10 Easy Steps to Start with Telemarketing

When first starting out, telemarketing can feel very intimidating. It is common practice to anticipate that potential customers will be impolite and/or hang up the phone at every available opportunity. There is a worry that you will become tongue-tied at an inopportune time during the conversation or that you will become stuck for words during an important part of the exchange. There is also the possibility that you will be unprepared to answer challenging questions when they arise. This is another risk. Telemarketing that is done professionally between businesses can be an extremely effective way to generate sales opportunities and drive revenue. Therefore, good callers are worth significantly more than their weight in gold. However, it’s highly unlikely that they began their lives as high achievers. They were required to make their very first call, just like beginners are expected to do when they first assume any role. They almost certainly had a positive attitude and high energy levels, both of which are prerequisites for success; however, just like every other cold-caller, they had to begin at the same point.

The question now is, what is the most effective way to carry it out while avoiding making a complete mess of the calls? Please find below our 10 quick tips for getting started with telemarketing. 

Don’t Sound Like a Telemarketer. 

Telemarketers who are successful project an air of ease and comfort and communicate in a manner that is natural. Calls that are stiff and scripted don’t get a response from potential customers. The more you use stock introductions like “How are you today?” and over-rehearsed lines, the more likely the prospect is to identify you as an ordinary telemarketer from the very beginning of the conversation. Therefore, make an effort to soften your initial approach so that you sound more genuinely interested and interesting, and you’ll notice that the conversation flows much more smoothly as a result.

Play the Numbers Game. 

There is no escaping the reality of the situation. You’ll never do any business with somebody that you haven’t called first, presuming that potential customers won’t just walk up to your door and ring your bell. Therefore, you need to make a sufficient number of calls to ensure that the odds are in your favor. That calls for maintaining concentration while avoiding getting sidetracked by other activities. A good rule of thumb for business-to-business (B2B) telemarketing is to make 100 calls in a day that is 7 hours long. To assume that this is true in each and every circumstance is, however, fraught with risk. If you’re having conversations that are really engaging with people, the ratio could drop to 70 calls per day. If you live in a city that relies heavily on voicemail, then you should be well into the 140 calls per day range.

Planning is Everything. 

The answer is that straightforward. Especially when it comes to dealing with data, preparation is absolutely essential. The single factor that is most responsible for derailing telemarketing efforts is the presence of inaccurate data. Because of this, part of the pre-call planning that you do ought to involve determining and honing in on your target market. This may require you to purchase or build a list of decision-maker job roles in the appropriate locations, with the appropriate size of business and sector with which you can trade profitably, and, ideally, where you can showcase examples of your previous successful work.

Work out What Floats Your Prospect’s Boat. 

Why should they make the effort to communicate with you? What do you have that they require that they are unable to provide for themselves? If they already have a supplier for what you provide, why would they choose to work with you? If you provide responses to those questions, you will receive improved results. Don’t wing it and make it up on the spot. Even though scripts can come off as stilted, it is imperative that you are clear on the purpose of your call as well as the benefits it will provide to the prospect. Therefore, conduct some research on likely challenges or issues, and then weave those into your reason for calling the customer, in order to engage the customer from those important first few seconds of the call.

Get Some Training. 

Okay. This is just a quick advertisement for our various training courses. You probably would benefit from some guidance on techniques to enhance results, especially if you are not experienced in telemarketing and the various approaches that can be taken. Not everything comes easily or without effort. It’s in their job description to talk a lot. On the other hand, the good ones are adept at listening. There are many different aspects that go into making successful cold calls, and having the appropriate training can significantly increase the likelihood of being successful in this endeavor.

Wear Some Armour. 

The process of telemarketing is not simple. You need to develop some resilience to the negative feedback you receive. If you don’t, it will become a task that is progressively more difficult to complete. This endeavor is not for those who lack courage. If you want to achieve great success, you must have a strong focus on your goals. The prize is very important for success, but getting there won’t be easy at all. Therefore, you must acquire the ability to deal with rejection and move on to the next possible opportunity. After all, the subsequent prospect is completely unaware of the events that transpired during the previous call. Therefore, give yourself a good scrub and begin again.

Handle Objections. 

It’s not a question of if, but when there will be roadblocks. It’s likely that the most successful telemarketers got the most “no” answers. They definitely acquire the ability to acknowledge and accept criticism. They eventually become accustomed to them and devise strategies for overcoming the negative effects of these spoilers. You won’t be able to get through to the decision-makers or gatekeepers because they won’t want your services. Work out likely objections and prepare answers as far as possible. Objections shouldn’t catch you off guard, and if you’re prepared for them, they shouldn’t halt the progress you’re making over the long term.

Build Momentum. 

The efficiency of call processing is improved when good data and systems are combined. We cautioned our clients that telemarketing is a numbers game, and to a significant degree, this is accurate. In the same vein, making an adequate number of calls enables you to build your warm call-backs, which ultimately become your sales pipeline. If you have been making a sufficient number of calls over a reasonable period of time, then a good percentage of the calls that you make each day will be call-backs at times when the prospect is either expecting your call or when contracts are due to be renewed. The momentum that you build up as you go along paves the way for future results as a direct consequence of that momentum.

Motivate Yourself to Motivate Others. 

Why would a customer do business with you if you’re boring and boring people don’t do business with boring people? Because it is a challenging job, you need to maintain a positive attitude and an upbeat tone when speaking with potential customers over the phone. After all, they have no idea that the call that came before them was a complete failure. Each call is a fresh opportunity to conduct business. Therefore, keep a positive attitude and begin each call in a constructive manner so that the client will feel compelled to start a conversation with you rather than hanging up on you.

Ask Good Questions. 

The ability to ask insightful questions is critical to achieving successful results. This is a skill that is so important in sales, yet it is so underrated. The most successful salespeople diagnose problems rather than make sales pitches. They ask a combination of open and closed questions in order to demonstrate interest, to obtain the information they require, to guarantee that the prospect speaks more than they do, and to guide the prospect toward further conversation, which hopefully will result in a sales opportunity.

Obviously, the aforementioned knowledge and advice are not the only ones required to take you from being a novice to a successful player. It won’t have an overnight impact on the results you get. You will, however, increase your chances if you put into practice the concepts that underlie these suggestions. And, if you devote the time that these components require, you will see your results improve.

The General Services Administration (GSA) assists businesses in becoming more effective in their marketing and business development efforts. In addition to assisting small and medium-sized businesses to navigate the complex landscape of available marketing options, we manage outbound telemarketing campaigns. We offer guidance and assistance to ensure that they make the best choice possible and spend their money wisely. If you’d like to know more, give us a call.