Top Telemarketing Tips

Lately I have received a few questions form readers about lists…

• How much should you pay for a list?
• Where do you get a list for your area?
• What is the best way to work with a list?

In my experience, lists should only be used after answering the following questions:

• Do I have a better way to get targeted leads?
• Have I taken into consideration the true cost of using a Telemarketing list?
• Does cold calling suit my style of business?
• How do I want to utilize a list?

Let’s look into each of these questions a little more deeply, because often people buy a list without giving these much thought. The result is usually a colossal waste of money and time if the whole Telemarketing process is not well thought out.

Do I have a better way to get targeted leads?

If you have read through our Top Telemarketing Tips website, you will know that Telemarketing is more often than not, a part of a sales process, rather than a one stop answer to all of your sales woes. What I mean by this, is that making one phone call to a cold client is not usually going to lead to a sale (with the exception of very low cost items – say under $50 – $100). This process pretty much only works for charity calls or if you are making a call to an existing customer to cross sell your products.

With this in mind, it makes much more sense to get a more qualified or targeted lead from elsewhere if it is at all possible. It is not in the scope of this post to go through ways to generate leads, but follow this link on lead generation as a starting point.

Have I taken into consideration the true cost of using a Telemarketing list?

By “True Cost” I mean have you included the cost of staff and telephone calls? When calling a list, you are cold calling. This means that your conversion rate (call to sale rate%) will be quite low. So of course you need to be willing to make many more phone calls to make a sale. That means more hours on the phone as well as more phone calls – both costing you more money. (It also leads to more rejection for the telemarketer – which is a whole other issue, but one to be considered nonetheless.)

Does cold calling suit my style of business?

There is a whole industry out there that is built on selling lists. Sometimes we are led to believe that without a list we can’t run a telemarketing campaign. This is simply not true. In fact I have only ever purchased two lists in the last 12 years! Both times I considered everything I am mentioning in this post and decided that a targeted Telemarketing List would be best for that situation.

When I say….Does it suit you business? I mean do you have a product that you can build interest in over the phone to someone who has never heard of you before? For the large majority of small business, the answer to this is no. However, if you have the money to invest, you may decide to use a list to make initial contact with potential clients. You can then use this contact to your advantage and make further contacts over the coming days or weeks. In this way, you are using the list as part of a predetermined campaign strategy. Essentially you are lead generating from the list. To see how I have used lists in the past, click here to see our telemarketing lead generation tips.

How do I want to utilize a list?

There are many ways to utilize a Telemarketing Call in your Sales Process. You need to be clear on what type of Telemarketing Calls you will be making and at what stage of your sales process you will be making them. Are you using a list to generate leads, set appointments or to directly sell your product or service over the phone?

As usual, the answer lies in knowing your own business inside out. By knowing your clients, your product and ultimately your sales goals, you can put together a sales Campaign that may or may not include purchasing a Telemarketing List.

My advice if you do decide that lists are for you, is to consider how targeted you need that list to be (the more targeted the more expensive the list will usually be and the less names you will get on that list), to shop around (there are plenty of list providers that are all easily accessible online) and to make sure you are confident of how you will get the best result from your investment.

Happy Telemarketing!

I would love to tell you that if you say a few magic words, you will be able to overcome all customer objections in your telemarketing call…… but as you’ve probably already guessed, that’s just not the way it works.

Instead you need to look below the surface.

If you take the clients objection at face value, you will often find yourself in a war of words as you both strongly defend your positions. Instead, consider that there may be more at play here.

For the majority of people, their first response is to say “no”, particularly if they are not asked a well formed question to begin with. So instead of trying to find a way to fight against the “no”, let’s accept that it may be coming and work with it.

So, why do people naturally say “no?” Because we are lazy, because we have no emotional connection to what is being asked of us or the person asking it or because it just seems easier!

What I suggest you do is spend less energy on rebuttals to your customers objections and put more effort into helping the client say “yes.”

