Telesales is a strategy that
is almost as old as the
telephone. And despite all the
technology that has evolved
through time, telesales is still
considered an effective way to
make sales and close deals.
However, through many years and
many instances of bad telesales,
this marketing strategy has also
raised the ire of a significant
number of would-be consumers.
After all, who wants to be
called in the middle of a busy
or relaxing day only to be
heckled by a complete stranger
into buying a product or service
that you probably wouldn't need
in a hundred years Telesales is
what inspired the Do Not Call
lists, and registries all over
have grown to impressive
lengths. This is also why there
are new reforms to telesales
practices that are now being
implemented today.
Don't Sell Directly Over the
Phone
Now, this may not make sense -
telesales is selling your
product over the phone, right
Not necessarily. The first
reform to telesales is to not
sell you product. The first
thing that will irritate a
potential customer is finding
out that the person on the other
end of the line is trying to
sell them something. So, don't
sell.
What do you do, and then You
look for leads. Instead of
trying to sell them the product,
announce your intention of only
asking a few questions, if the
customer has the time. You
introduce the product to the
potential customer, asking
questions such as whether
they've heard of the product
before, what product do they use
instead, why they like the
product. This, of course,
depends on what your product or
service is all about and what
information they need. The trick
here is to keep the potential
customer interested.
Don't Push
As soon as the potential
customer shows no interest, or
more to the point, objects to
the call or gives you a flat out
rejection, the best thing to do
is back off. Don't push your
customer or try to convince them
otherwise. Don't call them at a
future date, either. Aside from
disturbing the customer further,
perhaps enough to elicit a
lawsuit, it is only a waste of
your telesales time. There are,
after all, many other numbers
you can still call.
Keeping a record of these
non-interest numbers will also
save you a lot of time in the
future. What's more productive
is keeping a record of all the
interested parties who are
willing to speak to you at a
future date and whom you will
eventually convince to meet with
your sales representatives to
close a deal or sale.
Don't Go For Quantity
Whilst it may seem like sound
business sense to get as many
sales as possible, with the
amount of numbers in your
prospective list, it is actually
impossible to expect sales from
even 75% of the list. The
important thing is to find the
numbers that will generate
business for your company and
with the reforms to telesales;
this can be achieved with care
and consideration for the people
you call.
You should also try to know more
about your product or service,
when you make these calls.
Interested customers will want
to know more about the product
and will want to ask questions.
Keep them interested by giving
them what they want and need.
Follow these reforms and you'll
find a raise in your sales,
without irate customers slamming
the phone on your ear.
Source: John Cole
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