Telemarketing
A key part of prospecting is a technique that will help you to build more sales in an ever-effective cost conscious way, and that is by telemarketing. No, I am not suggesting you sit in your office until 8pm each night calling hundreds of prospects, as they do with carpet cleaning or Sillybank Credit Cards. What I am suggesting is a way you can get cleverer at prospecting.
There are six easy steps:
Step One: Sizing Up
Be aware that prospecting is a numbers game. There will only be a small percentage that you are successful with in getting to the next round. But you have to make the phone calls to get the business. Estimate how many calls you are going to make to predetermine your number of appointments. Research has found that if you make twenty calls, you can expect to set up two qualified appointments if your telephone technique is up to scratch.
Step Two: Prepare to Flex
Set up a telephone script that you are comfortable with in the same way that a body builder has a set routine. The prospect needs to know three things that you must have a standard answer for:
1. Who you are
2. Why you are calling
3. What you can do for them.
Step Three: Start to Flex
If the script is in black and white in front of you, you can develop a consistent, successful approach as you become more experienced. Do not be afraid to try new questions (poses) to impress the prospect and improve your overall routine.
Step Four: Hold the Spotlight
Stay on track; do not let your prospect drift all around the place. Remember you are on centre stage, so stay there. Be absolutely courteous and polite and use their name constantly.
Step Five: Titillate the Audience
Concentrate on selling yourself on the telephone. Build up trust and warm the listener to you. Handle objections without too much emotion or drama and maintain a strong but calm act of communication. Be prepared to listen.
Step Six: Win Through to the Next Round
Sell the appointment not the product or service. Telephones are goldmines if you dig in the right places. Most competitors in what ever competition have to win through a few rounds to make it to the finals. You will have to make a lot of telephone calls before winning through to an appointment round.
Using the correct technique requires a great deal of practice and patience. Like any athlete, your telemarketing skills must be built-up and fine-tuned over time.
Continued in Part Ten
Part Nine - Prospecting for More Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Lawrence Atkinson's Website.
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Lawrence Atkinson
(Visit Lawrence's Website)
Lawrence specialises in sales training and
sales coaching, with over 20 years
experience as both a trainer and a coach.
He has lived and worked in the UK, Europe,
the Middle East and more recently the
Pacific Islands. He is a Fellow and
former Director of the Australian
Institute of Training and Development and
holds Fellowships with the Australian
Institute of Company Directors, the
Australian Institute of Management, and
the Financial Services Institute of
Australasia. He is also a Justice of the
Peace.
His many experiences in a variety of sales
situations present an interesting
background for his training and coaching
interventions and provide Lawrence with an
ability to relate to and train people at
all levels, across a variety of cultural
and industry settings. This includes, for
example, training and coaching business
owners and managers, senior relationship
managers, business banking managers,
financial advisers, retail sales people,
electrical sales engineers, accountants in
PNG, new Australian exporters, importers
and exporters in Fiji, and a video
production company in Bahrain!
A Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, he
loves to work with people to see them
succeed.
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