B2B Marketing & Strategy Archives

Don’t be Annoying: 3 Sales Mistakes that Make You Look Dumb

September 22, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

Whether you’re doing telemarketing, writing an email to your prospect, posting on social media or writing a blog, we can’t avoid making mistakes. But that shouldn’t prevent you from learning and improving from it.

In sales, most prospects won’t let you know when you commit an error. Instead, they’ll choose not to consider what you’re offering and pick your competitor over you. As a sales rep, of course you don’t want this to happen, right?

We’ve identified the common sales mistakes that annoy your prospects and how to avoid them. Here they are.

1. Lack of product knowledge

To some sales reps, generating a qualified sales lead is hard because they don’t have enough information about their product or services. When doing lead generation and appointment setting, it is important to know everything about your product or service. Knowing its features and benefits means you are ready to offer solutions to your prospect’s issues and challenges.

Tip #1: Never stop learning. Understand and always update your knowledge of what’s new about your product or service.

2. Talking more than listening

When calling a prospect, most of the time sales reps talk more than they listen. It is important for a salesperson to focus on what the prospect is saying rather than what you’re going to say.

In every sales call, you’re not just gathering information but building a relationship at the same time. When talking to someone over the phone, only highlight the features and benefits of your product. Most of the time, sales reps assume that upon introducing your company, prospects understand the value of what you’re offering.

Tip #2: In every call, there should be 20% talking and 80% listening to understand the prospect’s problem and offer the right solution. Also, explain upfront the features of your product and inform them how it can benefit their business and why they should want to buy from you. Here’s Why Listening is an Important Component in Telemarketing

3. Neglecting your prospect

One of the reasons why businesses fail to sell is because they neglect their prospect. Most sales reps focus more on how to sell, not on how they can help their prospect’s business grow. Salesperson has this mindset that they have enough prospects to call so getting more uninterested prospects is okay. Don’t let this happen, re-engage with warm prospects who have gone cold.

Tip #3: When calling focus on how you can contribute to their business growth. Make your product or services relevant to their business needs.

Now ask yourself, “Have you been making any of these dumb sales mistakes that cause bad sales results?”

These mistakes can kill opportunities even to those who have the best intentions so make sure not to commit these blunders when doing lead generation.

Sales Tips: Interesting Facts About How to Gain Prospect’s Trust

September 22, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Dara Lin

Do you easily get your prospect’s trust?

A great salesperson’s goal when doing lead generation is to get interested prospects and eventually close a sale. In order to do this successfully, sales reps must gain the trust of their prospects. Prospects can sense it when you called and all you can think of is your paycheck.

According to Salesforce.com, here are some ways to help gain your prospect’s trust:

1) Speak with authority

Being authoritative doesn’t mean being arrogant. Speaking with authority means speaking with confidence and being able to communicate honestly and direct to the point.

Examples of sales rep who speaks with authority includes:

Being able to express his feelings clearly.
Telling and showing prospects of their needs without threatening them.
Avoid swearing.
Handles prospects in a professional manner.
Listens and knows how to wait when to speak.

Learn how to Sound Natural over the Phone when Discussing With Prospects

2) Demonstrate credibility

Prospects don’t like telemarketers because they think they’re fraud. Prospects are interested in speaking with a person or a company with established credibility. Someone who can take care of their needs and not just anyone whose purpose is to waste their time selling unnecessary things.

Build credibility with your prospects by:

Being human – unique and honest
Watch your grammar and language
Be punctual. It matters! It implies that you care.

3) Listen

A lot of salespeople are guilty on this one. Listening doesn’t only mean hearing your prospect. It also means understand what the person on the other line is saying at the same time engaging them into a conversation. Here’s Why Listening is an Important Component in Telemarketing

When you listen to your prospects, you will learn to read between the lines to look for possible opportunities and decipher the different buying signals of your prospects.