The way you do that is by making sure your call script guides the client from the very beginning of the call. The most efficient way to do this is by using closed questioning techniques when you need the clients answer to be “yes”.

A closed question is one where there are only a certain amount of options available to answer the question with. Let me give you an example;

Q. Did you have a good day today?

A. Only a “yes” or “no” answer is required

If we were to change this into an open question, it might go like this;

Q. Tell me about your day today?

A. Here we are leaving the person answering with no option but to divulge more information.

Open questions are very useful in your telemarketing call. They are your tool for gathering information on your clients needs. However, an open question is the enemy if you are trying to close the deal.

Let’s go back to what I mentioned earlier…. that you need to look below the surface of your clients objection.

You now know that “no” is just a natural response, so start to see it that way and hear a “no” as your invitation to find out what is really going on for the client. The way to do this is simple – ask more questions.

Let’s explore how you could do this and put all of the techniques we are discussing here together.

In this example I am the telemarketer – I sell mortgages. The purpose of my call is to book an appointment with a client. Let’s skip straight to the closing question;

TM. So John, I am going to be in your area on Monday next week and I can further explain what we are offering to both yourself and your partner. My visit can be after work hours and will only take around an hour – so tell me would 6.30pm or 8pm suit you both best?

You will notice that I have used a closed questioning technique, offering two appointment options rather than asking if he would like an appointment – to which he could more easily say “no.”

Now, this technique alone will often work wonders towards getting your desired outcome. Why? Because you have made it easier for the client to say “yes” than to say “no.”

But what if he does say “no” here?

TM. Is monday not a good day for you both?

John. The answer here will be either No it’s not – so we can go ahead and offer other days and times, or it will be something else….. maybe….

Actually, I’m just not interested.

TM. That’s no problem at all. John can I ask what particular aspect of the appointment you are not interested in?

This is an open question, designed to gather information. Once you know more accurately what the real objection is, you are better equipped to handle it.

What I can tell you is that the majority of objections will be around either time or money.

Time objections are things such as “We are too busy to see you” or It’s just not something we’re interested right now” 

Money objections are things like “We can’t afford it.”

Both types of objections can be convenient covers for “We just can’t be bothered.”

My advice is to take away any obligation the client may be feeling. You can do this by….

John. We’re just not interested right now.

TM. I understand John. To be honest, the purpose of the appointment is for me to properly introduce myself to you both and to quickly show you how we could help you, so that if in the future you were to think of re-mortgaging your home, we hope you’d think of us. That’s fair enough isn’t it?

Now as I said John, that visit will only take an hour, so would 6.30pm or 8pm on that monday be more convenient for you both?

Here, we have taken away any obligation that the client had to make a decision on the day of the appointment – take away the fear and you make it easier for the client to say “yes.”

Of course your next task is to do such a great job at your appointment that the client feels compelled to go ahead on the day of your appointment…..but more on that another day.

Our eBook How to Sell Anything to Anyone will give you much more information on overcoming objections. Check it out on our store page.

Happy Telemarketing!

I am often asked, “What is the quickest way for me to get better results?”

In my opinion, the number one thing you can do is improve your delivery.

Understand that people are naturally wired to say “No” to any sales person…..and that includes you. They don’t stop to consider your offer unless you find a way to break this automatic “No” pattern.

Therefore, it just makes sense that if we can hone our phone skills to the point where people will hear you out, then your results will easily double! If not better!

Your clients will normally, automatically say “no” as an almost reflex action. To break this, the client must FEEL like you are someone they should listen to. This is more likely to happen if:

• You sound familiar
• You have great energy
• Your speed or tempo is just right

Lets look more closely at each of these.

You sound familiar

If you call up in a business like tone saying, “Good Morning, may I speak to Mrs Smith please?” Then you are likely to be met with a “We’re not interested thanks!”

