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Answer Upon - Some Thoughts On Effective Telemarketing
There are a whole load of resources you can find on 'motivation'. Books, tapes, internet etc. Yet it need not be so complicated...Recently, I had the opportunity to show appreciation to someone. I was really surprised to hear back from her the following, "Are you being sarcastic?" It turned out that she had never been appreciated. No one had ever said a simple "Thank you" to her.That's it this week, notice good work and say thank you.When?When can you apply this? Well, it's easy to apply it to everything you see good in people and their performance. But, if it's been something you haven't made a habit of in the past, you need to be a bit smarter than that, to avoid your people wondering what's going on - ev
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.<
Criteria ElicitationThis is without a doubt the most important persuasion skill that you can learn. If you’ll learn to apply this to every situation in which you find yourself you’ll be amazed at the positive results! Many of the hypnotic skills I’ll be sharing with you have a parallel in old sales training techniques. This one is no exception! Lets say that you are needing to convince someone to do something, accept something, or behave in a certain way. You will need to communicate with their powerful subconscious to get your desired agreement. Once a person’s subconscious “buys in” to what you are proposing they will just naturally seem to come over to your way of thinking. The question then becomes “how do I get my message to the person’
The reality is though, if we have confidence in our products, solutions and services, we owe it to ourselves and to our company to tell as many people as possible. I have always taken the view that if a prospective client rejects my proposal, then they have lost out on dramatically improving their business. A positive and confident mind-set is essential for successful telemarketing and cold calling.
So what are the rules?
Plan & Prepare:
Make sure that you are prepared for the call:-
• Have all the relevant documentation to hand.
• Prepare a ‘script’ including everything you wish to ask. Use bullet points not sentences.
• Familiarise yourself with the “script” - practice, write down your agenda and be direct.
• Keep the opening of the conversation simple, but say something interesting, try using a prime desire statement to “grab” their interest so they’ll want to hear more.
• Explain why you are calling.
• Question - use a variety of questioning techniques i.e. Open, Reflective, Direct, Hypothetical, Exploratory etc.
Set Yourself Goals & Clear Objectives (Primary & Secondary):
Consider - what is the purpose of the telephone call? (aim high but realistic)
• Is it to inform?
• To establish a need?
• To obtain an appointment?
Never attempt to sell your product or services over the phone (unless you are in a telesales role)
Never make a statement you cannot back up.
Remember to Discipline Yourself - Don’t Be Deflected
Ensure That You Have The Right Information:
Never assume that the information you have is correct:
• Confirm you are talking to the right person.
• Confirm they have the authority and not just the title.
Be informed
• Know the industry they operate in.
• Who else have you helped in that industry?
• Tell them.
Reaching The Decision Maker:
Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right.
Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach.
When to call: If you keep a call log of all your calls, you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker (e.g. traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call).
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.<
I remember the early days of my fundraising. I was an aspiring Winter Olympian and a young man inexperienced in the ways of the world - let alone the fine art of fundraising. After struggling financially in my first two years of competition, I realized I needed to devise a new plan for fundraising.Initially I began the same way as any amateur athlete would: I put together a nice portfolio full of wonderfully spun phrases on how I was going to be an Olympian and all I needed was the support of ABC Corporation. I followed up and followed up and had conversations with many people who thought what I was doing was great - but they had no idea who I was and had little interest in supporting an unmarketable amateur athlete.Had I continue
Plan & Prepare:
Make sure that you are prepared for the call:-
• Have all the relevant documentation to hand.
• Prepare a ‘script’ including everything you wish to ask. Use bullet points not sentences.
• Familiarise yourself with the “script” - practice, write down your agenda and be direct.
• Keep the opening of the conversation simple, but say something interesting, try using a prime desire statement to “grab” their interest so they’ll want to hear more.
• Explain why you are calling.
• Question - use a variety of questioning techniques i.e. Open, Reflective, Direct, Hypothetical, Exploratory etc.
Set Yourself Goals & Clear Objectives (Primary & Secondary):
Consider - what is the purpose of the telephone call? (aim high but realistic)
• Is it to inform?
• To establish a need?
• To obtain an appointment?
Never attempt to sell your product or services over the phone (unless you are in a telesales role)
Never make a statement you cannot back up.
Remember to Discipline Yourself - Don’t Be Deflected
Ensure That You Have The Right Information:
Never assume that the information you have is correct:
• Confirm you are talking to the right person.
• Confirm they have the authority and not just the title.
Be informed
• Know the industry they operate in.
• Who else have you helped in that industry?
