Archive for the ‘Cold calling’ Category

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Talk specifics – people listen more

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

When you’re making your telesales or telemarketing calls talk specifics. Your prospects will listen more. You’re simply more persuasive if you give actual, real and specific examples.

Don’t use generalities. I often receive sales calls which include the time honoured line ”We’re one of the leading suppliers of blah-blah in the UK.” It is simply a load of words, because everyone can say that about their product or service – whether they are or not.  Or “we operate to professional standards.” Or “all our staff are experts in dealing with blah-blah.” Says who? Says you? ok, and of course you the salesperson are completely objective aren’t you?!

sales pitches on the phone

Talk specifics - no blah-blah

Instead talk about specific examples “we already supply our software to 11 of the 47 health trusts in England.” Or make bold but specific claims “our engineers are never more than 50 miles from any customer’s site.”

Even talking manufacturing output may give credence to the scale of your operation. “Yes we turn out 10,000 of those every day.”

The more obvious examples to boast about are where you’ve won awards (as by nature these are competitive) and show you must be good. “By royal appointment” will always carry a fair bit of clout, as will “we were class winners this year” in the fastest growing company in our industry sector at the annual awards in Birmingham last month.

There are always great things you can talk about, even if you can’t think of any examples at the moment. Develop them, weave them into your script and you will simply become more persuasive and someone your prospects will listen to.

If you want to develop a stronger, meatier sales approach to your sales calls give us a call on 01858 461148. We work with companies across the Midlands, in Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Oakham and wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and Cambridge.

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, sales development training, Sales tips, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, telesales scripts, telesales team management, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Telesales masterclass – 20th & 21st February 2012 – Leicester Northampton

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Telesales masterclass for telesales and telemarketing. Our next 2 day telesales masterclass will run on 20th & 21st  February 2012 at a venue in Leicestershire or Northamptonshire.

Telesales masterclass - February 2012

Telesales masterclass - 20th & 21st February 2012

The course will cover all the key elements of telephone techniques and communication skills, and how to structure an effective sales call. We’ll be covering top tips and techniques for dealing with objections, listening skills, and questioning skills – what the different questions are, when to use them and how to structure a powerful telephone sales call around good questioning. Add into that an introduction to the 2 stage process for directing the conversation, and a couple of hours on how to structure powerful telesales and telemarketing calls and you have the basic tools to make sure you convert more opportunities, for more value, more often.

Business conditions are challenging for many organisations at the moment. Those who are best at converting the opportunities that are there, will prosper. Contact us for more details on 01858 461148. You can download a copy of a telesales course schedule directly from the site http://www.tomarket.co.uk/course-schedules.php

Course fees are £399 + VAT per delegate for the 2 day course, although there are discounts for 2 or more delegates attending from the same company.

This 2 day course is ideal for telesales and telemarketing personnel in Leicester, Northampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Cambridge, Peterborough, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Oadby, Market Harborough, Hinckley, Oakham, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Stratford on Avon as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and East Midlands.

BOOK NOW for places on 20th - 21st February 2012 Telesales masterclass course. Get your sales year off to a promising start.

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, Forthcoming courses, Internal sales, Overcoming objections, sales development training, telemarketing, Telemarketing management, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

How to close a telesales call – properly!

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

How to close a telesales call – properly! It is easy to lose focus on your call at the end of your conversation with your customer or prospect. You know it’s about to end and so do they. However there are still certain things to do to ensure your telemarketing or telesales call is professional.

telesales verbal handshake

get the sign-off right at the end of the call

  • summarise
  • build in some ongoing continuity
  • the verbal handshake

Summarise

You may have had a long call, or maybe not. Either way remind them of what you’ve both agreed. You may have covered a lot of ground and it is unrealistic to expect the customer to remember it all. This way you’re starting to set some expectations of what you want from them too. “OK, so I’ll send you an introductory e-mail. I’ll get that out to you within the next hour or so. And then I’ll call you in the middle of next week, once you’ve had a chance to talk to Sarah about it.”

That way you’ve told them what to expect from you, and setting a timescale for when you’ll do it reinforces your professionalism and sense of action. Then it lets them know that they better speak to Sarah, because you’ll be on their case in a few days time! But all done respectfully, politely and professionally of course.

