We recently received a query from a business to business telemarketing company offering health insurance quotes to business owners. They use a cold call method and wanted advise on rebuttals when business owners don’t respond to their free quote offer.

There are a few things to consider here:

• Firstly, if cold calling is how you choose to utilize telemarketing, then accept that you will have a lower call to quote rate. The reasons for this are clear – when you cold call, there is no prior relationship with the client, therefore no feeling on their part of recognition, comfort or even that they should listen to you. Personally, I use cold calling only if either:

1) I can’t think of a better sales funnel for that particular campaign or

2) I have decided that I will bear the cost of staff time and extra phone calls, knowing that my results will be lower.

To determine if cold calling is best for your campaign, start here.

• Secondly, it is easy to think, “But it’s free, so why wouldn’t people just say yes?” You need to remember that everything in the sales world is free, so people are exposed to free stuff all of the time. People are sceptical of free, they don’t believe that they get anything for nothing.

Rather than offer you a rebuttal to overcome this, I prefer to handle the objection before it comes up. Once someone has said no, it is very hard to change their mind, so it’s better to avoid the no in the first place.

So, as part of your script add in something like…

“You’re probably wondering what the catch is, am I right? Quite simply we feel this is a great way for us to introduce ourselves to you, so that if now or in the future you think of health insurance, you think of us. That’s fair enough isn’t it?”

Make sure you wait for the client to answer “Yes”, you must have their buy in before you continue.

• Lastly, the reason people reject your offer is because that’s what people do. Their natural first reaction to telemarketing is always to say no rather than yes. It is your job to know this, and then overcome it. This can be done in a few ways:

1)  Look at your first impression, telephone technique is vital. If you sound like they think a telemarketer sounds (robotic, salesy or dull) then it’s really not worth making the call. The first impression is vital. In western countries you should be friendly and familiar, so use the same tone you would use when calling a business associate you know.

2)     Make sure you only asked closed questions. This controls the conversation.

For more detailed information, our book Recruit, Train, Motivate has many suggestions as do the Top Telemarketing Tips website pages.

Hope this helps…Happy Telemarketing!

“I work for a home improvement company. I have a confirmation script we use 24 hours before the appointment. I was wondering if you had any free ones I could look at?”

The answer is “Yes”, I can show you a free confirmation script. But…. as always, I have to point out that getting an appointment to “Stand Up” or making sure that your client/s will remember to be available at the time you have set, involves much more than just having a good telemarketing script.

The first thing to understand is that when you confirm appointments, you will lose some of those appointments. It’s just human nature and therefore you should account for appointment losses as part of your planning process…. If we use a home improvement company as an example….

Mrs Smith has booked an appointment with your telemarketers a week ago. Your telemarketer then calls 24hours prior to the appointment and Mr Smith answers the phone. You try to confirm. But he has had a busy day at work, he wants a beer and to sit in front of the TV. He wasn’t as interested as Mrs Smith and thinks this is all a bit of a nuisance, so he says “No Thanks, we’re busy.”

In contrast, let’s say we don’t confirm the appointment.

If it was booked a week ago, there’s a good chance that something may have come up for the family, or that they have forgotten. However, if at the appointment time your Sales Consultant knocks on the door and says, “Hi, I’m John from ABC company. We have an appointment with you at 6pm tonight is everyone home?” Then there’s a good chance they will let him in and the appointment will go ahead…. it is very hard to say go away to someone at your doorstep and not so hard to say it over the phone to a telemarketer.

My point is this…. there are advantages and disadvantages to confirming appointments. Some of these can be overcome by timing your initial and your confirmation call well and by using assumptive language when you do call. This will often come down to the ability of the telemarketer to deliver the script well.

Follow these tips to get you aimed in the right direction:

• Always aim to book the appointment in the next 48 hours.

When you make the call to book the appointment always offer times in the next 48 hours. That way there is more chance of the client remembering the appointment and less time for other things to “pop up” that may seem more important to them.

• If the appointment has to be booked further in advance than 48 hours, then confirm about 24 hours prior to the appointment with the following script:

Hello, can I speak to Mr/s Smith please? Hi Mrs Smith this is John calling from ABC company. How are you today?

Great. Mrs Smith this is just a quick call to remind you that you do have an appointment booked with us tomorrow night at 6pm. Can I confirm that both your partner and yourself will be home and available at that time? (If at this stage you get “What is this all about again” questions, go back over your original appointment setting script.)

Great, can I just confirm your address is_______ and what is your nearest cross street? Excellent, we look forward to seeing you at 6pm tomorrow. Have a good night!

• If you will be traveling some distance to your appointment (or if you have Sales Consultants in the field who will need to travel some distance) then I always recommend confirming just before the appointment – say between 1-3 hours before, using the following script:

Hello, can I speak to Mr/s Smith please. Hello Mrs Smith, this is John calling from ABC company, how are you today? Just a very quick call to let you know the name of the consultant who will be coming out to see you tonight. His name is Kevin.

Can I confirm that both yourself and your partner will be home for that appointment at 6pm?

Great, Kevin will see you then. Enjoy the appointment!

Alternately, if you are confirming the appointment for yourself, you would instead say….

Just a quick call to let you know that I am on my way for our appointment this evening at 6pm. Can I confirm your address is_______________, and are both yourself and your partner home for the appointment? Great….I’ll see you soon.

You will notice that we always confirm that both decision makers will be present for the appointment, so that you/ the Sales Consultant has a real opportunity to sell. We also ask for the nearest cross street. We have found that by doing that we force the client to picture someone driving to their home, which helps them to commit the appointment to memory.

Our site has more information on how to book an appointment and a free script for Telemarketing to book appointments.

