Congratulations! Now that you have taken the steps to set your business up, it is time to spread the word about your venture. There are a million ways to spread the word about your business. There are multimedia advertising like in television, radio, prints and publication, as well as online, like in search engine advertising (Google, Bing), social media ads (Facebook, Instagram), email marketing, etc. In advertising your business, one of the most effective ways to reach out to your potential customers and close sales (mostly both at the same time) is through telemarketing. Read on for some effective pointers in marketing your business using the telephone.
What is Telemarketing?
Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a suite of services designed to increase a business’ presence, discover new leads, build contact lists, as well as make opportunities like setting up a conferencing appointment via direct conversations scheduled during the call with the potential customers.
Why Telemarketing?
Telemarketing is a cost-efficient way for any business to grow its prospects, promote and sell its products or services, update the customers, do market research and survey, and many other important aspects of the business. When outsourced, telemarketing is comparatively cheaper than any other marketing methods available especially if contracted in an offshore company. If you need to do it in-house, here are some tips that expert telemarketers used to convert calls into sales.
Telemarketing Tip #1: Use A CRM
Use a good CRM system. A call center customer relationship management (CRM) system is a software solution that provides callers with access to the customer’s account information and history. An automated CRM aids telemarketers by providing them up-to-date and relevant information during the call.
Telemarketing Tip #2: The Feel, Felt, Found Technique
Combat objections from your prospects in your cold calling campaigns by using the ‘feel, felt, found’ technique. Sympathize to them and let them know that you know what they feel and that you have the solution that is found to work.
Telemarketing Tip #3: Address Their Objections
Make your customers feel they are treated like how they want to be treated. Hear their objections, know their motivations, and most importantly, identify their needs and then address them accordingly.
Telemarketing Tip #4: Realistic Objectives
Study your market well, their experience, as well as what they think and value. Set realistic objectives based on these factors.
Telemarketing Tip #5: Honesty
Be honest to your customers on the phone all the time, the best approach there is. You don’t want to be found lying when closing or after a sale.
Telemarketing Tip #6: Always Smile
When talking on the phone, always smile. People will know if you have a smile on your face based on the intonation of your voice.
Telemarketing Tip #7: Be Prepared
Prepare yourself before doing your calls. Study the details of your products, your target market, existing competitors, your pitch, and the problems your product solves or the opportunities your service creates.
Telemarketing Tip #8: Realistic Target
Do you know how many calls you can do in an hour or how many appointments you can close in a day? Set a realistic number of what you can achieve so you will not be overwhelmed.
Telemarketing Tip #9: Write Your Spiel
Know your customers' possible objections and prepare your spiels (or best answers) for them. This way, you will not get caught off guard and fall apart while in the middle of a call if the prospect gives you a question you do not know how to respond to.
Telemarketing Tip #10: Get Automatic Dialers
If ever you decided to use a CRM, get a CRM that has automatic dialers or has a 1-click dialing feature like Skype. This will maximize your calling time and reach more customers by the hour.
Telemarketing Tip #11: Open Your Calendar
Make sure your calendar is open and ready so you can immediately set up a schedule for a visit, meeting, or conference.
Telemarketing Tip #12: Read Between The Lines
Understand what is not being said. Read between the lines of what your prospects are saying. If you’re unsure, it never hurts to clarify to make sure you are on the same page.
Telemarketing Tip #13: Sound Like A Professional
Whether you are calling a B2B or B2C campaign, make sure you sound professional on the phone with a good speaking voice, pace, and tone. Mirror your prospects' manner of speaking if you can, but not to the point they will be offended.
Telemarketing Tip #14: Good Call List
The best asset you can have you achieve success on your cold calling campaign is to have a good source of potential leads. Secure a good call list. Make sure it is free of duplicates and errors before calling to avoid irritating the person on the other line.
Telemarketing Tip #15: Be Motivated
You are what you sell. People will buy what you sell if you can sell yourself well. Motivate yourself and when you’re on the phone, make sure it comes across.
Telemarketing Tip #16: Be Confident
Like being motivated, be confident too. It radiates over the line regardless of where in the world is your prospect. Expect to close a sale and you might just will.
Telemarketing Tip #17: Listen
In telemarketing, you have one mouth for talking and two ears: one is to hear and one is to listen.
Telemarketing Tip #18: Do Your Follow-Ups
When you set a schedule for a follow-up call with your prospects, chances are that they will expect your call at that set time. Make sure you do your follow-up on time.
Telemarketing Tip #19: Words Adds Impact
Make your words work for your advantage. Evocative and compelling words like huge, massive, significant, dramatic, and so on, adds impact to your message. Just don’t go wild. Use it in moderation.
Telemarketing Tip #20: Timing Is Everything
Time is of the essence. The best calling time is before 9 am and after 5 pm. Schedule your calling time to make sure you can get a hold of the decision-makers.
Telemarketing Tip #21: Summarize
For each call, summarize your conversation with your prospect to ensure that you have listened and understood their objections before you go and sell your products or services.
Telemarketing Tip #22: Be Patient
Telemarketing takes a lot of time and a handful of perseverance. In other words, when doing telemarketing, be patient.
Telemarketing Tip #23: Go Straight To The Decision-Maker
Don’t just pitch to anyone who will answer the phone. Prequalify. Ask for the decision-maker.
Telemarketing Tip #24: Great Questions
Whenever you ask questions, make sure you ask the great ones, the ones that will encourage the person on the other line to talk and give you the information you need.
Telemarketing Tip #25: Diary
Have your diary or paper and pen ready at all times, even if you have CRM software installed on your computer. Make sure you jot down concise and good points including the customer’s language, style, and key information to help you close the sale.
Summary
We hope you like the first part of our telemarketing tips and ideas collection series. We know you will be able to use them to help you drive your message across the phone. To make the most out of your leads and marketing budget, don’t sweat yourself and check out our B2B and B2C Telemarketing offerings, only here in Cube & Arrow Inc. With our knowledge in telemarketing and through the aid of our expert virtual assistants and call center agents, you can be sure we can help you hit your goals for your business with a higher satisfaction rate.
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