Build in some ongoing continuity

With the vast majority of outbound calls you make, you want to contact them again in the future. By seeking permission subtly to do this, you make sure your next call to them isn’t a cold call. “Ok, so you’ve got your board meeting at the end of the month, on the 28th then. Is it ok if I call you to find out what happened the middle of the following week?” Very, very seldom do people say No. It works. Try it. Furthermore remember that I always advocate asking questions. Questions are the answer. The fact that you’ve framed it as a question gives them the chance to offer you feedback. They might say, “I tell you what, make it the following week, because I’m away for a week straight after the meeting.” Or more promisingly “yes, and if the management team are keen on it, we’ll ask you to come in to discuss what you could do for us……” If you’ve not signed off with the question, they are less likely to volunteer information are they?

The verbal handshake

I am sure you will be polite at all times. This is important as you conclude your call. Even if they’ve given you chapter and verse on the 14 reasons they’d never buy from you, at least you’ve learned some interesting and potentially useful information. So thank them. “Thank you for your honesty and your feedback. I appreciate it.” And more common sign-offs may include “thank you for your time today” or “it’s been great catching up again.” Let them know that you as a human being respect them as a human being. Remember always that ‘people buy from people’ or other versions ‘people buy from people they like’ or ‘people buy from people like them.’

Follow this practice and you will ensure the last impression they have of you is a positive one. Happy selling!

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, Sales tips, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Telesales & telemarketing masterclass – 12th & 13th December 2011

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Our next 2 day telesales masterclass will run on 12th & 13th December 2011 in Coventry.

Telesales telemarketing training

Telephone sales masterclass - December 2011 East Midlands

Just 3 weeks away.  This course will cover all the key elements of communication skills and how to structure an effective sales call. We’ll be covering top tips and techniques for dealing with objections, listening skills, questioning skills – what the different questions are, when to use them and how to structure a powerful telephone sales call around good questioning. Add into that an introduction to the 2 stage process for directing the conversation, and a couple of hours on how to structure powerful telesales and telemarketing calls and you have the basic tools to make sure you convert more opportunities, for more value, more often. Business conditions are challenging for many organisations at the moment. Those who are best at converting the opportunities that are there, will prosper. Contact us for more details on 01858 461148. You can download a copy of a telesales course schedule directly from the site http://www.tomarket.co.uk/course-schedules.php

Course fees are £399 + VAT per delegate for the 2 day course, although there are discounts for 2 or more delegates attending from the same company.

This 2 day course is ideal for anyone in Coventry, Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Oadby, Market Harborough, Hinckley, Oakham, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Stratford on Avon as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and East Midlands.

BOOK NOW for places on  12th - 13th December 2011 Telesales masterclass course.

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, Forthcoming courses, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, Telemarketing management, telephone techniques, telesales, telesales team management | 2 Comments »

Now is the time for small business to do your own telemarketing calls

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

Top tips for small business to do your own business development calls. OK, so the business environment is challenging.

You can sit and wonder what to do to stimulate customers to come to you. Trouble is most of this costs : advertising, PR etc. A more cost effective way of doing it is to make your own sales calls. I always suggest starting with lapsed customers. These are the easiest to convert to becoming trading customers again.

Making small business proactive
Now is the time to become proactive

You can also spend time profiling people to call on Google. Why not do what we call twinning? Look at the customers you already have, and look for others like them. For instance if you do good business with pharmaceutical companies, look for more of them. If your business is geo-centric i.e. likely to be used by local businesses, look local.

It certainly isn’t worth putting together (or worse still) buying a list that is indiscriminate.  You’ll find it demoralising to keep talking to people who have no requirement for your product or service.  Certainly spending time analysing and building a good list to begin with will pay dividends.
Andrew is planning on running a range of marketing seminars over the coming months for owners of small businesses. Entitled ‘Selling your way out of recession’ it will focus on the easy approaches to selling that will give you the best opportunities to build your business or ensure it’s future (depending on where you are currently.)
Please drop us a note to info@tomarket.co.uk if you’d like more details about these sessions. They will be run in a series of locations, aimed at small business owners in Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coalville, Thrapston, Oakham, Uppingham and wider parts of the East and West Midlands.

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Posted in business development, business growth, Cold calling, Forthcoming courses, Marketing, owner managers directors, seminar, small business marketing | No Comments »

Why your elevator speech is important – sales advice

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

There are many reasons why your elevator speech is important. This is all part of effective sales advice.

