42 TELESALES TIPS YOU CAN USE RIGHT NOW TO GET MORE BUSINESS AND AVOID REJECTION

By Art Sobczak Telemarketing, telesales, cold calling ... whatever you want to call it (and I'll use the terms interchangeably), the professional use of the phone in sales is a process, not a goofy technique or gimmick. We're going to travel through every part of the professional telesales- telemarketing call, in order, discussing proven tips that can help you right now. Let's go! PRE-CALL PLANNING 1. Have a primary objective for every telemarketing call, defined as, "What do I want them to DO as a result of this call, and what do I want to do?" 2. Prepare questions for your telesales call using your call objective. Ask yourself, "How can I persuade them to take this action as a result of asking questions, as opposed to talking?" Remember, people believe more of their ideas than yours. 3. Also have a secondary objective for each telephone sales call...something you'll strive to accomplish, at minimum, every time. Pick something you'll have a reasonably good chance to succeed with, such as, "Getting their agreement they will accept my literature and place it in their 'Backup Vendor' file." This way, you can enjoy success on every call you place, and that does wonders for your attitude. BEFORE REACHING THE DECISION MAKER 4. Treat the screener as you would the customer--this person determines whether or not you'll even have a chance to speak with the buyer. 5. Gather as much information as you can from whomever you are able, prior to speaking with your prospect; busy decision makers get bored when they have to answer your basic qualifying questions. Use the "Help" technique: "I hope you can help me. So I'm better prepared when I speak with Ms. Big, there's probably some information you could provide me..." 6. Before cold calls, think of a good reason for needing to speak with the decision maker, and be

prepared to sell this to the screener. What they're thinking about you: "Does this person have anything of interest, or of value for the boss?" 7. If leaving a message on voice mail, or with a screener, be certain it offers a hint of a benefit/result that sparks curiosity, but doesn't talk about products/services.

INTEREST-CREATING OPENING STATEMENTS 8. The objective of your telemarketing opening is to pique curiosity and interest so that they will willingly and enthusiastically move to the questioning. You must answer, "What's in it for me?" for the listener, or they will immediately begin the getting-rid-of-you process. 9. Don't use goofy, resistance inducing phrases on your telesales call, like, "If I could show you a way to _____, you would, wouldn't you?" The only decision you're looking for in the opening is the one to continue speaking with you. 10. When cold call prospecting, don't start the call with, "I was just calling people in your area..." People want to feel like they're the only person you're calling... not just one of the masses from a list of compiled names. 11. Use what I call "weasel words" when opening cold prospecting calls: "depending on," "might," "maybe," "perhaps," and "possibly." These are non-threatening words that intimate you might have something of value for them, but you really need to ask questions first. For example, "Depending on what you're now doing in the area of employee benefits, I might have something that could potentially increase the number of options you offer, while possibly decreasing your overall contribution. I'd like to ask you a few questions to see if this is something you'd like more information on." 12. Have something of value to say on every telemarketing call. Particularly those regular calls to existing customers. Avoid, "Just checking in with you to see if you needed anything," and, "Just calling to touch base." These are more nuisance than service. Be certain they're able to say they are better off after your call than they were before it, even if they didn't buy anything. Call with news they'll have an interest in; ideas you've heard from other customers they might be able to take advantage of; mention that you were "thinking of them" and tell them why. One of my printing salesmen called to say he "just came back from a trade show and saw something interesting, and thought I could benefit from it." It's little things like that, that cause customers to say, "She always has something good for me when she calls," as opposed to, "Every time she calls she's just looking