4) Value the prospect’s time

Prospect: I’m not available right now. I’m in the middle of something.

Agent: No problem. I understand. When is the best time for me to callback?

Time is gold! You’re gaining your prospect’s trust the moment you show value in his time. Plus, they are more likely to listen and remember you the next time you called.

5) Respect their views

When a prospect asked you to send an email first and get back with him 2 days after doesn’t mean he’s no longer interested with what you’re offering. If you believe in your product or service, you’ll see this as a positive response. Respecting a person’s view means you’re giving him a chance to read and know your product more before having a deeper conversation about it. Plus, it gives you time to prepare for possible questions on your second call.

What to do when faced with this situation? Tell the prospect, “Sure. I’ll send you an email right after this call. When is your most convenient time for me to give you a callback to discuss this further with you?”

6) Show commitment

Agent: When can I call you back?

Prospect: Call me back on Monday at 2PM.

Agent: Sure. Talk to you then.

When you agreed to call a prospect, call back on the scheduled date and time. Most of the time, sales reps are excited to speak with their prospects ended up calling them earlier than the scheduled appointment. Others tend to forget to follow up. Showing commitment means you care and you respect your prospect’s time. It shows professionalism and implies that you mean business.

7) Be genuine

Be honest! Trying to be someone you’re not might lose your credibility as well as your chance to close the sale. When your product or your company doesn’t have what they’re looking for, be honest about it. If you don’t have the answer to your prospect’s question, here are some tips and tricks you can check into. Instead, tell them you’ll get back to them with an answer.

For Example:

Prospect: How much does it cost?

Agent: I don’t have that information with me right now. What I can do is take of it and send it to you through email, would that work for you?

Gaining prospect’s trust is essential in B2B lead generation. It may be difficult to some reps but take note of the tips mentioned above when making calls to help you gain your prospect’s trust and increase your chances of closing a sale.

Knowing the Different Buying Signals Will Make You A Better Salesperson

August 31, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

“YES” is not the only sign that your prospect is interested with your product or service.

Buying signals are either physical or verbal signs that a prospect sends to indicate their interest. If you’re a salesperson, you must learn to know and identify the buying signals of your prospect in order to know what to say to your prospects when engaging them into a conversation and sound more natural over the phone.

When doing lead generation, you can tell if prospects are ready to purchase through the tone of their voice or nonverbal signals. These are called “buying signals” and as a sales rep, you need to be able to read them.

Closing a sale is all about the right timing with the right person. Here’s how to increase your close ratio.

So how can you tell of the prospect is ready to buy? Here are some words or phrases that will give you clues if the customer is ready to move forward and buy from you.

When prospect says “YES”

Some prospects will tell you directly if they’re interested or not. If they say “Yes”, there is no need to convince them anymore. If the customer gives you this signal, all you need to do is to gather as much information about their current setup for you to know how you can help them provide a solution for their problem

The prospect asks questions about your product before you can even present it.

Interested prospects tend to ask questions. Sometimes, they would even interrupt while you’re introducing your product. When prospects initiate the conversation, they are more likely to be interested.

The prospects ask, “How much does it cost?”

Don’t confuse this as a price objection. A prospect asking for a price is telling you they are interested in buying your product. If you have the information handy, inform the prospect right away and set up for an appointment with your Consultant.

How to handle this question from the prospect

“Our price depends on the number of people who will be using it. If you want, I can have one of my Consultant give you a follow up call to discuss this further with you (Check for prospect’s availability).”

However, if you don’t have information about the price, you can inform the prospect

“I don’t have that information with me right now. Here’s what I can do for you, I can have one of my Consultant give you a follow up call to discuss this further with you (Check for the availability of the prospect).”

Then, gather as much information about their current setup so that your Consultant would know what to prepare during the follow up call.

Related: How to Defend Your Price

When prospects provide volunteered information even if you didn’t ask for it.

