
Our Solution to Telemarketing Taboos
The telemarketing industry is awash with bad practices, from salesy one line openers to not listening attentively to prospects on the phone.
We take a more honest view to phone conversations and work very hard to steer our telemarketers away from bad telephone practices. Right from the get-go, our approach to phoning prospects is upbeat, professional and all about personal engagement. Lochlan Choules, one of our most experienced telemarketers, talks us through some key potholes to avoid;
“You need to avoid coming across as ‘salesy’, so we don’t open a call with ‘how are you today?’ as this instantly shows you are trying to sell something which can annoy your prospect. Also, we don’t use ‘closed questions’, which is any type of question that would warrant a yes or no answer, as it doesn’t create an engaging conversation. For example, we don’t ask ‘is that something you would be interested in?’, because the prospect can say ‘no’ and then the conversation is hard to pull back in your favour.
The best way to engage with a prospect is to have an honest conversation with them. This means not talking over them, or rushing to get your message across. The other thing we have learnt is the importance of listening. If you listen attentively, you can pick up and talk about matters they have raised and you start engaging on a personal level, which is more likely to deliver results.
Some telemarketers are so used to ‘reading a script’ that they rush through the call and forget that the prospect is hearing your message for the first time, and it needs to be delivered at a good pace. Rushing through your pitch means the prospect might not understand or take in what you are saying, this irritates them and the call is, therefore, less likely to convert. Rushing is also very unprofessional, as you must give the listener the time and space to respond, they aren’t just another number on your call sheet.
Another key practice is to steer away from unprofessional buzz words. A buzz word is a word you use to fill a gap in the conversation, such as ‘ideal‘ or ‘awesome’. This has recently become a bad habit in the telemarketing industry.”
We have created a culture of continuous improvement at the Lead Lab, so we regularly choose a few calls – a mix consisting of calls that have been converted, calls to clients who are not interested and agreed call backs – and listen back through them with the Account Manager. When calls are listened to retrospectively, we can really pick up on areas to improve and learn from. By listening and taking the time to analyse our telemarketing, we can avoid bad practices and allow our staff to benefit from the best practice of their experienced peers.
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If you would like help with your lead generation and appointment setting, call The Lead Lab on 0333 207 0540.