for an order." (For more great ideas, including word-for-word examples, and a fill-in-the-blanks template on creating your own effective opening, also see the Special Report on Developing Interest Creating Opening Statements.) EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING 13. Get information before you give it. How could you make an effective presentation otherwise? 14. Don't use a "benefit list" to present from. Instead, use it to create questions to determine if those "benefits" truly are of value to your prospects and customers. Some "benefits" could actually be liabilities. 15. Avoid asking go-nowhere questions like, "Is everything going OK?", "What are your needs?", "Are you having any problems now?", "How's service?", and, "What are you looking for in a vendor?" These all force the person to think too much. Instead, get them emotionally involved in seeing and feeling the pain or problem that can be solved with your product/service-especially problems you know they're likely experiencing. For example, "What do you do in situations when you need parts shipped overnight, but are unable to get them?" 16. Ask one question at a time. That's how many they'll answer at a time. 17. After asking, be quiet. Resist the urge to jump in if they don't answer immediately. Don't be intimidated by silence. They're likely thinking about what they're going to say. 18. After they've finished, count to two (silently, of course). This ensures they're done, plus they might continue with even better information. 19. Be confident in your questioning. One reason reps ramble with questions is that they're not prepared or confident. Prepare your questions. Role play them-with yourself if necessary. 20. Always know where you'll go with answers. Regardless of the answer. 21. Follow up their answers with related questions. Too often reps work from a rigid list of questions, losing the opportunity to pick up on prospect statements which are just the tip of the

iceberg of their real feelings. For example, if a prospect said, "I believe the main reason production isn't higher is a lack of motivation. The best move is to follow up with, "I see. What specific signs of poor motivation have you noticed?", or, simply, "Tell me more." (For lots of other ideas on questioning, and all parts of the call, get How to Sell More, In Less Time, With No Rejection, Using Common Sense Telephone Techniques, Volumes 1 and 2, www.BusinessByPhone.com/HSM.htm) 22. Quantify the problem whenever possible. "How often does that happen?" "How much do you think that is costing you?" "How much time does that take?" 23. Resist the tendency to present. Some reps get so excited when they hear the slightest hint of an opportunity, that they turn on the spigot of benefits. Hold off, ask a few more questions, get better information, and you're able to craft an even harder-hitting description of benefits, tailored precisely to what they're interested in. 24. Learn more about the decision-making process. There could be many behind-the-scenes influences on the decision. Ask about actual users of your products/services, anyone else who could influence it, who has to sign off on the ultimate decision or OK the money for it, and perhaps people who would rather not see it happen.

SALES RECOMMENDATIONS 25. You should only talk about your product/service after knowing specifically how it will solve the problem, meet their need, etc. Then you can tailor your remarks specifically and personally for the listener. 26. Get feedback during your discussion of benefits: "Do you feel that would work for you?". "How do you feel that would solve your problem?" Some trainers might tell you that gives the prospect an opportunity to tell you "no." Precisely. And that's good. Because if there's a problem, and they don't see enough value in what you've presented, now is the time to find out. 27. Avoid the question, "Anything else?" when attempting to upsell. Just like when a convenience store clerk asks the same question, the answer is usually, "No." Instead, give them a suggestion, and help them answer. For example, after they agree to buy an item, or a service, say, "Many of our customers who get _____ from us, also find that ____ is also very beneficial for them. What are you now doing/using/buying in that area?"

GETTING COMMITMENT (Closing) 28.This is not the major event in a telemarketing sales call. It's the natural, logical, validation of the professional sales process up to this point. But you still must ask. Commitment must be gained on every contact in order to move the process forward. If there is to be a follow-up contact, and information is to be sent or faxed, there must be commitment on behalf of the prospect regarding that material. 29. Ask large. Think big. Buyers will often move down from a large recommendation, but they rarely move up from a small one. Those who ask the biggest have the largest average order size. Never suggest more than is in the best interest of the customer, but not making a large enough suggestion when appropriate is actually hurting the customer. 30. When in doubt, ask. Do you have a foot-dragger in your follow-up file who is perched squarely on the fence? Ask for a decision! Get some movement. A "no" today is better than one six months and 15 additional calls from now. Move them forward, or move them out. 31. If you're going to schedule a follow up call, get a commitment of some type. Why would you call back otherwise. If they won't commit to doing anything--reviewing your literature and preparing questions, surveying their existing inventory, etc.-they likely have no interest.

