I love telemarketing – not often you hear that I’m sure. But there are a number of us. So here’s my top telemarketing tips – I’d love to hear yours! I really must point out at this point – I love telemarketing for other businesses! I’ve never actually tried to do it for myself – maybe that’s a challenge to set myself when I’m feeling particularly courageous!
It’s not the telemarketing per se – it’s the human interaction, the conversation, helping people. Remember, we all have something that others are in need of.
Perhaps I could add that there are not many people that like telemarketing for their own business! Am I right? So here are a few simple techniques you could try:
- Smile when you are calling – they really can tell whether you are! It puts you in a better mood too and puts a friendly tone into your voice – try it!
- Ask for help – everyone likes to be helpful. With just a hint of ‘not being sure’ can bring someone round to listening and being helpful.
- Be assured – if you know who you want to speak to (because you’ve done your research already) be assertive. Ask for them by name, present it as a ‘done deal’ it’s going to happen.
- Be succinct – state at the beginning that it will only take a couple of minutes of their time, is it convenient to talk – and then only take a couple of minutes.
- Have a script – I don’t mean a word for word story to tell but the main points you want to get across.
It’s that personal rejection that I believe puts people off so being a third party puts a very different spin on it. When I’m calling people I’m talking about someone else, another business, so the rejection is not taken personally.
One of the things I always consider when getting rejected – a No is not Never – it’s just not now. This enables you to offer alternatives such as call back at a later stage, send them a link to specific information, give some relevant information pertaining to their sector or just politely say ‘thank you for their time’. Sometimes, you just don’t want to continue the conversation yourself if they are not being receptive, friendly, interested or indeed polite!
What’s your experience and what’s your top tip that works for you?
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