Examples of volunteered information:

“We’re working with XYZ Company but we’re having issues with their service.”
“What we’re using right now is outdated and we’re looking for a more updated product.”
We’re having issues with our software right now. We can’t (enumerate all things they can’t do)

When prospects use words such as:

We might consider…
We’re evaluating what’s available in the market.
We’re looking to upgrade
We’re currently in the market for…

The customer will let you know when they are ready to buy. It is the salesperson’s job to listen actively for signals. Listening to prospects is one major component in telemarketing. Salespeople should recognize these buying signals and respond appropriately to improve your awareness of the different buying signals and start responding appropriately with your prospects and eventually close a sale.

Teach Sales Reps to Sound More Natural Over the Phone

August 25, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

Most prospects can tell if the caller is a telemarketer doing cold calls, unsolicited calls or a sales call. From the moment you said, “Hi, am I speaking with Bill Jones?” to the way you say your spiel.

Even if you’re an expert in sales, you may find yourself get confused and stutter when speaking with new a prospect on the phone. That awkward conversation can make or break your prospect’s decision to listen to you or hang up the phone.

If you are a salesperson doing lead generation for a living, you have to pick up the phone to set appointments, follow up prospects, etc.—then you must learn to sound natural over the phone so your prospects, gatekeepers, or executive assistants won’t notice that you’re trying to sell something.

Here are the 5 things I did that helped me sound more natural over the phone and close more sales.

Know the reason why you’re calling and what’s in it for them.

Knowledge is power. I make sure I know everything about the product or service I’m offering – its features and benefits. Before calling my prospect, I try to know my objective and why the prospect will take time and listen to me. How to do this?

You can always ask yourself these questions before making a call:

Why are you calling today?
What do you have to offer?
What will they get if they listen to you?

Preparation before placing a call helps me gain confidence. Plus, you are more likely to sound like you know what you are talking about so prospects will want to listen to you. Here’s a closer look inside the mind of your Australian prospects.

Tip: Practice your script with your colleague or with your sales manager to make sure your preparation will result to a smooth delivery when you’re talking to your prospect.

Be polite

Many sales reps still try to trick gatekeeper and assistants just to get hold of their prospects. And most of them are rude whenever they do this. Regardless if they are the person I wish to speak with, an assistants or a gatekeeper, I always use the following words when speaking with anyone over the phone.

Please.
Thank you.
May I…
Could you please…
That’s okay.
I understand.

Here are some phrases of courtesy that I use.

“Can you please direct my call to Bill Jones?”
“Thank you” (When Gatekeeper asked you to hold for her to transfer your call)
“May I have your name so I can address you properly in the email?“
“Could you please connect my call to Amanda Smith?”
“That’s okay. So when is the best time for me to call back for Bill Jones?”
“I understand. How about if I send you information for future reference? Would that work for you?”

You may be surprise how words like these can go a long way when speaking with anyone over the phone.

I make connections with my prospect

Build rapport with your prospect. How? Greet them and address them by their first name. It usually works for me especially if I’m making a connection with my prospects. Many sales reps are still using Mr. or Ms, Madam or Sir when speaking with prospects as their way to show respect, but I don’t agree on that. You can always show your respect with someone by being courteous and professional when speaking with them. Know the basic do’s and don’ts on telesales.

Tip: By using the prospect’s first name, you are starting the call equal without giving them all the power. Plus, you will sound like you know your prospect when you asked for their first name from the Gatekeeper.

Be brief: “Less talk, less mistakes”

Most sales reps get excited to say their spiel and explain the features and benefits of their product the moment they get hold of their prospect. The more information you provide to your prospect may lead to an objection.

Be brief and direct to the point when introducing your company, saying your spiel and stating the purpose of your call.

Here’s a sample script I use when I introduce my company or state the purpose of my call:

“I’m with XYZ Company. We are a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and we specialize in MS Dynamics products.

I’d like to find out if your company has plans to evaluate or would consider changing your current software in 6-12 months?”