ADDRESSING RESISTANCE (Objections) 32. Objections can be avoided by doing everything else correctly up to this point in the call. When they do occur, resist the tendency to attack in defense. You must back up and revisit the questioning stage of the call. The voiced objection is simply a symptom of the real problem. Start by saying, "Let's talk about that." 33. If you have an indecisive prospect, get their mind off the buying decision, and on the problem or pain. For example, "Jan, let's look at this another way. What would happen if you did nothing about the situation? Remember, we detailed the fact you're missing sales opportunities every day. What will that amount to over just the next six months?" 34. Most price objections start in the mind of the salesperson. Many sales reps aren't 100% sold on the value of their product, therefore they're apt to offer price concessions even when the prospect doesn't flat-out ask, or they present price with a shaky tone of voice. Ask the right questions, present the results of what your product/service can do, and state the price boldly. (Also see our Special Report on "How to Never Lose Sales Because of Price Objections,

http://www.businessbyphone.com/pricerpt.htm) 35. Avoid Common Objections Mistakes: Using slick, prepared, objection rebuttals that only tell people they're wrong and intensifies the resistance; giving up before attempting to understand the reason behind the problem.

WRAPPING UP AND SETTING THE NEXT ACTION 36. When sending information, samples, demos, etc., know precisely how they'll evaluate the material. How will they know if they like it? What criteria will they use? This way, you'll both be clear as to what would need to happen in order for them to buy. 37. When sending material, prepare them as to what they should look for. Otherwise, they'll get a package of materials and say, "Oh, there's a package of materials," and then toss it on the mountain of other stuff in their office. But, if you tell them to look for the catalog that will be opened to the page with the product they are interested in, and you'll have the three or four models highlighted that are most appropriate for them, there would be a greater likelihood they'd look at it. (Also see Art's free article, "When to Send Literature, And When It's Just a Brush Off." http://www.businessbyphone.com/literature.htm 38. The success of your follow-up call is directly relational to what you accomplished, and how you ended the previous one. Never say, "I'll send you out some stuff, and we'll go from there." From where? Summarize agreed-to actions by both parties, including what happened, what they're interested in, and what will happen next. And set the agenda for the next call. Makes it so much easier to prepare for the follow-up call, and helps you avoid starting calls with the useless question, "I sent you the material, didja get it?", or "Whatdidja think?" For example, "Ok Pat, I'll send the proposal detailing the quantity price breaks. What you'll do is compare that to what you're getting now, and if we're within 5%, you'll agree to a trial order on our next call, is that right?" ATTITUDE AND SELF-MOTIVATION 39. You never have to experience rejection again. After all, what is rejection? It's not an experience-it's your definition of the experience. So, ensure that you accomplish something on each call, and you can hold your head high with a sense of achievement. Remember, a decision of any type is better than shadow-chasing someone who will waste your time with wimpy or misleading statements that cause you to believe there's a chance, when, in fact, there's not. 40. A good way to end a call where you don't accomplish your primary objection (and to never experience rejection) is to plant a seed for the future. Give them something to look for, based upon what you uncovered during the call ... something that might just cause them to call you back. For

example, "Pat, it looks like we don't have a fit here, today, but I suggest that if you ever find yourself needing an emergency job finished, and don't have the staff to handle it, give us a call. We specialize in those type of projects, and would love to talk to you." Everyone has been surprised by those written-off prospects who later called to order. This is a way to proactively make it happen more often. 41. Imagine every day is the end-of- quota-period day. I've noticed that reps tend to pick up the pace and behave like tornado in a hurricane when they reach the last couple days of a quota period, doing whatever is necessary to squeeze out those last few sales. When you coast, you're going downhill Get focused on a goal, and pursue it with single-minded determination. 42. As a sales professional using the phone as your main method of communication, you perform a function that very few people in the world could do well, or would even want to try. And that's persuading someone to take action and make a decision, based almost solely on the words and ideas that come from your mouth. It's quite an awesome feat when you think about it. And do think about it. It takes a talented individual to be able to do that well. You are that person. Feel proud of what you do, and always strive to get better!
(Art Sobczak specializes in helping people say and do the right things to get more business using the phone and avoid rejection through his books, tapes, and seminars. See free back issues of his weekly TelE-Sales Hot Tips of the Week newsletter at www.businessbyphone.com/backissues.htm)

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The Ultimate Top Ten Telesales Tips!

