In spite of the legislative environment governing calls by the telemarketing companies, cold calling is still one of the best ways of qualifying sales leads and making a sale. It is impractical to assume your office will be mobbed by buyers unless you take the initiative to make contact. By using telemarketing calls effectively, you can attract more customers and expand your business.
Here are a few ideas that can increase the response rates of telemarketing calls:
1. Define the goal of the telemarketing call
The goal of a telemarketer’s first call is not to sell but to simply pave the way for a sale. The first conversation is about getting an appointment or getting some form of a positive response.
2. Know your target audience
Good market research should precede a telemarketing campaign. After defining the target audience, you should get details of the person or organization you will be contacting. By doing your research, you can align the service or product with the prospect’s requirements and make your call’s relevance come through.
3. Select an opening line for the telemarketing call
Prepare an opening line to commence the conversation. This avoids any mistakes and gets you focused. Don’t begin with “Is this a good time?” or “How are you?” These statements give call recipients the opportunity to excuse themselves and hang up. Your call should start with a greeting and address the person by name (preferably with a Ms. or Mr.). Follow it with an introduction – just your name and the organization you represent . From here it would be easier to move into a dialogue. Use your knowledge of their business to introduce your service or product as a likely solution for their business requirements.
Have the opening statement in your hand before before you dial the number. Don’t read it off the computer screen. Just use it as a guideline.
4. Prepare a script to refer to during the phone call
A script prepares the telemarketer for any questions or objections that may be raised by the prospect. List out the various advantages of using a product or service. Keep a “problem-resolution” card handy. When a prospect has a question, you’ll have a ready answer. This approach also projects confidence. The prospect feels she is communicating with an informed salesperson. Again, the script is for reference only, and not for reading verbatim.
5. Be precise in scheduling an appointment
Be specific when setting up a meeting. Ask “Can I meet you at 10 am tomorrow?” If it’s not convenient, the prospect will propose another specific time and day.
6. Respect every person you talk to
In telemarketing, callers often connect to assistants of the people who make buying decisions. Treat them with respect and remember their names for future communication. Winning their approval is a prerequisite to getting your message conveyed to the right people. Be polite in asking them for information or details of the person to contact.
7. Send promotional gifts – something small but distinctive
Sending a unique gift is an excellent way to make your business stick in a customer‘s mind. When they receive a call from you, they recognize you immediately by connecting your name with the gift.
8. Make cold calls in the morning
Mornings are a good time to call decision makers as they have more time at their disposal. Catch them early in the day rather than when they’re busy in meetings or other work.
9. Follow up repeatedly
Majority of the telemarketing calls show successful results only after the fourth or fifth conversation. In spite of this statistic, many telemarketers stop trying and give up after the second follow up. Be persistent if you want to see results.
10. It is definitely a numbers game
More calls you make the more you would sell. Let us be honest. Not every call would get you a sale or an appointment for further discussion. But make enough calls and some percentage will bring you success. Key is to continuously get better so that you can sell more with lesser number of calls. This is bound to come about if you keep calling the prospects and not get discouraged by negative responses.
The art of telemarketing gets better with practice. Proficient telemarketers have handled thousands of calls and a experience of handling varied set of customer responses. The key is to keep practicing and soon you would start to see success. Daljeet Sidhu is the author of this article.
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