Consider the Role of the Telemarketer
In a very brief space of time their role is to explain why they’re calling, engage interest and provoke enough intrigue for the person on the other end to keep listening. It’s pretty much the analogy of an ‘elevator pitch’ where in the time it takes for an elevator (or as we Brits call a lift!) to travel its distance, you need to have explained your proposition and gained interest from an often busy decision maker. A telemarketer has roughly 30 seconds to get their point across and if they fail, the opportunity will have gone.
Now consider having to do this 20 or more times a day, with people you’ve never spoken to before, trying to sound human every time and not coming across as a ‘typical salesperson’. Being able to achieve this is no mean feat and the much maligned telemarketer has to be able to step up to the plate every time and deliver their best. Now, we’re not looking for any sympathy here. When you become a telemarketer you know exactly what you’re getting into and it’s how you can hone your skills to become better at your 30 second pitch that is so important when it comes to getting those conversions. This is why successful telemarketers do so much preparation.
To master their pitch, telemarketer’s have to:
Know Their Audience – through a process of segmentation, profiling and customer insight, telemarketers do their homework first to find out about the company they’re ringing, who the decision-maker is, and how their proposition will fit their needs. When it comes to telemarketing, knowledge really is power. The more you know about the business you’re ringing, the more you can relate, adapt your approach and align the message.
Know Your Subject and Throw Away the Script – none of the above can be achieved with a script. Every customer is different and if you try to stick to a script, you will come across as stilted, unnatural, forced and insincere. Good telemarketers, who have done their homework, know all about the product and service they are talking about and how to think on their feet, be conversational and strike a rapport. For any telemarketer who is involved in B2B telemarketing, they know that to create a meaningful dialogue with a new prospect you have to be a good listener as well as a speaker. You have to pick up on what the customer is really saying and be able to adapt your style and approach accordingly to elicit the best response.
Add Value and Set Priorities – successful lead generation will often need more than a simple phone call. It will most likely involve a degree of warming up the prospect with content, listening to the prospect carefully so that you can follow up with further content via email and provide them with added value information. Your timing has to be right too. Hitting your prospects at the right time in their buying cycle and sending them information that will enable the decision-making process is all part of having a good strategy to nurture your prospects. Getting past the gatekeeper is a key part of this. Being blocked by receptionists and PAs is the bane of many a telemarketer’s life but with the right strategies and an ability to get them on your side, good telemarketers know how to bypass gatekeepers and speak to the person who can actually make the decisions.
What makes an Outstanding Telemarketer?
No telemarketer has ever learnt the above skills overnight. Good telemarketers can get leads or appointments, but outstanding telemarketers get more! Outstanding telemarketers work really hard and are supported with expert training which has helped them to hone their technique through role plays and to improve their performance through listening to recordings of their phone calls. An outstanding telemarketer will know the importance of immersing themselves in the company they are appointment setting for and making sure that they have a comprehensive understanding of their products, services and ethos. Outstanding telemarketers will always learn from the feedback they’re given and be able to take on board best practice approaches and new ideas. An outstanding telemarketer will know that an opportunity can be gone in 29.99 seconds, and they will always do their level best to make sure this doesn’t happen!
Just so you know GCL Direct only employ outstanding telemarketers (#justsaying).
