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Telemarketing 101 in Australia: Maintaining Pleasantness throughout the Call

Telemarketing 101 in Australia: Maintaining Pleasantness throughout the Call

If you look at it from a business owner’s understanding and point of view, there are many ways you can work on to improve their company’s telemarketing campaign. However, there is no single sure-fire way of achieving improvement of the campaign as a whole.

They must be able and willing to experiment and apply several tactics simultaneously to help the campaign and improve the chances of boosting their revenue after they get their ROI. Most importantly, a telemarketer needs to know how to be a pleasant conversationalist.

Why is that?

Well, if you’re able to keep pleasant all throughout your conversation with a potential customer, you will be able to keep his interest and establish a connection with him. That connection would be crucial when you call him back to seal the deal finally.

Here are some helpful tips on how you can keep pleasant all throughout your telemarketing call:

#1: Keep the tone of your voice professional yet friendly.

#1: Keep the tone of your voice professional yet friendly.

For those who have been delivering the same spiels over and over again for a significant amount of time, they tend to forget that they are talking to people with feelings, not robots. Eventually, even they sound mechanic and obvious that they are only reading everything they are saying and people on the other end can easily pick that up. This will even decrease your chances of getting them interested on staying on the line to discuss whatever it is you have to offer them. They may decline abruptly or simply hang up on you.

That’s a no no! Learn your lessons from Samantha West, a robot telemarketer who insisted that she is a human.

#2: Take time to create a great spiel.

#2: Take time to create a great spiel.

As much as possible, you should try to list down the points you want to raise to your audience. Just the points will do, as these will help you deliver the spiels through your own words. Doing so adds a personal touch to your message, and that will transmit to the person on the end of the line.

Related: The Parts of the Best Events Telemarketing Script

 

#3: Know how to treat a customer.

#3: Know how to treat a customer.

This implies that the customers are the boss because what they pay for the service provided becomes the source of income for the company. Customer service is a service-oriented job that responds to the customers’ need. It can only be possible once the right communication line is established with the customers to determine what they exactly want.

Related: The Three-Step Guide to Better Customer Retention in Singapore

#4: Listen to what customers say and do not say.

#4: Listen to what customers say and do not say.

Take note to identify the customer needs through every word, gestures, and tone they use to ascertain what they want or how they feel. Avoid making presumptions so as not to pre-empt or make speculations. Customers can appreciate it more if they know they are dealing with a good listener who devotes undivided attention to their case. Making the best impression during your initial calls and surely reaps the fruit at the end.

#5: Anticipate the customer’s needs.

#5: Anticipate the customer’s needs.

Customers do not really care about the products or services. They pay to alleviate their feelings and find assurance that everything will turn out well. Most customers look for a venue for emotional release than deal with the technical or logical explanations. The more a customer reveals about what he feels, the more chances of being able to anticipate their requirements. It is best to maintain communication to be updated with their problems or future needs.

Related: Building a Solid Understanding on IT industry Before Generating Leads

#6: Pamper the customer’s feelings.

#6: Pamper the customer’s feelings.

Treat each customer as a unique case with unique needs. Be personal in dealing with them by calling them in their name to provide an impression of sincerity. Make them feel they are appreciated by complimenting them in whatever ways deemed appropriate and always remember to thank them for every chance of serving them. Customers can be very sensitive whether or not they are being cared about.

Remember, a well nurtured leads have high chances of sales conversion.

#7: Be willing to help.

#7: Be willing to help.

Know the importance of saying “Yes” and devise ways afterwards to help the customers. Assure them their request can be accomplished as long as it is within reasonable limit. Never commit without doing anything to fulfill it.

#8: Have the dignity to apologize.

#8: Have the dignity to apologize.

The customer appreciates when a customer service company sincerely apologizes if something goes awry. Let the clients know about the problem at its onset to avoid complicating issues. The customers may not always be right, but certainly, they must always win. There may be confrontations, but their complaints are revelations to help the company improve. Even if customers initially feel bad, a customer service employee who humbles himself to apologize can make them feel better.

Keep all these things in mind and you are sure to keep a steady stream of satisfied customers by your side through your telemarketing efforts.

