How to Telemarket For Leads

Contributor

By Michael Motta
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(12 Ratings)

Telemarketing Cubicles

Telemarketing is one of the more grueling jobs out there. Unfortunately, I was good at it and ended up supervising and managing. In this article you will learn how to telemarket for leads, especially mortgage leads.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Do not call registry plan
Lead sheet
Spiel
Politeness
Persistence
Punctuality

Step 1

Do not call registry and calling lists. Make sure that the firm for whom you're generating leads has an appropriate plan in place for dealing with Do Not Call laws. This should apply to any calling list that you use.
Step 2

Develop a simple spiel. Your spiel should contain the name of the company you're representing, your name and your purpose. The one I settled on:
"Hi, I'm Michael with [name of mortgage company], and we're conducting a free analysis, the purpose of which is to lower your interest rate."
Step 3

Have a good lead sheet. For mortgages, your lead sheet should contain at least spaces for client name, address, phone number, current interest rate, balance due, approximate value of home, income(s), best time for a loan officer to call back, and the rough one, the Social Security number (for pulling credit).
Step 4

Be polite. Be courteous but don't sound like a robot. Simple human decency and some warmth in your voice will do. I tended to find that the people who responded most readily to mortgage telemarketing were "folksy", so speak with candor and don't try to be slick. Remember if you're generating leads as opposed to actually brokering loans, it's all about gathering information, not selling a product, so you're better off helping the potential client feel comfortable with sharing than you are putting him/her into a corner. Hold a conversation. Don't push the Social Security number, just ask for it and then if you're given some guff, explain that it's for pulling credit in order to find out what rates are available to the client. If that doesn't work, just skip that part and let the loan officer handle it later.
Step 5

Be persistent. More often than not, the person who holds the mortgage or might want to be a first time buyer isn't available. When you only get an answering machine, try calling at a different time (usually later). If a different family member answers, ask what might be the best time to try back. Sometimes the person you want answers, but they're "too busy." Again, ask for the best time to call back. Don't just leave your own call-back number as this leaves the ball in their court. You want to get them to give you a fairly specific time and day for you to call back.
Step 6

Be punctual. Be prompt and timely when calling back, even though your client may not be so punctual. If you've already spoken with a client, when you do call back, be sure to immediatly establish a connection with the last time you spoke. Remind the client that you spoke on such and such day and that he/she asked that you call back on this day and at this time. You've already made one cold call, you don't want to push your luck with two. Sometimes it takes weeks or even months to reach a person again, but keep trying since you already have your foot in the door.