How to Improve Telemarketing

Improving on telemarketing techniques includes evaluating current sales techniques and building on what works best.

To improve telemarketing success, you must utilize proper preparation techniques and communication skills. Planning out your telemarketing tactics in advance of making calls helps you optimize your communication to improve sales conversions. Furthermore, having an efficient communication strategy allows you to better connect with potential customers and stay in charge of the conversation.

Instructions

1. Prepare your telemarketing strategy in advance. Ask yourself questions such as "What do I want to achieve with this call?" and "What communication strategy is best to achieve this goal?" Then, develop these ideas in outline form, such as with a bulleted list. This will help you stay focused and efficient during the call.

2. Set daily goals and stick to them. Your goals should include the number of telemarketing calls to be made, as well as the success ratio you wish to achieve. This keeps you from being discouraged and giving up due to unsuccessful calls. Stick to your call quota every day. If you then find that your sales success ratio is not up to par, you can begin to develop more efficient communication strategies with each new call.

3. Guide your telemarketing conversations by asking the customer questions. This keeps your conversation from coming across as a bland sales pitch. When your conversation is driven by questions, the customer feels empowered and in charge of the conversation. This makes the customer more open to your product or service.

4. Grab the attention of the customer by piquing his interest about your product or service. Avoid generic leads such as "I'm calling to inform you..." or "Can I interest you..." Instead, use the conversation to connect with the customer's personal interests. Make the customer feel like he is the only person on your calling list, and that your product or service is especially catered to his needs.

5. Do not waste any call opportunity. If you speak with a screener, be polite and inquisitive to find out useful information about the potential customer or business. Keep this information on file to engage the customer at a later time. If you speak with a customer who remains uninterested, inquire about information that may be beneficial to your business or colleagues in other telemarketing opportunities.

6. Record your telemarketing conversations. Review unsuccessful calls and consider better communication strategies that could have led to a successful call. Also review successful calls and consider what tactics led to the call being successful. Optimize your telemarketing strategy by developing these successful tactics while learning from the unsuccessful ones.

References

• Sales Vantage: Seven Ways to Improve Your Telemarketing Success
• Business by Phone: 42 Telesales Tips You Can Use Right Now to Get More Business and Avoid Rejection
• All Business: Telemarketing Tactics