Cold Calling – Tips To Turn Into A Proficient Telemarketer, Make Calls Effective And Get Results

In spite of the laws restricting calls by the telemarketing services, cold calling is still an accepted means of generating sales leads and making a sale. It is unreasonable to assume your office will be mobbed by buyers unless you take the initiative to sell to them. By using telemarketing calls effectively, you can attract additional customers and enhance your business.

Here are a few tips that can improve the response rates of telemarketing calls:

1. Define the goal of the telemarketing call

The goal of a telemarketer’s first call is not to sell but to just create an opportunity for a sale. The first conversation is about setting up an appointment or getting some sort of a positive response.

2. Know your target customer

In depth market research should precede a telemarketing campaign. After defining the target audience, get details of the individual or company you will be contacting. By doing your research, you can align the service or product with the prospect’s needs and increase the relevance of your call.

3. Select an opening statement for the cold call

Prepare an opening line to begin the conversation. This avoids any mistakes and gets you focused. Don’t begin with “Is this a good time?” or “How are you this morning?” These statements give call recipients the option to terminate the call. Your call should start with a greeting and address the person by name (preferably with a Ms. or Mr.). Introduce yourself by giving your name and the organization you represent.

If you do this, it would be easier to take the conversation further. Use the information you collected on their business to present your product or service as a likely solution for their business needs. Jot down the opening line for reference before making the cold call. Don’t read it from your notes. Just use it as a reference.

4. Put together a script to refer to during the phone call

A script prepares the telemarketing agent for any questions or objections that may be raised by the prospect. List out the benefits of using a product or service. Keep a “problem-resolution” card handy. For every question the prospect may ask, you’ll have a ready response. This approach also projects confidence. The prospect feels she is communicating with a knowledgeable salesperson. Again, the script is for guidance only, and not for reading verbatim.

5. Be specific in suggesting a time for a meeting

Be specific when setting up a meeting. Ask “Can I meet you at 10 am tomorrow?” If it’s inconvenient, the prospect will propose an alternative but specific time and day.

6. Be polite to the people you talk to

In telemarketing, callers often connect to secretaries of the decision makers. Treat them with respect and note down their names for future communication. Getting on their good books is critical to getting your call forwarded to the right people. Be polite in asking them for information or details of the person to contact.

7. Send promotional gift items – something small but distinctive

Sending a unique gift is an excellent way to make your business stick in a customer’s mind. When you call them the next time, they recognize you immediately by having a recollection of the gift.

8. Make telemarketing calls in the morning

Decision makers have more time and energy in the mornings. Catch them early in the day rather than when they’re snowed under meetings or other work.

9. Be consistent in following up


Studies indicate that telemarketing sees success only after the fourth or fifth follow up call. In spite of this statistic, some telemarketers throw in the towel after the second follow up. Be persistent if you want to see results.

10. It is a numbers game indeed


Chance of making a sale goes up with each call. Let us be honest. Not every call would get you a sale or an appointment for further discussion. But if you make enough calls, some percentage will bring success. It is important to continually get better so that you can sell more with lesser number of calls. This is bound to come about if you keep calling the prospects and not get demoralized by negative responses.

The art of cold calling improves with practice. Capable telemarketers have under their belt, thousands of calls and a experience of handling wide-ranging set of customer responses. Keep at it and soon you would start to see success.

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Helping Your Business To Grow By Hiring Sales People

One of the things that businesses ought to consider is hiring sales people so as to aid sell their goods and services. This becomes something of interest if a business is interested in growing and creating a part of the business accountable for making sales. A marketing salesman will have several different skills that the standard person does not possess. Here are some of the reasons as to why hiring sales person would be a genuinely good idea.

1. A Marketing salesman is well versed in the way to sell. They understand the importance of studying the product, prospect, client, and the market. They know the psychological buttons that get people to make the purchasing decision and could come up with a carefully crafted sales presentation to get leads to buy.

2. Hiring sales people allows you to focus “on” your business rather than “in” your business. You are not helping your business move forward by spending the whole day making appointments, making cold calls, and attempting to sell your product or service to a potential customer. It is a better idea to leave this job to the marketing salesman so that you can focus on activities to grow your business.

3. Salesmen are extremely motivated by their job. They have studied the art of persuasion and most of them are passionate about selling. However, you would have to hire somebody who is self motivated and excited about your business if you are seeking to get the most out of hiring sales people.

4. Marketing salesman understands that they’re going to get paid according to sales and commission; you could relax knowing that you would pay them based on their performance. You do not have to worry too much about having a lot of upfront capital so as to create a sales army.
Remember that in several cases you will have to pay by the hour in addition to commissions. However, the investment into paying a marketing salesman’s salary is fairly low for the returns which you could get. It’s certainly a wise business decision.

You have the opportunity to grow the expertise of your staff and reward the best performing salesmen. By educating and aiding your team, you will be able to increase your sales and revenue. You could even reward the best performing salesmen and even use them to train others in your team. This would create a strong environment which could grow into a very profitable part of your business.

Sales people have a set of strategies they follow. They will organise everything from scheduling calls to planning appointments to following up. It’s a necessity for salesmen to have these skills as it is crucial to their success. These strategies permit them to find new prospects, generate interest, create a relationship, and turn the prospect into a client.

In conclusion, hire a marketing salesman is a good decision for your business. This is particularly true if you are selling a product that is not the easiest to explain, if other advertising mediums are too expensive, and you want a cost effective way to generate sales.

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