By being brief and direct to the point, prospect might think you mean business and is not calling to waste their time.

Listen actively

When doing lead generation, this is the most important of all. However, listening to what the prospect is saying is not enough. Listening and understanding what the prospect is actually saying is essential. It will help you know whether or not they are on their “buying stage” or not.

When you didn’t hear or understand what the prospect is saying, you can always ask him to:

Repeat what he just said
Elaborate what he means (for you to understand it well)

Reminder: Be careful as to how many times you are supposed to ask the prospect to repeat what he just said. It’s a turnoff on the side of the prospect if you will ask him to repeat his answer more than twice.

These are the 5 things I usually do to sound confident and natural over the phone. They are easy to implement, so you won’t have a hard time adjusting your way of calling. Incorporate these to your own telemarketing techniques to minimize call reluctance and start making more connections by increasing your phone time with your prospects.

Re-engage with Warm Prospects Who Have Gone Cold

August 19, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

Your initial call ended great! You are scheduled to follow up within a day or two but can’t get hold of your prospect. You’ve decided to follow up again after a week… and the week after and so on.

Unfortunately, it’s been a month since you last spoke with him. No matter how many times you attempt to reconnect with him but it seems like everything is dropping off the map with this prospect.

Way back, I encountered the same situation. I started asking myself, What happened? Did they change their mind and realize that they don’t need your product or service after your first call?

Did they found another company who can provide them with the same product or service? Have they decided to push through with another project?

Without hearing from my prospect and knowing the reason why, it’s hard to figure out if they just simply went cold or they still want to push through with it.

I gave him a little time, probably a month or two before I decide to give it a shot for one last time. Here’s what I did to re-engage with my warm prospects.

You might also like our recent post Lead Generation Statistics in Australia You Wish You Knew Before.

I’ve sent out a reconnecting email.

Here’s an example of my template.

SUBJECT: Giving it one last try…

Dear Emily,

Hope all is well.

I understand you’ve been busy since we last talked. I have not had much success reconnecting with you.

The reason I’m asking is that I would like to follow up on our last conversation. I just need to know whether or not to keep trying.

I’d like to check if you’re ready to discuss further about this. I am available to give you a call whenever you’re available.

Interested to hear your thoughts,

Mia

To my surprise, I immediately receive a response the following day.

Here are the reasons why I think it worked.

It’s quick and straightforward.
The email allows your prospect to have an honest response without hurting your feeling.
They are not pressured to commit to anything.

I managed to get several good responses such as:

“They want to talk but now is not the right time to discuss about it.”

“We need help about this. However, this is not a priority as of the moment.”

“I would like to schedule a time to talk but I’ve been out of the office for a few weeks because of a family emergency.”

These responses may sound like they’re not interested to some sales reps. But I’m glad I got these responses because it doesn’t mean they are no longer interested. This slide might just help you, check out A Closer Look at a Sales Lead’s Mind an Australian Perspective.

All I need is to respect their time for now.

I can always nurture them, turn them into warm prospects again and eventually convert them into a sale, not for now, but at the right time.

Every Ad Agency in Australia Needs a Good Telemarketing Strategy

June 24, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

Fact is, even advertising agencies themselves need a good marketing strategy – a good telemarketing strategy so to say.

Graphic artists, publicists, creative script writers and PR experts may be good at crafting visual productions or graphics that can tell a story and compelling slogans like McCann’s funny cartoon ad for Metro Trains entitled “Dumb Ways To Die” (www.mccann.com.au) or Affinity’s fuzzy ad for Prozym Dental (www.affinity.ad).

However tough competition is scratching the ad agencies’ backs and the itch to get on ahead is undeniable. So aside from advertising themselves via web, broadcast and print channels, telemarketing bellies up to the list of their marketing tactics in the business picture.

