Telemarketing is all about attempting to open doors. It can be used for market research (e.g., polling decision makers’ opinions) or just to gather accurate data to sharpen and assist other marketing strategies. If you’re a little apprehensive about making cold calls, telemarketing can be a wonderful method to practice your speech craft and conversational reactivity. Gaining this experience and courage to sell will benefit your sales skills. Keep reading to discover how to become a successful telemarketer!
What makes a great telemarketer?
A great telemarketer listens and genuinely converses. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘parrot-style script,’ telling prospects what you believe they want to hear. An effective telemarketer engages a prospect by asking the proper questions and sparking up a two-way dialogue with their interlocutor.
Now, firstly we must debunk the urban legend that says, “if someone talks a lot, they must be a good salesperson.” It’s a sham! An efficient telemarketer pays close attention and retrieves critical information that allows them to take the initiative in the conversation. They are careful not to talk too much or say too little, and they adapt to the person at the other end of the line.
Telemarketing companies are always looking for telemarketers with excellent writing and oral communication abilities. The information collected from a call must be presented succinctly without omissions. Experience, empathy, solid sales skills, and the ability to listen are all ingredients to become a successful telemarketer.
Because human contact always goes further
8 tips for successful telemarketing
1. Have a plan
Before you start telemarketing, be sure you know what you want to achieve. If you’re collecting email addresses, you might be able to get them from the initial point of contact, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Effective telemarketers maximize positive responses by learning the essence of the business they represent. You can’t just call, present yourself and ask for an email address! Telemarketing strategies require more finesse.
2. Build a script
Once you’ve decided on your goal, you may write a little screenplay (or a series of telemarketing scripts). If you need a few specific email addresses, for example, the script might be:
“My name is Sally, and I’d want to introduce myself. I’m phoning from XYZ, a design firm. I’d like to send an introductory email about our services to your marketing manager. “Could you please tell me your name and email address?”
Your script will help you anticipate certain stages of the call. It’s not necessary to follow it exactly, and you’ll probably alter the language slightly from call to call — it’s just there to remind you of what you want to say if you get stuck.
3. Speak slowly
When you first start cold calling, it’s natural to be nervous. Unfortunately, that nervousness can lead you to blurt out your script. A useful tip if you get nervous is to drop your arms to your sides to put pressure on your diaphragm. This will help you slow down. You’ll sound more genuine if you speak at a more natural pace. In business, sincerity is a good thing and the authenticity of your voice will be felt by potential customers.
4. Be prepared
The person on the other end of the line may have questions for you. You should be prepared to address any questions or challenges they may have. If telemarketing were as simple as “call, get an answer, hang up,” there would be no use for other marketing strategies. It’s important to have the address, contact, website, or catalog of your client in front of you to quickly answer questions.
5. Anticipate rejection
Rejections will happen and you cannot take them personally! All you can do is perfect your approach to telemarketing by analyzing your performance. If you’re feeling confident, you can try to persuade them, but sometimes a “no” really is a “no.” Consider the opposite side of the coin: you don’t always say “yes,” do you? Thank the person for their time, and try the next number on the list. To get good outcomes, telemarketing necessitates a lot of perseverance.
6. Be polite
Always appreciate the person on the other end for their time, whether you obtain what you want or not. If you’re not nice, it may take several calls to get what you want, and you’ll be remembered, and not in the manner you want to be remembered. You should be courteous throughout the call.
7. Take action
If you claim you’ll deliver marketing materials, follow through. Send it right away if at all possible. The sundown rule states that you should not leave things until the conclusion of the working day. If you squander someone’s time or leave them hanging with unfulfilled promises, it tarnishes the rapport you built during your call.
8. Practice
It may take some time to become used to telemarketing because it’s a very fast-paced working environment. Remember that the worst that can happen is that someone says “no,” leaving you in the same situation as before you made the contact. Practice makes perfect, and soon enough your mental circuits will orient you in your telemarketing campaigns almost automatically.
Telemarketer do’s
Effective telemarketers:
- Pay attention to time zones
- Are professional
- Prepare their script
- Are curious
Pay attention to time zones
No one wants a telemarketing call after they’ve gone to bed or before they’ve even gotten out of bed in the morning. Potential clients don’t want to be disturbed at dinner, but it’s sometimes inevitable, especially if you’re calling folks who aren’t at home during the day.
Be professional
Because you may be phoning at an inconvenient hour, begin with a friendly greeting and keep in mind that you are representing a company and its product or service. Make sure you’re not to blame if they’re unpleasant or hang up on you. Only you have authority over your actions, vocabulary, and tone.
Prepare a script
To avoid boring the people who answer your calls and giving them a cause to stay on the line, get to the point immediately. Prepare sales points as well as counterarguments to any questions or concerns leads may have. Telemarketing scripts are often given at the start of telemarketing campaigns, and you should take the time to study them.
Be curious
Do your research about the company you represent and go look at their website, products/services, and their overall branding. This way, you’ll know how to orient potential customers if they inquire about something in particular.
Telemarketer don’ts
An efficient telemarketer is always mindful of these don’ts:
- Don’t get disheartened
- Don’t let the client take control
- Don’t let your script become outdated
- Don’t fail to follow up
- Don’t get too comfortable
Don’t get disheartened
Telemarketing, like any other form of sales, is a numbers game: you’ll probably only get to pitch 10% of the people you call, and only 10% of those will buy. If you’ve made half of your calls and had nothing but bad experiences, you’ll need to figure out how to keep going until you complete the sale.
Don’t let the client take control
Keep in mind that you are the expert, and some individuals will simply want to disagree with you for the sake of debating. If you notice this, understand it’s a waste of time and simply say goodbye to the contact professionally.
Don’t let your script become outdated
If you want to improve your ability to reach out and acquire buyers, you should examine and update your script regularly.
Don’t fail to follow up
If the list you’re working with contains useful information, make a point of contacting potential customers you couldn’t reach the first time. You probably called on a day when they weren’t at home or while they were occupied with something else.
Don’t get too comfortable
If you have a very successful day and exceed the 10% sales guideline, don’t relax for the next few days. Just be aware that you’ll most likely be doing nothing for a day or two. Keep your head down and remember that the selling cycle is always in motion.
Telemarketing services
TELUP is a business process outsourcing (BPO) and appointment setting organization that offers telemarketing services to help businesses of all sizes with tasks like prospecting, appointment setting, sales, client loyalty, and front office outsourcing.
Here are the services we offer:
- Inbound telemarketing: Hiring an external contact center and working with a qualified team of telemarketers who are highly driven and results-oriented is the best strategy to accelerate your business growth.
- Outbound telemarketing: Call center services such as lead generation, customer acquisition, and appointment scheduling can help your company boost income and streamline operations!
- E-Business: In just a few clicks, our team will fully deploy your HubSpot platform and send you on the road to marketing magic.