 

How to Keep Pleasant All Through Out the Conversation in Telemarketing

Lessons Learned from a Robot Telemarketer: Samantha West

Technology breakthroughs like robotics, virtual reality, self-driving cars, and drones are expanding skills, getting smarter and seem to gradually moving up the corporate ladder.

And telemarketing is no exception.

In fact, in 2013, Time has featured a robot telemarketer named Samantha West, who conversed like a real human.

Telemarketer Samantha sounded so real but for experts who were keen enough to know, it’s surreal. Why? Let’s find out. To give us the benefit of the doubt, we had her calls calibrated by Callbox’s Quality Assurance specialist Jireh T., based on the standard telemarketing quality metrics.

Below are the feedback, followed by some tips:

1.) Delivery sounded robotic, like reading a script. The caller should have used a more friendly tone.

Tip: Follow proper pauses and avoid the dreaded monotone. Raise or lower your voice when necessary.

2.) (on the 1st call) The caller didn’t use appropriate responses.

The prospect asked, “How are you?”, caller should have responded, “I’m good, thank you for asking. “How about you?”, but instead directly proceeded to stating the purpose of the call.

(on the 2nd call) Prospect said, “I’m gonna hang up now”, but the caller just simply responded, “Okay”.

Tip: Sound conversational and genuine by building rapport before pitching sales.

3.) Caller should have acknowledged the prospect’s query and addressed his concerns before asking another question. Prospects are likely to get irate when the caller doesn’t pay attention to their queries, and concerns are not properly addressed.

Tip: Listen to what the prospect has to say/ask in order to respond properly.

4.) The caller did not seem sincere enough. Answers seemed patterned. It could have been helpful if the caller provided a complete, better answer instead of just replying “Yes”, “I’m not a robot”,  and “No, I’m not”.

Tip: There’s nothing wrong to being honest if that would mean gaining your prospect’s trust and confidence.

The company employer said Samantha is not a robot, but a computer-program operated by real humans. However, if Samantha were a live telemarketer, she would need to work out some OFIs (opportunities for improvement) that will better her calling skills. Take on below.

6 Famous Quotes to Inspire your Calling Success Rate in Appointment Setting
6 Famous Quotes to Inspire your Calling Success Rate in Appointment Setting

The the 3 Cs of Telemarketing:

Courtesy

  • Use Power words and phrases like ‘Thank you,’ ‘Please,’ ‘If you/I may,’ ‘You’re welcome’ and ‘I’d be glad to do so,’ ‘Great,’ ‘Excellent,’ ‘Yes’, to express respect and consideration to the person you speak with.
  • Adjust your tone and pace with that of the prospect’s to induce clarity of conversation from both ends.
  • Actively listen to better understand your prospect’s concern and avoid overlapping.
  • Address the prospect by his first name or depending on how he prefers to be called.
  • Empathize with the prospect upon learning his challenges.

Related: It’s not the end of World nor ‘Telemarketing’ in Singapore

Confidence

  • Mentally rehearse your spiel to master the rebuttals in order to sound knowledgeable.
  • Acknowledge your prospects questions and commendations through verbal and nonverbal responses.
  • Do away with fillers like “umm”, “ahh”, and self-doubting phrases like “i think…”, “I mean…”, and “I’ll try…”
  • Smile when you speak, and laugh when necessary; keep a lively pitch but just enough to keep the prospect held on to the conversation.
  • Speak with authority, like you own the business, but not like a pushy braggart. 

Related: Why Use Telemarketing to get Leads for an ISP in Australia?

Consistency

  • Use scripts as guidelines to keep a steady flow of methods in your spiel, but be creative in your delivery to avoid monotony
  • Focus and highlight each part of the call to avoid a roller coaster discussion.
  • Never promise what you cannot deliver.
  • Give the most accurate information and avoid assumptions
  • Be in control of the call by keeping track both of yours and the prospect’s time.

It’s true that evolution in technology is leading to a greater efficiency in various industries, but the fact remains that it is us humans who father technology. And so we remain superior and far more intellectual than any invention on earth.  

Take Samantha West, for example, she may sound like a real person but her surreal portrayal can never outdo a courteous, confident and consistent telemarketer.  

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