A lot has been written on the subject of telesales, cold calling and telemarketing techniques and tips. I will not try and reinvent the wheel. In fact, the wheel itself is just perfect the way it is. I was always taught that if something isn't broken you shouldn't try and fix it. So - let's leave it that way it is, shall we!? The fact of the matter is that to achieve cold calling success, a good telesales professional simply needs to know the right way to do things. The bottom line is that telesales, just like any other job or 'life commitment' (more on that in a future post), as I call it, has a system. A process if you will. And if you follow the process you can't go a step out of place. So, within this first post here at Telesales Magic, we will break that process down, bit by bit, and incorporate it into what I like to call the Ultimate Top Ten Telesales Tips. I'll warn you in advance; this is a pretty long, in-depth post. I don't expect every post to be this long, but I thought it would be the nice way to kick things off, and give people a nice run-down to get going! Let's get started.

Tip #1 - Preparation Not preparing for your calls is like a high-scoring basketball player not practicing his freethrows when he knows for a FACT that he will be at the foul line on-and-off all night long. Think about it. Preparation covers many different aspects in telesales - we'll look into these in future posts here, but they basically breakdown to getting your hands on a good, strong calling list, having the correct equipment to make your calls, a professional uncomplicated working environment, writing a compelling script and having all the rebuttals you believe you will need, based on the objections you know you will hear on your calls, a good 'notes' system, or CRM in place, and then the ability to follow through with any promises you make your prospects, such as info to email or send out, etc, etc. at the end of the day, the more prepared for your calls you are the more successful you are going to be. Tip #2 - Prospecting This, for me, is the single most important part of any telesales professional's working day. Think about it logically. The moment you stop prospecting, (in other words simply going through your lists and lead sources, dialling the phone and getting 'moving' every day), is the moment your sales pipeline will dry up - like the Sahara desert! You should be looking to do at least 2 hours of true cold call prospecting every day. This will enable you to get to more people and create more opportunities for yourself. Remember the movie "GlenGarry, Glenross" and the classic "Always Be Closing" line. It's true, yes, but I prefer "Always Be Prospecting" instead! Tip #3 - Qualifying Once you've got through to a human being, its time to qualify. A lot of new telesales people tend to pitch the first person they get on the phone to. This is obviously a) a waste of time, because the chances are that the person who picks up the phone (99%) of the time is not the decision maker, and b) because you haven't found out anything about them yet. Making sure that you have the right person on the phone is absolutely paramount in making the sale. Use some probing questions such as "Mr. Big is the person I should be speaking to in relation to your restroom supplies, am I right?", and "Is there anyone else involved in the decision making process in regards to your restroom supplies?". By being polite and friendly, qualifying your prospect with the gatekeeper, for example, will almost always confirm the info you have is correct, and that Mr. Big is indeed the right guy, or you'll get given the name of the real decision maker. Tip #4 - Building Rapport & Gaining Trust An old friend of mine once told me that you shouldn't even think about asking a lady out on a date, unless you have made her laugh a minimum of 3 times in one sitting! Same can be said with telesales, in a round-a-bout way. Trust (its coming up, don't worry!) is an important part of the telesales process. But, to gain somebody's trust, particularly when you have never met or spoken to them before, as with most telesales deals, you need to build rapport with your prospect in order to get them to trust you. This can be done in a number of ways, and is not as simple as just asking "Hows the weather over there"..! Try asking a few opened ended questions (questions that gain information, that require a prospect to tell you something about who they are or what they do), be sure you make notes to go back to the points they bring up later on. Within this exercise you will always probably find out a

