Advice for Telesales

By Adam  |  4 Sep 2015 15:00:00

One of the most commonly known forms of marketing is telemarketing. Almost everybody has had the experience of sitting at home, not expecting any body to call them and having the phone start to ring. They answer the phone and find that it is somebody who is trying to sell them something. They're calling on behalf of a business and they're hoping to get you to buy something from them or to subscribe to a service of theirs. Sure, it might seem annoying when it happens, but everybody is familiar with it because everybody does it because it is effective.

So what can you do if you are doing telesales for your business? Well, there are a few things to keep in mind while talking to your prospects. Of course, you should always be friendly and polite, that's a given, but it's also worth acting as if you know the person. Use their name and mention your name, as if it's something they should recognise. Though there may not have been any interaction with them before, acting like there was will make them wonder about that while they talk to you and while they're wondering if they know you, you'll already have wooed them with your charming voice and excellent product. To help provide this friendly sense of familiarity, it might be worth using LinkedIn (or other online services) to try and find out a little more about the person or the business that you’re contacting. This bit of knowledge will make the prospect feel that they are not being approached out of the blue with a cold call and that they must have had some business with you in the past.

Furthermore, if you don't get to talk to the person you were hoping to, you could always ask whoever you do get to talk to for the person's email address; that way you can still send them an email which introduces them to your business. Also, when you get to the end of the call, it's worth asking the person whether or not they are on Twitter, if the answer is yes then you can tell them you'll follow them; everybody likes new followers and they may well follow you back in return; if they don't and you don't want to otherwise keep them as someone you follow, just discreetly unfollow them a little later. But if they do follow you, it will create an ongoing connection between you both and encourage them to buy from you in future.

Of course, what you say about your product itself is going to depend on what your product is, but don't be afraid to talk about how you're better than the competition and how good your prices are. I hope this gives you some inspiration with your telesales and that you'll have a lot of success with this marketing scheme.