However, if you call with a warm, familiar tone in your voice…..almost as if you know this person very well and say, “Hello, may I speak with Sarah please!” you have a much better chance of lowering your clients defenses so they can allow themselves to hear you.

You have great energy

A sale is simply a transfer of energy from you to your client. That is why the more excited you are about your product, the more excited your clients become. To lift your energy levels I would recommend having a quick read of my last blog on how to have fun whilst telemarketing.

Your speed or tempo is just right

If you start your call with a slow tempo it tells your client they are in for a long call, so normally your client will cut it short to save themselves time. So help yourself, make sure your tempo is quick enough to say, “I won’t take much of your time,” but not so quick that it says you don’t care.

These 3 easy steps are simple and incredibly effective. Try them and remember to measure your results so you can see what works for you and what doesn’t.

Happy Telemarketing!

I often find myself coming to the defense of Telemarketing as a whole over dinner conversation with friends and family. You know how the table talk goes…….

Friend – “I received a call last night at 7.30pm…. right in the middle of Dinner! I mean how dare they, it’s so intrusive!”

Me – “It’s not like they know what time you eat dinner…. it’s not a calculated plan. If you don’t want to be called by anyone, put your name on the Do Not Call Register.”

Friend – “But seriously, they hardly even spoke english! I just hang up on them… I don’t care how rude I am.”

You see, even I have to admit that on some level I can see where my friend is coming from. I like to think that I am very open to Telemarketing calls, for obvious reasons. But gee I get cranky when I receive a bad Telemarketing call! I get it….. just like a great Telemarketing call can brighten your day, a bad one can really make you mad.

And I think that is the issue here. Telemarketing is not the problem. I have spoken to so many people who tell me lovely stories about getting great deals, or having a great conversation with a Telemarketer they connected with.

I believe that Telemarketing has a bad name in the community for one reason only – bad Telemarketers!

Now being a poor Telemarketer is not always the fault of the Telemarketer. In fact in most cases it is the fault of the employer or the trainer.

In the case of outsourced overseas call centers, there is often not only a language barrier that causes a lack of rapport between client and Telemarketer, but there are also distance and lack of cultural understanding that can cause problems.

I recently worked with a company that had outsourced their Telemarketing to the Phillipines. When I listened in on the calls, I was struck by how little rapport was built on each call. Most calls consisted of a Telemarketer who spoke too quickly (which when you add an accent, makes it very difficult for the client to get a good grasp of what’s being said), no ice breaking rapport (are you enjoying the beautiful weather?) and no sense that the telemarketer liked the client. The feel was very much….”It’s my job to get through this script…and that’s all.”

As the Telemarketer is not working directly with the company they are calling on behalf of, they aren’t usually passionate about what they are selling and often don’t really get why they are making the call. Add to that the difficulties I have already mentioned and you can see why outsourcing overseas can generate very poor results. But, it’s cheaper and that’s why so many companies utilize it. It really lacks an understanding of how people respond in a buying environment and of looking at the big picture.

In saying all of that, local call centres can also have very poorly trained staff. My favourites are:

* The Telemarketer who sounds robotic while they read their script

* The Telemarketer who speaks at a snails pace…. boy do I know I am going to be in for a long call!

* The Telemarketer who talks over the top of you – as though that is some form of real objection handling

*The telemarketer who can’t ask the closing question – creating an awkward silence

Of course, there is much more that can go wrong.

So what is the answer? Let’s go back to my dinner conversation….

Me – “My Telemarketers rarely get anyone hanging up on them. I make sure I hire nice people, I train them well and I find that our clients mostly enjoy the call. I know bad Telemarketers can be frustrating, I get frustrated by them too. The good news is, there are lots of great Telemarketers out there too!”

For some more information on how to find and train the right Telemarketers to get Top Telemarketing results, why not check out Recruit, Train, Motivate. It is on special this week for only $27! And it takes you through the whole process of all things Telemarketing!!

Happy Telemarketing