People often ask, “Is telemarketing still effective in today’s business?” The answer is, absolutely! We will explain how to make your telemarketing effective, but to first understand why telemarketing is still effective you can check our study on Why You Should Still Cold Call in 2020.
Phone calls may seem old-fashioned, but with the right methods and tips, you’ll turn leads into clients easily.
Digital marketing experts say that Americans see on average anywhere from 4,000-10,000 ads a day. We are so used to seeing ads on coffee cups, cars, buildings, etc, that we have become immune. We hardly register that we are seeing ads most of the time. This explains why cold calling is so effective. It’s not an ad that you walk past without a second thought, it’s human interaction.
Telemarketing only works if you know how to use it. Learn how to use the golden rules of B2B telemarketing!
You should know that less than 20% of sales are made within the first 4 calls to a contact. However, 80% of sales are made between the 5th and 12th call. Persistence and time are your friends in the telemarketing industry!
When it comes to making an impression and making a sale, connecting with your potential customers is all about appealing to their human factor.
Your prospects are people, and they make both business and personal decisions based on emotional, social, and rational factors. To gain their business, you need to build a relationship and a level of understanding that online outlets won’t allow. This is why telemarketing can be so successful.
Effective telemarketing leads to good business because it:
Successful telemarketers show empathy, have human characteristics, and give personal attention, which persuades the prospect to develop his or her own interest.
Usually, there are 3 objectives to every successful telemarketing campaign.
Now that you know the 3 must-haves for successful telemarketing, you can get into the nitty-gritty of how to achieve these objectives by creating effective telemarketing and leads.
There are 3 critical research topics to understand before calling.
Once you understand these things, you can make calls with confidence.
Effective telemarketing icebreakers are anything that will draw the prospect’s attention. You want it to be the first thing you say, so you can immediately get their attention. Here are a few icebreakers to consider using in your sales calls:
You will not stand out in a sea of telemarketers if you sound and act like a “typical telemarketer.” This means disregarding a formal greeting, calling prospects, and immediately reciting your sales pitch, not giving them room to talk, and then asking if they are interested. This telemarketing tactic is outdated, overused, and doesn’t take into consideration that the recipient of the call is a person, not a sale. Don’t be a typical telemarketer.
Since people can’t see your non-verbal cues, you must overcompensate with your voice. You want to portray a ‘warm’ tone. There are four effective telemarketing strategies to remember on your sales calls that will warm up your cold calling:
Think of people you trust in your own life. You probably trust your doctor, your friends, your spouse, but why? Could it be that you trust them because you know them well and they know you well? Could it also be because they have your best interest in mind? Most people would say yes to both.
It’s the same when it comes to selling. To create that trust you need to build trust, which takes time. You will also need to listen to the prospect and cater to their needs. This is the language of trust.
It doesn’t get more straightforward than that. You will hear “NO” much more than you hear “YES”. Be aware of this, but don’t let it discourage you from telemarketing. Understand how to handle objections before you start calling, so you will be prepared.
Want to learn how to improve telemarketing sales? Then know the difference between sympathize and empathize.
Sympathizing is when you try to show your understanding of someone’s situation when you have never experienced what they are experiencing. Empathizing, however, is when you show understanding to someone’s situation because you have experienced what the other person is going through.
When you actively listen, you will be able to empathize and show understanding of the specific needs that need to be met and you will be able to gain their trust as well.
It’s hard to sell something to a customer when you don’t use/believe in the product or service. So, remember your company has a product or service that will make their life better in some way and it’s your job to empathize with them and let them know that you understand their need for the product/service because you also needed the product/service.
Know your objective at each call and use the appropriate script. For instance, on the first call, you aren’t going to want to use the sales pitch script. You will use the introductory script, letting them know who you are, what company your work for, and what services you provide. Review your scripts and be sure you have effective telemarketing scripts for different circumstances. Here are just a few examples:
Vague questions will get you vague answers, therefore, effective questions will give you effective answers. Ask questions like:
These questions tell you about the person, their company, and what their needs are at the company. This will be useful information to use for the next call or meeting.
The best of the best have learned to use mistakes as learning tools and so can you! Mistakes teach us what didn’t work and narrow down the list of what could work. To help you avoid the mistakes before they happen take a look at the 12 most common mistakes in the telemarketing industry:
The more numbers you call, the higher your chance of selling. Did you know that only 3% of the market is actively buying, 56% are not ready, and 40% will be ready to purchase in the near future? This is why aiming for a high number of calls is important. Go get that 3% with these cold calling techniques!
