Telephone Marketing

Telephone Marketing is a method of direct marketing in which a sales person solicits to prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.

Be Natural – Use the Right Equipment

It has been proved in many businesses that customers respond better when the seller (telemarketer) is talking naturally i.e. not holding their hand to their head (holding the phone), or balancing the phone on their shoulders, etc.

To compensate, headsets are extremely useful for allowing you to talk more naturally on the phone – as if you were talking to them face-to-face being able to use your hands, etc.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practising before you begin your telemarketing campaign will pay off allowing you to build your confidence and rectify mistakes early on: role plays are ideal. Of course, your skills and confidence will develop more through experience, but practising will give you a head start. Listen to yourself on a tape recorder – would you develop an interest?

Don’t Go Blank – Use Notes

Stick notes to your desk, phone or wall to help ‘jog’ your memory for persuasive words, phrases, discussion areas, etc. There is nothing worse than pausing to collect your thoughts and comments when trying to sell over the phone: be ready to reply to anything.

Avoid Insulting the Customer

Obvious, right? Well, people do it without even realizing by using comments like "did you understand that?" and "are you following what I’m saying?". This automatically shrinks the customers’ intelligence and ability to catch on. It is down to your own ability to make the customer understand and therefore if you feel the customer is failing to do so, use comments such as "did I explain that clearly" and so on.

Give the Customer a Friend they can Trust

Make customers feel as if they are talking to a friend by making yourself come across as the person that everyone wants to know. Be friendly, be concerned, assure them, praise them – anything that makes them develop a sense of trust: trust goes a long way.