If it's done properly,
telesales is an effective way to
help your business grow. This
series of articles sets out some
of the basics that can make the
difference between being one of
the best or one of the rest.
Maximise your prospecting time -
Start Early - Finish Late.
It's too easy for some people to
make excuses as to why the
prospecting day is very short
e.g. People don't want to be
disturbed by sales people before
10:00 (they need to settle into
the day first). They might be at
lunch between 12:00 and 14:00 so
we can't call then. 14:00 to
16:00 should be OK, but after
that the prospect's thoughts
will be on what's for dinner or
what's happening in the evening,
so there is no point in calling
then. The list of excuses is
endless.
The reality is that people's
working patterns and start and
finish times vary enormously and
so to generalise is
counterproductive. Treat your
prospect list as though it has a
sell by date attached to it and
maximise the time that you spend
prospecting. It is quite often
more productive to call early in
a morning before the
"gatekeeper" arrives, because
then the decision maker is more
likely to answer their own
phone. The same is true during
lunchtimes and after your
prospect's secretary or p.a. has
left for the evening.
Qualify your prospects at
maximum range. Too many
telesales people waste large
amounts of time chasing suspects
without establishing whether
they are serious prospects. Do
not fall into this trap;
establish at an early stage
whether they are a Prospect or
merely a Suspect. (The
difference between Suspects and
Prospects has been covered in
one of my previous articles - 4
More Ways to Improve Your
Sales).
Don't take rejection personally.
In any type of sales, rejection
is a part of the job and you
have to be able to distance
yourself from it. Remember that
the person is saying NO to your
company or your product not to
you as an individual. The
problem you encounter with
telesales is that it's easier to
say No to someone over the phone
than it is when you can see the
whites of their eyes; therefore
your hit rate in telesales is
likely to be lower than in face
to face selling.
Ask for referrals from your
regular very satisfied and
delighted customers. The best
time to do this is straight
after you have made a sale and
whilst they are still on a
psychological high.
Cultivating advocates is another
good source of prospects.
Recruit them carefully from the
same group as your referrals.
Train and reward your advocates,
make sure that they understand
exactly what you do and how you
do it, they are unlikely to be
comfortable talking to others
about your company unless you
do. Always take the time to
thank them and give feedback on
the status of their referrals.
Call them and then follow up
with an e mail, a card and/or a
gift. Feeling appreciated goes a
long way.
Strike while the iron is hot;
prospects and referrals go cold
very quickly; aim to follow up
within two days of receipt,
otherwise you take the risk that
when you do call they will not
remember you.
Remember this saying:-
Some will... Some won't... Never
mind... Move on!
Don't agonize over the ones who
are too short sighted to
appreciate what you have to
offer.
This article has only been able
to cover part of the telesales
process, if you have found it
useful, please check out the
other articles in this series,
they are:-
How to excel at Telesales
Techniques to Improve Your
Telesales Success
Be Brilliant at Cold Calling and
Watch Your Telesales Soar
Make the Initial Approach Count
in Telesales
Source: Bernard
Richards
link