If you didn’t know already there are rules and regulations on telemarketing. The DNC or Do Not Call List is likely the most enforced telemarketing rule in America and Canada. Tools like the free do not call scrubber make it easy for telemarketers to comply with the DNC list. Simply register for a SAN number with the National DNC, get the DNC list and your telephone list and import them in the scrubber. The scrubber will run your telephone list against the DNC list, so you can begin calling without the hassle of checking the list yourself.
The gatekeeper is anyone who does not make the purchasing decision. The objective is to always speak to the decision maker, however, occasionally you will have to get past the gatekeeper. The best way to do this is by politely asking if you can speak to the decision maker or asking for a way to contact them directly at a time when it’s convenient for them.
Never disregard or disrespect the gatekeeper because they might have more say in the decision than you think. Also, you want to represent your company well, by respecting everyone you meet.
The traits of successful telemarketers that you need to sell are the same skills you will need to learn for life. Here are just some of the effective telemarketing skills that you will need:
When securing a follow up there are four strategies that are important to remember:
Have your message prepared before the call, include your name, as well as what time you called, and make it short! Also, give them a way to contact you and an incentive for them to call back, while also not pushing the sale.
Here’s a tip on how to get them to call back: Don’t include the company name. They will be curious as to what company called them. This doesn’t always work but it’s worth a try!
Turning cold leads into sales-ready leads takes these three tactics:
Market Funneling: The idea is to call all prospects, and separate the mildly interested parties in a different bracket and target them from repeat calls until they become interested and ultimately a paying customer.
Dream Prospect Centric Training (DPCT): Separating the most sales-ready leads, based on statistics or factors such as age, average income, location, etc. Then you create priority levels for each group.
Direct Marketing: Direct marketing enables businesses to directly communicate with potential customers through an array of advertising channels such as email, SMS, websites, and online ads, among others.
You can greatly improve the usefulness of your telemarketing list by segmenting them. In another article, we discuss the 8 ways to guide your segmentation. See the shortened version here:
By using these segments you can determine better tactics for selling to them and it gives the sales person a better understanding of each prospect.
Marketing influencers will answer the most pressing questions and give insights you’ve been dying to know like:
Some of the marketing influencers you should start following, if you aren’t already, are Donald Miller, Ann Handley, Nancy Bleeke, and Joe Pulizzi. These marketing influencers post relevant and applicable content daily…and since you’re likely already on social media, might as well get up-to-date on your industry as you scroll through your feed.
Why not let the computer handle those repetitive daily tasks? After all, it would save you time and time is money!
Cloud-based software like the Dolphin Power Dialer has the ability to send emails, SMS text, and pre-recorded voicemails with just a click. Another automation feature that the Dolphin offers is moving on to new calls when no one answers or when a number is disconnected. Imagine how much time you could save, using automation.
There is an art to doing telemarketing right. These tips will help get you most of the way, but there are other factors to consider, like where you get your list from.
Learn how to find the best list for you, because after all, You Are Only As Good as Your Call List!
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. Why You Should Still Cold Call In 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/why-you-should-still-cold-call-in-2020/> [Accessed 8 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. 4 Ways to Warm Up Your Cold Call. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/4-ways-to-warm-up-your-cold-call/> [Accessed 6 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. What Makes a Telemarketing Campaign Successful?. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/what-makes-a-telemarketing-campaign-successful/> [Accessed 8 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. Telemarketing Services 101: Winning the Trust of Your Customers. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/telemarketing-services-101-winning-trust-customers/> [Accessed 5 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. Lead Targeting Strategies to Create Sales-Ready Leads. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/lead-targeting-strategies-to-create-sales-ready-leads/> [Accessed 6 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. 4 Telemarketing Follow-up Strategies that Always Work. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/4-telemarketing-follow-strategies-always-work/> [Accessed 7 February 2021].
Business Residential Telemarketing Phone List | USA | Canada. 2021. 3 Critical Research Areas for Your Telemarketing Database. [online] Available at: <https://www.telephonelists.biz/blog/3-critical-research-areas-telemarketing-database/> [Accessed 6 February 2021].