I picked up the ringing phone the other day. "Hello?" I said. Then I sat in shock as I heard on the other end, "Hello, my name is Jim and I'm calling from XYZ Co.

We are a full service communication provider and we're offering clients a very special promotion on our satellite television services. If you sign up with us today you can receive our full service for just $25.00 a month for the first three months. What's more you won't be charged a sign up fee.
Now before you say 'no' I'd like to take a moment to remind you about all the great features of our service..." He went on and on and on and didn't give me the opportunity to say a single word. Finally, he took a breath and I was able to decline the offer.

Jim of XYZ Company (the names are changed to protect the guilty!) shares a misconception among many telesales services professionals about the purpose of the opening dialogue.

This telesales article is going to talk about what that opening dialogue is for. Note that it doesn't matter if you are working for individual sales leads or business sales leads, this truth remains the same.

Telesales services opening dialogue?
Many people assume the opening dialogue should be like a Gatling gun: firing off all your bullets at once in the hopes that one or two will hit the target. It's ineffective and, like Jim's opening dialogue, almost comical! It gives the impression that the telesales "professional" doesn't care about the sales leads' time.

Why is it like this? It's because many people feel that they have a bunch of things they need to say and they're expecting their telesales leads to say "no".

So, you're asking me, if that's not the case, what is the purpose?
Telesales requires patience and should be aimed at opening a dialog, not just making a quick sale. The aim is to generate interest; to whet the appetite; create interest; and to develop a little intrigue. Ultimately, the purpose of your opening dialogue is NOT to try and sell the product. The purpose of the opening dialogue is to get the customer to say three simple words:

"Tell me more".
So when you are faced with outbound telesales - a list of business sales leads numbers to dial, and you're just getting ready by crafting the opening dialogue, what do you put at the beginning? The answer is simple: just enough to have them say to you, "Tell me more."

Here are some examples that Jim could have used on me:

"Did you know that you're not getting all the channels you could be getting?"
"Did you know that you're paying too much for television?"

"Did you know that the average home pays $3 per channel per month? I can show you how to pay half of that."

Inbound and outbound telesales services could be one of the most profitable ways to increase your sales leads.

Whether you're dealing with housewives or mechanics, students or CEOs, personal sales leads or business sales leads, you only want to accomplish one task with your opening dialogue: get them to say three little words to you... "Tell me more."

Source: Claudine Waskowycz link