• Tell them.
Reaching The Decision Maker:
Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right.
Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach.
When to call: If you keep a call log of all your calls, you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker (e.g. traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call).
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.<
It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed up by a wealth of positive PR, but if your staff are not all pulling in the same direction this could be the biggest leak in your plan.Want a more in-depth guide to internal and customer communications, plus a CD-ROM with software with advice, additional content and links to helpful sites?Buy 'Marketing your Business' todayFirstly, everyone need to be able to get accurate information, so ensure that you have a good computer network (or better still, a fully-fledged Intranet) and routinely store the latest versions of documents where everyone can access them.Keep all staff that have any exposure to customer AT WHATEVER LEVEL aware of new campa
Consider - what is the purpose of the telephone call? (aim high but realistic)
• Is it to inform?
• To establish a need?
• To obtain an appointment?
Never attempt to sell your product or services over the phone (unless you are in a telesales role)
Never make a statement you cannot back up.
Remember to Discipline Yourself - Don’t Be Deflected
Ensure That You Have The Right Information:
Never assume that the information you have is correct:
• Confirm you are talking to the right person.
• Confirm they have the authority and not just the title.
Be informed
• Know the industry they operate in.
• Who else have you helped in that industry?
• Tell them.
Reaching The Decision Maker:
Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right.
Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach.
When to call: If you keep a call log of all your calls, you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker (e.g. traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call).
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.<
Classifying business by sector* The primary sector comprises firms involved in extractive industries, such as mining, fishing and forestry.* The secondary sector comprises businesses involved in manufacturing, such as the car industry and firms producing personal computers.* The tertiary sector consists of organisations in the service sector, such as universities, banks and the travel industry.In the UK, the tertiary sector has been growing in importance whilst the secondary sector has been declining. The primary sector is very small indeed in the UK.Classifying firms according to their sizeFirms are often classified according to their size. The size of a firm can be measured in terms of:* The value
• Know the industry they operate in.
• Who else have you helped in that industry?
• Tell them.
Reaching The Decision Maker:
Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right.
Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach.
When to call: If you keep a call log of all your calls, you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker (e.g. traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call).
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.<
There are many ways available on the net to publicize and evolve your business, but, one of the cheapest methods is to use online press release websites, as many of these offers free of cost or low-cost PR options.With online press release one can simply reach the significant online community. PR web-sites offers article submission database of free content and reprint articles. Publishers, who are in quest of free reprint articles and the business community who wants to shoot their business, can make best use of this significant resource to enhance their marketing weapon.Online PR is a unique way for your content to reach huge mass of people without spending too much money. Actually, many online PR sites allow submitting press release
Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.
Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk!
As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.
Close With A Commitment - Keep That Commitment:
If the commitment is to an appointment then always confirm in writing but,
- Be Brisk
- Be Polite
- Be Immediate
Some General Tips For Successful Telephone Communication:
- Always dial the number yourself.
- Ask for the contact by name, i.e. “Mr. Smith” please.
- If speaking to his/her secretary you may use the contact’s first name as well.
- If asked who is calling use your full name.
- If asked the name of your company don’t be afraid to give it.
- If asked why you are calling, tell them.
- If they are not available, say you will call back and ask the most convenient time.
- If they are on another call, do not stay on the line.
Telephone Qualification Process:
The following is a list of areas you need to incorporate into your ‘script’ with some suggestions as to how you may find out the answers, however the secret to good telephone communication is to make it yours, i.e. your language, your terminology, that way you will feel confident and this will be apparent to the person you are calling.
Responsibility/DMU (Decision Making Unit)
Who should I be talking to regarding the purchase of?
Who else would be involved in such a decision?
Money
When do you believe a budget will be made available for such a purchase/project this year?
What do you envisage that budget to be (i.e. is it realistic).
Is the budget dependent upon anything?
Implementation
When is this purchase required to be completed by?
Is there a particular reason for this timescale? (Are they realistic?)
Competition
Who else are you talking to?
How did you choose them?
Expertise
What are you hoping to achieve? (Is it within our capabilities?)
Commitment
I feel I understand what is required and that we can help, I’d like to discuss your requirements further face to face, would Thursday or Friday next week be suitable?
Some Rules for You to Remember:
Always Smile - It projects a warm personality which is non threatening.
Always Be Enthusiastic - It’s infectious.
Stand Up For The Important Call - You will sound more decisive, more authoritative and it expands the diaphragm.
Always Plan Your Call - Be prepared, know the reaction you are aiming for.
Copyright © 2006 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved
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