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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Telemarketing – Using Call Center Metrics To Improve Your Telemarketing Efforts

Application of scientific methods to any operation can help make it systematic and measurable, bringing in an element of control to the process. telemarketing campaigns can also be put to experimentation to see if the measures are working out fine and yielding good results. Based on the outcome, proper steps can be taken to improve the process and make it more effective.

A scientific experiment consists in framing a hypothesis in form of an informed and educated guesswork. This hypothesis can then be put to test by adjusting variables and measuring results against a control. The guesswork can then be systematically streamlined and replaced by better and proven methods of campaigning.

Here are a few tips on how to go about improving a telemarketing campaign using the experimental method:

Refer to previous campaigns to set standards. Campaigns undertaken in the past by the same company or even a different one can be used as guides to set standards for subsequent operations. In doing so, both the methodology used and the results obtained can be studied to establish a benchmark and prepare a framework for running the campaign. This is how knowledge in the form of past experience can be used to add value to the campaign.

Experiment with different scripts and compare results. The guiding script ideas for a telemarketing call can be tweaked and tried with different approaches. By varying the areas of emphasis, level of aggression in closing a deal, degree of persuasion etc. and the optimum measures of the aspects can be reached. Comparing the results of the various approaches can prove to be immensely helpful.

Track the performance of telemarketing callers. The telemarketing caller is the single most important variable that determines the success or failure of any given campaign. Analyzing the results of each of the callers will not only help single out the best callers to bank on them but also to get rid of the poorest callers who are liabilities rather than assets to the company.

Figure out the time of the day when calls are most effective. Depending on the characteristics of the product and the prospective customers for the same there has to be some time of the day when the telemarketing calls happen to be most result bearing. This can be figured out by simply varying the time slots to make the calls and then comparing the results to see which time is most suitable.

Reach out to the right audience. Connecting to the right target audience is by far the most important decision to be made in telemarketing calls. This can be fine-tuned only by examining the response rates of various sections of the audience. The caller list can be broadened if the number of positive responses is high till the rates start to diminish substantially. By maintaining a proper record of calls to various segments, the most responsive groups can be singled out and focused.

Tweak price levels to evoke positive response. The success of a call depends to a large extent on the pricing model of a given product or service. On the other hand, it can also prove to be the greatest hindrance in evoking a positive response from clients even if the initial response to the call has been good enough. If competitive pricing is making a huge difference in the volumes of sales, it is worth taking the risk. Higher volumes can make up for the concessions offered.

Identify whether problems relate to the product or the process. Negative results can broadly be traced back to either the product or the process. One can try different methodologies to the same product or same approach to different products to be able to find out where the problem lies. Telemarketing companies with huge capacities can run multiple campaigns to draw appropriate feedback and put things in order.

The method of scientific experimentation had transformed the very thought process of human beings through its systematic approach. These tried-and-tested techniques can also be fruitfully used to revolutionize telemarketing campaigns and enhance sales.

Grab vital tips about the topic of Business Promotion – go through the web page. The times have come when concise info is truly at your fingertips, use this possibility.

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