10 Great Tips for Successful Outbound Telemarketing

Even though it’s not popular, outbound telemarketing is one of the best ways to grow a business. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be hard, and you don’t have to force potential customers to work with you. To use telemarketing to help your business grow, you need to learn how to show your clients and potential clients what you can do for them.

Telemarketing and telesales are not the same things. The second one is about trying to do business over the phone. On the other hand, telemarketing is all about trying to make things happen. It can be used for market research (like asking decision-makers what they think) or just to get accurate information for other marketing methods (like getting the name and e-mail address of a decision-maker for targeted e-mail marketing).

If you’re a little nervous about doing telesales, telemarketing is a great way to learn how to make cold calls without having to worry about how often you’ll fail. Just remember what marketing expert Zig Ziglar said: “Fearful salesmen have skinny kids.” You and your business will do well if you can sell with confidence.

10 Tips for Successful Telemarketing

Have a Plan

Before you start telemarketing, you should make sure you know what you want to get out of it. If it’s collecting email addresses, you may be able to get them from the first point of contact (the person who answers the phone) at a small or medium-sized business. If you want to talk to someone who makes decisions, you’ll need to find a way to convince the first person you talk to (and maybe the second, if they have a secretary or PA) to put you through.

Have a Script

Once you know what you want to do, you can write a small script or a few scripts that will help you do it. For example, if you want a few specific e-mail addresses, the script could be:

“Hi, my name’s Sally. I’m calling from XYZ, a company that makes logos. I’d like to tell your marketing manager about our services in an email. Could you please give me the name and email address?”

Your script tells you how to handle the first part of the call. It doesn’t have to be followed exactly, and you’ll probably change the words a bit from call to call. It’s just there to help you remember what you want to say if you get stuck.

Speak Slowly and Clearly

When you first start cold calling, it’s normal to feel a little nervous. Unfortunately, that nervousness can cause you to blurt out your script instead of saying it in a way that the person on the other end can understand.

When you’re done, letting your arms fall to your sides can put pressure on your diaphragm and help you slow down. If you speak at a more natural pace, you’ll sound more real. When doing business, being honest works well. And it feels good, too.

Be Prepared to Have a Conversation

The other person might have some questions for you. You should be ready to talk with them about any problems or worries they may have. If “make a call, get an answer, hang up” was all there was to telemarketing, it would be a much faster way to market, and we wouldn’t need to write much more about it here.

Be Prepared to be Told “No” or “No, Thank you”

In fact, the answer is sometimes even ruder. Don’t let it upset you. If you’re sure of yourself, you can try to argue your case nicely, but sometimes “no” really does mean “no.” Think about it from the other point of view as well. You don’t always say “yes,” do you? Don’t worry about it anymore. Thank the person for their time and try again another time. To be successful at telemarketing, you have to be very persistent.

Handling the Gatekeeper

Receptionists at companies are often told not to let calls go to managers or directors. They are also often taught not to give out information over the phone.

If you’ve tried a few times and can’t get past the gatekeeper (that first point of contact), you can try to go around them. Here are two strategies for this:

• Call either half an hour before the business opens or half an hour after it closes. Many receptionists only work during the company’s official hours, but many managers and staff work before and after these hours.
• Request a person higher up the corporate food chain. The author discovered that calling a company and requesting to speak to someone on their helpdesk was one tactic that really worked well. Helpdesk employees are frequently eager to assist customers because it is part of their job description, even though they are not trained to keep gates closed. 

There are other ways to get past a gatekeeper, but they take much more confidence to succeed. When you are completely comfortable with telemarketing, you might want to look into these extra tactics.

Always End a Call Politely

Always thank the person on the other end for their time, regardless of whether you get what you wanted or not. If you’re not polite, it might take several calls to get what you want, and people won’t remember you in the way you want them to. First impressions are lasting, and you are only as good as your last call. You should be courteous throughout the entire call, of course, this almost goes without saying.

Always Take Action on Your Calls

Make good on your promise to send promotional materials. It is best to send it immediately. You should never wait past the end of the working day, according to the sundown rule. If you waste their time or leave them hanging while they wait for unfulfilled promises, they won’t likely use your services again. And they can tell others about you.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t give up if the first call isn’t perfect; it may take some time to get used to telemarketing before you feel completely at ease with it. Keep in mind that the worst thing that can happen is that someone will tell you “no,” which leaves you in the same position as before you made the call. This leaves you with nothing to lose by making the call.

Obey the Law

In the majority of nations, there are no laws that govern the practice of telemarketing to businesses. However, before you begin telemarketing, you should check with your legal representative to ensure that this is the case in the area in which you live before you get started.

Because of the potential for this to be interpreted as telemarketing to consumers, many regions of the world have very stringent regulations that govern the practice of telemarketing. If your clients are small home-based businesses, you need to exercise extra caution. Telemarketers who disregard this information run the risk of facing legal repercussions such as fines and other penalties. Before moving forward with your telemarketing efforts, you should invariably seek the advice of an attorney on this matter.

The Take Away

In order to further a sale or to carry out market research, telemarketing is often used in conjunction with other forms of marketing. It is not the same as telesales, despite the fact that the terms are frequently and confusingly interchanged in written material. 

If you stick to a method and put in some effort to hone your skills, becoming an effective telemarketer in a short amount of time won’t be nearly as difficult of a challenge as you might think.