First what is an elevator pitch? It is as you’ve probably guessed an American term, which we use in the UK unaltered. It is a finely honed script that you use when someone asks you what you do for a living. The theory is that you can deliver it in the time it takes to take a ride in an elevator (or lift if you’re British.) It is the sort of thing you do often – especially if you’re a business person who attends networking events.

How to prepare your elevator speech

Get your elevator speech nailed

How long should it be? Well I reckon 30 seconds should do it tops. Remember that although people ask you what you do, they’re not that interested – not really! What they really want to talk about is themselves.

Make your description short, and specific. I may use something like “…..I train telephone based teams. So telesales, telemarketing and customer service. In fact any group of people who spend all their working day talking to customers on the phone. And so it’s not industry specific. I work with many different industries. And what do you do?”

Avoid grand, wordy, vague descriptions. How often do I meet business consultants who say something like “….we help companies leverage more profit by helping them optimise the working performance of their employees…..” I don’t know what they generally say after that as I’ve already switched off! Apart from which that’s what all conusltancy based services do. And I’m still none the wiser about what you ACTUALLY do!

I came across this example recently, and this was an example of a GOOD WAY to do it. “…to do so effectively, I’d like to know more about you and your interest in my work. Then, I’ll have a context for telling you about my work and can relate what I do to your specific situation.” Ooh dear no ! It might work in America, but it’s not a wise strategy in the UK.

You may want to finish your introduction with an example of your work – name dropping a client if appropriate.

“I’m a web designer, specialising in e-commerce site and recently I worked on the new site for ABC Print.” or “I’m a freelance financial director and I was working on a large merger for DEF Engineering in Nottingham recently.

This all helps give you creedence.

Work on your elevator speech (or pitch), make it concise and then use the same one consitently so that it sounds natural – until such time as you decide to change it.

The best of luck. ‘Inspire me, don’t bore me’ is the motto!

To Market runs telephone sales and telemarketing training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, Field sales training, Marketing, owner managers directors, Sales tips, Selling advice, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Telemarketing scripting – why it’s a good idea

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Telemarketing scripting – the case in favour. Scripts have a bad press. Many people recoil in horror at the very mention of the word – but wait – hear me out! The reason I suspect that many people don’t like scripts is because we associate them with half-witted telesales and telemarketing people calling us (often at home), not knowing what they’re talking about, with poor knowledge of their products or services. Furthermore if you DARE to ask them a question, they’re thrown, because you are taking them off script.

Telesales and telemarketing training

Telemarketing scripts maybe not such a bad idea

However, it is important to have a structure for your call.  So perhaps it’s semantics – we need a call guide rather than a script.   What is important though is that you sound like it’s your words. Learn to ‘act’ and ‘feel’ the script, not just ‘read’ it.  Remember all movies are scripted. Those presented with Academy awards and Oscars are not ad libbing. They are won by people who make the script sound real, they ‘act’ the script. This takes thought and practice, but it can be done.

Have a strong idea of what you want to say and where you want to the call to go.  This includes the ability to respond to any specific comment or qusestion your prospect asks. Deal with it, and then you can return to your script (sorry call guide.) Following this will ensure you make more consistent calls and surprise, surprise you’ll achieve more consistent results.

To Market runs telephone sales and telemarketing training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

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Posted in Cold calling, sales development training, sales lead generation, Sales tips, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

7 steps to close the sale

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

7 things to help you close that sale. More things than steps to be honest.

We are all in situations where the sale is there to be taken. Some you will win, some you will lose. And that in itself is important not to get too hung up about.

Sure you should do everything you can to ensure you get the deal. I think you should also be aware of and monitor your win ratio. Certainly in our business To Market we track the percentage we win, the percentage we lose and the percentage where the order is never placed (to the best of our knowledge.) You should do the same to ensure the market isn’t changing without you being aware of it. 

sales training helps get better results

7 steps to selling more - make them yours

There are many things to do that will give you the best chance of winning more and losing less. And remember the more you win, the more it turns up the heat on your competitor doesn’t it ?!

  • Be Subtle
    Obviously, you don’t want to just shout out “Well, let’s get the order signed then shall we?!” You need to be subtle about the entire process and build trust with them.

 If they throw objections your way, you MUST deal with them. Otherwise they will feel you’re not listening.

  •  Ask questions. Ask plenty of questions. These are vital for 2 reasons. First it shows interest in the other human being. They will like this and it builds trust. Secondly it allows you to gather all the information you need. In turn, this will make it more likely you will sell them the right product or service to fit their needs. 

