING OPENING STATEMENTS

8. The objective of your telemarketing opening is to pique curiosity and interest so that they will willingly and enthusiastically move to the questioning. You must answer, "What's in it for me?" for the listener, or they will immediately begin the getting-rid-of-you process.


9. Don't use goofy, resistance inducing phrases on your telesales call, like, "If I could show you a way to _____, you would, wouldn't you?" The only decision you're looking for in the opening is the one to continue speaking
with you.


10. When cold call prospecting, don't start the call with, "I was just calling people in your area..." People want to feel like they're the only person you're calling... not just one of the masses from a list of compiled names.


11. Use what I call "weasel words" when opening cold prospecting calls: "depending on," "might," "maybe," "perhaps," and "possibly." These are non-threatening words that intimate you might have something of value for them, but you really need to ask questions first. For example, "Depending on what you're now doing in the area of employee benefits, I  might have something that could potentially increase the number of options you offer, while possibly decreasing your overall contribution. I'd like to ask you a few questions to see if this is something you'd like more information on."


12. Have something of value to say on every telemarketing call. Particularly those regular calls to existing customers. Avoid, "Just checking in with you to see if you needed anything," and, "Just calling to touch base." These are more nuisance than service. Be certain they're able to say they are better off after your call than they were before it, even if they didn't buy anything. Call with news they'll have an interest in; ideas you've heard from other customers they might be able to take advantage of; mention that you were "thinking of them" and tell them why. One of my printing salesmen called to say he "just came back from a trade show and saw something interesting, and thought I could benefit from it." It's little things like that, that cause customers to say, "She always has something good for me when she calls," as opposed to, "Every time she calls she's just looking for an order."
(For more great ideas, including word-for-word examples, and a fill-in-the-blanks template on creating your own effective opening, also see the Special Report on Developing Interest Creating Opening Statements.)