Regardless of what some people may feel about telemarketing or 'cold calling', it is still one of the most successful marketing methods to generate new interest and convert sales to leads. For many businesses, a telemarketing campaign helps them engage their target audience and gain valuable information needed to progress their company. However, to start a telemarketing campaign, you need to outline a strategy to help you get the best outcome possible.
Below we have devised ten expert tips to support you in getting success with telemarketing, whether you are starting a campaign alone or working with an external company.
1. Talk to the right people
Often telemarketers are faced with a gatekeeper who has the power to screen their call and determine whether or not you will get the chance to speak to their boss, the decision-maker. Therefore, it's vital to not sell to the gatekeeper as you will be wasting your time. Instead, you can build a rapport with this person and extract as much information as possible from them that help you with the call.
2. Ask Questions
Asking questions to the person on the other end of the phone will help you keep them intrigued and engaged in the conversation. Often when a telemarketer allows for pauses or breaks in the monologue, the person you are speaking to will use this as an excuse to hang up. Hence, the more conversational it is, the more likely you are to reach your call's objective.
3. Use clean data
A successful telemarketing campaign should start with good clean data to save yourself time and money. For example, using old data or having irrelevant data with people on it that will have no interest in the product or service you are selling can waste time and resources while also slowing down the campaign.
4. Record and analyse the calls
Recording and analysing calls gives your client transparency and confidence in you are representing their company. By listening to past calls, you can hear what works well and correct the areas that don't, which will help the process be more efficient.
5. Do not hard sell
Hard selling is a sales technique of being direct and forceful with the message you are trying to sell. By taking this approach, you can quickly alienate the person on the other end of the phone. Instead, try to take a soft approach by focusing on the benefits of the product or service you are selling and encourage another call.
6. Have objectives to work towards
It is vital to know your client's specific goals as this will save both companies time. For instance, these objectives could increase knowledge about your target audience or increase sales and enquiries. By knowing your goals, you can set targets and easily measure and evaluate the campaign results.
7. Knowledge is power
Knowing the product or service you are trying to sell is essential to answering any person's questions on the phone. The decision-maker is more likely to listen to you if you are knowledgeable in their sector.
8. Avoid leaving voicemails
Sometimes telemarketers will get an individual's voicemail. It is recommended not to leave one as it comes across as impersonal, and the person will more likely than not delete it. However, if it is a missed call, the individual is likely to call back out of curiosity, and this is a way you can spark interest and sell the service to the caller.
9. Don’t list benefits of the service or product
When someone on the other end of a call is being presented with a list of benefits to why a service or product may be useful for them it can be overbearing and put them off. A more effective method is to create questions to determine whether it will of true value for the prospective customer, which will help you not waste time for you and for them.
10. Make the script your own
Many telemarketer companies insist on following a script to the letter to ensure you don't say anything wrong or miss anything out. While these are essential factors, it is important not to sound rigid because the customer is likely not to retain any of the information and therefore not buy into the service or product you are selling.
To find out how we at JEM can best help you, let’s talk about your business and your goals, then we can see whether JEM can help you achieve those goals with our telemarketing expertise! Contact us now on 01933 271717 or email at JEvans@jemmarketing.co.uk.
To find out more about how JEM can use their telemarketing expertise to help your business grow, then please visit our website here.
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