 

  •  Offer Choices
    Your potential customer doesn’t want to feel like they’re being pushed into anything. You need to give them choices. This could be something like the specification of the product or service, the quantity, the colour, delivery options, upgrades etc. 
     
    • Demos and trials
    One of the best ways to close a sale is to let the customer test the product or service. Show them how it works and how it fits into their lifestyle. Allow them to try it in their application, using it in the environment and way that they would normally. This allows them to ‘buy it’ in their mind. Once they’ve done that, you’re there!

 

  •  Use careful language
    Remember to speak positively, and with benefits. But you must also keep your credibility intact. Making fantastic claims or using manipulative language won’t win you friends. Even using their language back to them (as you are taught within NLP) will help them feel you are just like them. It makes rapport building considerably easier.

 

  • Ask for the order. Once you’ve done what you think you need to do to secure the order, just simply and smoothly run into the next bit which is to ask them if they want to go-ahead, or do the paperwork or book it in. Closing shouldn’t be scary and is merely the next part of the sales process.

 

  • Build future sales opportunities. Keep in touch regularly and always be looking to build the next sale. This could be an upgrade, a new improved product, whatever. Bear them in mind for other things your company could offer them that would make their life better and also tie them in stronger with you.

In selling we never stop learning, but these are certainly 7 steps to ensure you win more, and lose less! The best of luck.

We cover sales and customer service training for clients around the UK including Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Solihull, Lichfield, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Stratford on Avon, Nottingham and Derby. Call us on 01858 461148 if you’d like more details.

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Benefit selling on the phone

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Benefit selling on the phone is really important. You only have 4 seconds to make that impact, and at that point the customer or client will decide whether to mentally switch off from what they were doing and ‘engage’ with you.

So you have to make it sound attractive.

Benefit selling on the telephone is key to effective selling

Benefit selling on the phone - Master it - for better results

Make your call stand out from the crowd. Make them want to sit up and pay attention. Talk specifics where you can. Inane phrases such as “we’re one of the leading suppliers in the UK of ‘blah-blah’” doesn’t cut it any more. Anyone can say that and many do. However saying we supply 40 of the FTSE Top 100 companies would make me sit up and take notice. So would “we are the only company in the UK who offers a full 5 year warranty on our products” as would “we are the second largest company in the UK who ……”

Work on identifying what makes your company or products stand out from the crowd. Then nail it. Say it frequently and often (is that the same thing?!)

That’s the reason special offers and campaigns work. There is a benefit from buying it from me today!

Also use evocative adjectives to describe your products. Words like New, extended the range of, improved, now come with ……… and even ‘exciting’ if you feel comfortable using it are all words that will motivate the customer to want to listen. And if you achieve that, you’re half way there. The best of luck.

To Market runs a range of telephone sales courses all across the Midlands : Birmingham, Leicester, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coalville, Milton Keynes covering this subject and a range of communications skills topics. Find our more here http://www.tomarket.co.uk/courses.php

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, Telemarketing management, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales team assessment, telesales team management, Telesales tips | 1 Comment »

Telesales training Coventry – testimonials

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Telesales training Coventry – testimonials. Read about what some of the delegates on our courses have to say about the interactive 2 day telephone selling courses we run. We ran a telesales telephone techniques course recently for a Coventry based company in the I.T. services industry. They supply hardware, software and support packages. We had a lively couple of days and they made some interesting comments …..

Brad thought “practising sales conversations on the tape recorder was helpful.”
Andy wrote “Very good course, & very well presented, didn’t lose concentration once!”  He’d like our follow up work on “overcoming blocks and objections.”
Elizabeth noted “I feel this course has helped me understand a bit better, what and how I should be doing my sales job.” 
Jason said “..you were friendly and personable”
Telephone sales course Coventry
Telephone sales course Coventry
We’re looking forward to working with these guys again. If you are in Coventry and are interested in some ideas for how you can advance and develop your customer service, telephone sales, internal sales or telemarketing team give us a call. We’ll come to you, you supply us with the coffee and we can talk through some ideas. E-mail us at info@tomarket.co.uk
I.T. industry sales and customer service training run in Leicester, Coventry, Northampton, Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Cambridge and Peterborough.

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, sales development training, telemarketing, Telemarketing management, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

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