little about the 'pain' your prospect is in and the 'problems' they need solving - all this will enable you to mould and shape your pitch, or presentation, a little better to be able to suit and match your prospects mindset, needs, etc. Once you feel you have enough rapport built up, the trust will automatically be there, the guard will come down and you'll be able to pitch. Tip #5 - Presenting Never EVER attempt to present your product or service until you have your prospects trust (see #4!). Think about it, you wouldn't ask a complete stranger to marry you, without going on a few dates, would you? And let's get this right, sales - whether it be via the phone, or face-to-face, is a marriage, a relationship. When presenting try to make sure you avoid using statements like "If I could show you a way to be able to...". These kinds of sales strokes are used by everyone. Plus, they almost get the prospect concerned immediately because a lot of them 'sound too good to be true'. Use a script. Always use a script. A professional telesales person without a script is like a president without his chief speech writer! A lot of telesales people don't like reading scripts; they say it makes them sound like a robot. Granted, some people do read scripts (I've had my far share of telemarketers call me, and some of they are just down right terrible!), and it sounds obvious they are using a script. But, the bottom line is that if they practiced it enough, they wouldn't sound like that, and would actually be able to use it purely as a guideline. But, attempting to get into a presentation without knowing how, or where, to connect all the dots is just madness! Tip #6 - Overcoming Objections This is the juicy part of your telesales call. The real selling begins with the first objection that the prospect throws at you. Like presenting, you have to learn the rebuttals to the objections that you'll hear. Try making a few 'less important' calls and trying out your pitch - you'll get people giving you the objections. Note them down. And then get creative and put together some killer rebuttals. The important part to remember about overcoming objections is that you shouldn't use all your rebuttals at once. Some telesales people are so hungry to make sure that they DON'T hear an objection (because of fear of rejection) that they throw all their rebuttals out there without even needing to! This is like a soldier coming over the trenches and firing his gun consistently without even aiming properly. What happens when all the bullets are gone, and then an enemy starts running towards him? He'll be killed. In this regard, save your rebuttals until you hear the objection and then use your bullets one at a time! Tip #7 - Closing There are a lot of different 'techniques' used to close the sale. A hell of a lot, and don't worry, we'll go over all of them in due time. The fact of the matter is however, that if you follow all the other points in the telesales process, as discussed above, the 'close' will, most of the time, present itself to the salesperson. It could come in the form of an all-out "Sounds great, let's do it...!", or maybe a little more subtle in the form of a buying signal, such as "How quickly can we get going...?", either way, you're in! This is the time that a lot of salespeople talk too much, they get excited. Don't let that happen to you. Remember, never sell pass the close.

Tip #8 - Follow Up Following up on the sale is about as important as any other part of our telesales process. Sometimes you'll not even need to do it. That signed fax or confirmation purchase order might just land on your desk automatically. But, a lot of the time you'll have to call your client up and follow-up. Again, I cant stress how important it is to go into this type of call with the 'assumed' attitude of "I've already closed this sale, no need to sell again...". Simply call, get friendly, and then ask for the PO, the fax confirmation or whatever it is that you're waiting for from the prospect. Nowadays is the 'norm' to do a lot of follow-up's via email. We'll go into this topic in a separate post coming soon. Tip #9 - Customer Service Once the sale is completed, and you've perhaps been paid the commission, lets not forget about our client. If you're working in a service related industry customer service is a lot more important than if you're selling a tangible product, as when they are close to running out, they will hopefully order again. In a service related sale, you have to make sure that your client is happy. That he/she feels as if they are getting a good enough bang for their buck to continue with the service the next month, or quarter, whatever. I make it a point to personally make sure that regardless of how busy I am, to always pick up the phone and say "Hello...!" to my clients at least once a week. Sometimes these 'happy client' calls, as I call them, present me with problems that need to be addressed, but sometimes they present me with an upsell opportunity, which, lets face it, is always a good thing, right!? Tip #10 - The Mind of a Telesales Pro We'll discuss how to stay motivated and how to psyche yourself up before calls, etc., in future posts, but the most important thing to remember here is that telesales people are the ELITE of the sales world. Think about it... They don't know you. They don't want what you're selling them. They are not expecting your call, and it's not as if they will be overly delighted with you interrupting their business day at work (not until you tell them how much you can help them!). Cold call selling, telesales, telemarketing - call it what you like. The fact of the matter is that using the phone as a way to find and procure new clients, regardless of the industry you're in, is nothing new. It's been around for decades and decades and shows absolutely no signs of disappearing (well, I certainly hope not, otherwise all this typing was for no reason!). Stay positive, healthy, hard-working, polite and professional, and immerse yourself into your chosen profession as a professional telesales person, and you will succeed.

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