I highly recommend our latest report Top Telemarketing Scripts. This report is simple, concise and easy to put into action advise for anyone who uses Telemarketing in any way in their business. It is only $4.97 and focuses purely on how to write, implement and execute telemarketing scripts in any business. It’s a must have for anyone who wants genuinely great results from their Telemarketing campaign.

As always…

Happy Telemarketing!

• 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!

How do I write a script?
What is the correct formula?
Can you write a Script for me?
I have a script that isn’t working, what can I do?

The reason it is often tricky to answer these questions to your satisfaction, is that I can’t possibly know enough about your industry to write a script for you (without spending a couple of days with you). Although there is a formula for writing a script, you also need industry knowledge as well as an understanding of consumer behavior.

Our eBook – Recruit, Train, Motivate – has been written to give anyone who incorporates Telemarketing into their business a step by step guide on all things Telemarketing, including writing Telemarketing Scripts. For today, here is a very simple rundown…

Telemarketing Script Basics:

You must have an elementary understanding of why people buy. Without knowing how to best target your customer in a way that they will feel comfortable to them, you simply cannot formulate a script that will get results. You MUST spend a little time reading up on this subject. Here are just a couple of our pages that can help you:

• Consumer Behavior

• Good Communication Skills

Make sure you are clear on how to best utilize Telemarketing in your Sales Process. Read these pages to help you be clear on what is the best type of Telemarketing for your business.

• Telemarketing Calls

Now you need to add your understanding of why people buy and your unique knowledge of your business and it’s goals, to some basic sales skills. Read this page for more.

• Sales Skills

This page will give you the Telemarketing Script formula and a Telemarketing Script Sample that will give you some clarity and maybe a few ideas.

• Telemarketing Script Sample

Many people have also found these pages to be incredibly useful….

• Free Script Telemarketing

• Telemarketing Scripts

If you are prepared to put in a little time to get yourself clear on what works in Telemarketing and what process is best for your business, you will reap HUGE rewards!

Happy Telemarketing!

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!

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!

Yet others either find themselves in Telemarketing as a consequence of their chosen profession (like me) or do it because it is an easy way to earn income part time while you study or take care of a family. So, can these people have fun doing the work of a telemarketer?

I believe that not only can they have fun, but in fact they must have fun if they are to be successful!

4 Easy ways to have fun whilst Telemarketing:

1.              Work for a company you like, selling a service or product that you are proud of. Telemarketers who distance themselves emotionally from their product will not only sell far less of it, but worse still, they will find it really hard to love their work. Passion is fun! Boredom is not!

2.              Connect with your clients. Every “Hello” you utter should have a warm, familiar, friendly tone to it. When a client innately senses that you are a good, genuine person, they will respond well to you, making it easier for you both to have a phone conversation that you will enjoy. As a consequence, again, you will also get better results!

3.              Check your physiology. Sit up straight in a comfortable chair. Make sure you are smiling and looking up. Your physiology plays a large part in determining your psychology. So if you want to feel happy, take on the physical characteristics of someone who is happy.

4.              Know your stuff. Make sure you are very clear on what you need to ay and how you are going to say it. Confident people who know their stuff always have more fun in any job they do…. Telemarketing included.

Happy Telemarketing!

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

My vote is firmly for…..To Script! Let me show you why;

• A well written, tried and tested script will give you the same measurable result time after time
• A scripted call is easy to learn and to train others to deliver
• By having your words pre-chosen, you can now think about using the correct tone and timing as well as really listen to your client, rather than using brain power to think about what to say next!
• When you say the same thing every time it is easy to make small changes and measure their success
• When you have words that work, why re-invent the wheel?

Every now and then, there comes along a natural salesperson. A person who instinctively knows what to say, as well as when and how to say it. However, in my experience, these people are few and far between.

With this in mind, doesn’t it just make good sense to find words that work and then duplicate them? If I relied on telemarketers to find the exact right thing to say to close a sale, my business would suffer….endlessly! Particularly when you have new staff (and in telemarketing we frequently have new staff) it is simply not smart to let them take weeks, or even months of making bad calls until they, through a process of trial and error, get it right.

Instead, I provide them with a system that works. Then I train them to deliver all of the scripts correctly. Of course they will also add their own personality through their choice of tone and their level of rapport with the clients.

Many people object to scripts, saying they sound robotic. Anyone can sound robotic, with or without a script. A script is not intended to be read as a newsreader would, more delivered as an actor would.  The tone, tempo, and energy levels bring the words to life!

To put together a script that works is a process that is outside the scope of our discussion here. You can however find access to a lot of script writing tips throughout our site….this link is a good starting point for you.

Happy Telemarketing!

When hiring a manger to run a call center, I suggest that you look for the following attributes:

• Fun
• Positive Outlook
• Energetic
• Sense of Humor
• Organized
• Intelligent
• Basic Computer Skills
• Strong Phone Skills

You may notice that I listed strong phone skills last. I have actually found that being a top telemarketer themselves is not that important. Managing a team of telemarketers requires an understanding of telemarketing, but more importantly, it requires an endlessly positive attitude, good people skills and fabulous organizational skills.

My advice is always, hire the person with the right personality for the job – then train the rest! You can train management skills, computer skills, even phone skills…. You can put procedures and systems in place to ensure the call center runs smoothly…. But you can’t make a miserable person happy! So hire the happy person. That energy and enthusiasm will always keep spirits high in a telemarketing room. And happy telemarketers get better results!

So, what to do if you have a manager who isn’t getting the results you need? Firstly, evaluate them. Are they positive, bubbly, helpful, friendly? If not, you may need to find someone new. If however, they do possess these attributes, then provide them with training. My book, Recruit, Train, Motivate was written for this very purpose. It will help you with every aspect of running a Top Telemarketing room. You can also consider training courses run in your area or even one on one coaching.

Happy Telemarketing!