For telemarketing of which the primary goal is finding new prospective clients, it is important to engage a contact in a way that makes them willing to participate in the call. The most important thing to consider in script development for such calls is the fact that your contact (if you are speaking to the right person) is a decision maker. The approach that will most likely appeal to them will be one that allows them to make decisions. In the context of this phone call, the first and most important decision they will make is whether or not to participate. So, what we are working for here is getting our contact to arrive at the desired decision on his, or her, own free will. What are some strategies we can employ?
- Choose your questions wisely. Asking questions that will interest prospects right from the start is invaluable. Often, telemarketing calls are scripted. These scripts are often constructed with the goal of obtaining as much information as WE would ideally like to know. Sticking with just those kinds of questions will not always lead to the ultimate objective of the call, which is a qualified lead. While a contact might have all of this information to provide, jumping into it with a “picking his brain” approach could alienate him, and cause him to decide that talking to you is not to his or her benefit. Asking questions that allow contacts to share information that is important to them is more likely to sway them to make the decision we want them to make: participation.
- Listen to what they are saying. This may seem painfully obvious. What I mean to encourage with this tip is not simply remaining quiet while your contact talks to you. Listening and processing the information they are divulging allows you to sustain the conversation. If you hear what they tell you, the next logical question will occur to you, and the flow of the call remains relaxed and less likely to be cut short. Thus, your contact decides to continue the call. What’s more, in keeping your contact talking, you are increasing the chance that they will share information with you that could result in a lead.
- Recognize potential for opportunities when you hear it. Listening to prospects really is key here. We focus on this aspect of the call once we have passively persuaded our prospect to decide to speak with us. Once they are engaged, and are actively sharing information with you, you can focus on the matter at hand—lead generation. All kinds of opportunities present themselves when you get someone talking about what’s important to them. And really, what’s the point of getting them talking in the first place? Why have we even made this call? It was not simply to practice our conversation skills, that’s for sure. We want to generate business. The best way to do this is by sharing information that benefits the person to whom we are speaking. If we don’t hear the opportunities that are shared with us on these calls, then we have not done our job. The telemarketing agent should always have two questions in mind: 1) Where are the opportunities for my organization? and 2) How can I keep this contact engaged long enough to discover what those opportunities are?
- Share the benefits. Once you recognize that a potential opportunity exists, jump on it. If you have listened to what your contact has shared, you should have a firm grasp of the nature of their situation. The natural flow of conversation allows you to now take the lead and share information. Tailoring your message so that it applies to his specific situation is the most effective way to close the lead. Your level of knowledge regarding the product about which you are calling will have an impact on you ability to tailor your message, so make sure you are well versed in its benefits.