Training for Telemarketing Operators

Telemarketers use the telephone as a tool to generate sales.

Telemarketing operators use telephones to locate prospective customers for their employers and move prospects through the process of making purchase decisions. Training for telemarketing operators is much the same as training for any other direct sales position, but the use of the telephone as the main communications tool introduces specific challenges and requirements to the job, slightly altering training curriculums as well. A comprehensive training system for your telemarketers can boost your sales team's productivity.

Product and Service Competency

Telemarketers must know the products and services they sell inside and out. It is not enough for a telemarketing salesperson to spout off a memorized sales pitch; telemarketers must be ready to answer any and all follow-up questions prospects may have in a thorough and informative manner. Telemarketers are often asked to take product catalogs home with them to familiarize themselves with the product and service lines they will be dealing with. Quizzing trainees on their knowledge and tying incentives into increased competency can bring your trainees up to speed quickly.

Sales Pitches

Telemarketers either read precisely from pre-written scripts, use scripts as a loose guide or create their own sales pitches on the fly. Entry-level telemarketing positions generally require employees to stick to a script, allowing them to improvise a bit after they prove their skills and experience. Telemarketers must be trained and tested in their ability to read a script accurately and fluidly so that they sound like they are speaking naturally.

Practice makes perfect with reading sales pitch scripts. Have trainees take turns reading scripts to each other, and simulate sales calls by having trainees give sales pitches to trainers over the phone.

Communications Challenges

One of the most difficult challenges of telemarketing is the fact that a number of prospects are likely to respond very rudely to telemarketers, becoming loud, insulting or vulgar. Telemarketers must possess the ability to treat a customer kindly and courteously while the customer is angry and rude. If telemarketers are not sufficiently trained to deal with irate customers on the phone, they may not last more than a few weeks on the job. Many telemarketing employers downplay the negative aspects of telemarketing jobs, which is why they experience such high employee turnover rates. Confront this issue head on by playing recordings of conversations with rude customers and role-playing challenging situations with trainees.

Conflict Resolution

Some telemarketing operators deal solely with prospects, while others must handle existing customers as well. Training in conflict resolution is essential for those who take calls from existing customers. Telemarketers should be familiar with the full range of possible complaints customers may have, and they should have prepared remedies on hand to defuse any situation quickly.

References

• Business by Phone Inc.: Forty-Two Telesales Tips
• Sales-Class.net: Twenty-One Telemarketing Training and Telesales Tips