Other Marketing Channels paired with Telemarketing = SUCCESS

Creative ad agencies have in-house marketing strategies in place but most of the time are inactive – they wait for customers to come or to contact them.

Telemarketing however is the proactive strategy that empowers businesses to reach their target customers together with other marketing channels like email, social, web and mobile which enables them to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time when associated with these marketing channels, which by the way is most practiced and offered as one package by Lead Generation companies nowadays.

Email

Email is the most viable channel which supports the calling or voice channel by sending customized messages that are tailored to your prospect’s buying behavior and business need.

Web & Social

Your telemarketing team can also include a good web visibility strategy to widen your telemarketing coverage. A compelling Content posted via web or social sites can attract target customers to become interested and familiar with your products or service and eventually convert into leads.

Also, the web channel is a gateway for you to penetrate your target audience’s business circles – this can give you the opportunity to make your target market feel and aware that you have the same interest with them – nice tactic to easily gain their trust once you get hold of them on the call.

Mobile

Believe it or not, lead generation providers nowadays can pass through any communication channel just to reach target decision makers. The mobile channel works relatively with all the other channels which most people have access to 24/7 but is more utilized to support the voice channel.

In this techno world where almost everything and everyone access information and do business on mobile, decision makers hardly answer landline phones anymore but they are very much easily contacted through their mobile phones.

Telemarketing provides you a Targeted List

But you can only take delight from this benefit if you complete have the following resources:

#1: A database is a standard requirement for a telemarketing campaign. If you don’t have enough list of clients to call on, you can just give out your target market specification to your telemarketing provider like industry type, size, annual revenue, decision makers and zip codes and they can easily filter a list for you to approve and work on. It is wiser to verify contacts through phone before so you don’t go wasting your time calling over an outdated email.

#2: An experienced calling agent will call for or on your behalf and who does not need any rigid training at all but just a quick orientation about your product or service specifications. Skilled telemarketers make at least 140 calls per day and is driven to achieve in-house KPIs that benefits them with rewards and incentives.

#3: In-house CRM and nurture tools are integrated to roll out a seamless telemarketing campaign for your business while assuring you of sales-ready quality leads.

#4: Customer profiling is a service that could be taken either as a stand alone or packaged together with all other service channels like Voice. Its imperative to have your database cleansed by scrubbing off invalid contacts and DNCs before you kick off the campaign (to comply with the ACMA laws and regulation on DNC and DNE), and be well managed to keep data integrity. If you really want to get better leads, then you should consider customer segmentation.

Telemarketing saves you money

Outsourcing your telemarketing efforts can save you money as everything comes in one package cost:

No overhead costs for training a staff and spend extra for extended hours of work
No need to reward a staff for hitting the number of leads targeted
No need to overspend for telecommunication charges
All you need to do is take in the leads generated by your Telemarketing team.

Advertising agencies, like any other industries need a more proactive marketing strategy like Telemarketing in order to keep up with the tough business competition.

So calling all ad agencies in Australia, don’t get your swivel chairs holed by sitting all day and wait for the noisy telephone rings from customers who might be calling the competitors anyway, instead get a good telemarketing provider who generates sales-ready leads for you via multiple marketing channels.

Here are some Marketing Success Stories:

World-class Branding Consultancy Gets Marketing Boost with Callbox

Callbox Telemarketing Boosts Online Advertising

Capturing Advertisers for Upscale Direct Mailer

Boost Creativity: Find Inspiration Inside your Office in Australia

The Best Practices for B2B Business Calling for Consulting Businesses

May 5, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by admin

“What’s wrong with calling prospects and offering them solutions and options that would improve and benefit their business? “

Such rhetorical question connotes truth on some businesses that have become and remained pessimistic towards B2B business calling or telemarketing, and people who dread even just the sound of the word. Adding to that is the undeniable fact that the strides of many different sales and marketing strategies like email, web, mobile, social, content etc. has turned marketing experts to view cold calling in different ways – others have left cold calling behind and now prefer other types of generating leads and some see it only as a support or an option.

However, there are others who held on and remained optimistic that B2B calling still stands as the trunk of any effective sales process. Below are the best practices for B2B calling – before, during and after the call of the marketing experts.

Before you call…

Know your targets

Take the time to research and learn about your targets. Include the demographic and psychographic profiles and historical data (if there’s any) in your study and correlate your action plans with these information: call timing, decision makers, buying patterns, location, industry and product and services offered. Knowing and understanding your target customers how they think and behave will help you design the perfect solution for their business need.

Aim to hit goals

Strategize to hit key performance indicators. KPIs are measurable values to gauge effectiveness and evaluate success. Be aware of your target numbers: call volume, decision makers, emails sent/opened, CTAs clicked, forms submitted and number of appointments, are some of the basic KPIs that are worked out on a daily basis in order to meet the overall target goal of the campaign. Once you hit your daily goals, you’ll surely hit the monthly stats.

During the call…

Utilize all resources

Calling Scripts, lists and online tools like the crm and marketing automation tools are useful guides that will keep you aligned with the campaign requirements and call flow standards. Keep your grace under pressure when dealing with difficult customers. Maintain proper phone etiquette and handle objections with courtesy. It’s also necessary to build rapport naturally and speak in a conversational manner. Cater to customer requests by not over promising and never miss to acknowledge the prospect’s concerns and praises. Doing these best practices will benefit you with the customer’s trust and keep you aligned with call quality standards.

Respect the customer

Customers are the cream of the crop. Without them, there wouldn’t be any business to deal with at all. So give customers the respect they deserve. Actively listen to their views, opinions and respect their decisions. Examples are, if prospect prefers to be called only at his office landline number and not on his mobile or home phone, if he requests for a meeting which may be out of the designated schedules or if the prospect says “not today, maybe next quarter”. Every word they utter will affect your call flow which will domino on the call result and the campaign’s effectiveness.

After the call…

Recovering from a bad call

The sun doesn’t perfectly shine everyday so if you had a bad call today, breathe and get some distance. It’s easier to recover from a bad call if your leave your desk for a while by getting a quick chat with peers or a cup of coffee. Reflect on what went wrong on your last call and refresh your mind with the next action steps that would better your next calls.

So here’s a bit of sunshine, Read this: Boost Creativity: Find Inspiration Inside your Office in Australia!

Review your metrics

Believe that B2B business calling is still an effective sales process by empowering yourself with these best practices – before, during and even after the call, and prove that there is absolutely nothing wrong with calling prospects and offering them with solutions or options that will benefit their business, when done right.

Here’s how to start calling!

Telemarketing 101 in Australia: Maintaining Pleasantness throughout the Call

March 16, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Maegan

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.

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.

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.

#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.

#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.

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.

#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.

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.

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

March 4, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Maegan

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**

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.

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.

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.

Get our FREE sample telemarketing scripts for All Industry types. This includes scripts for appointment setting, event telemarketing, and data profiling:

Reasons Why Should You Use Telemarketing to get ISP Leads in Australia

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

February 24, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Maegan

Admit it. When your phone’s ringing and you don’t know who’s calling, chances are you won’t answer it. The reason we put names to numbers is because we want to know who’s on the other end and decide whether to take the call or not. Truth be told, there are few things we hate more than some company’s sales rep asking about our buying habits and such.

How did those guys get our number in the first place?

See, “cold calling” is a little bit like stalking, only more glorified, and done in good faith. That’s why despite the notoriety, it is still undeniably one of the better ways to reach a group of targeted prospects or customers to communicate a message, gather feedback, and determine the next step in the buying cycle. Although new technologies and services are being used, however, the telephone, as a sales and marketing instrument, is far from dead as it makes contact with a large number of prospective customers much quicker; plus, it allows for real, personal communication.

A survey carried out by B2B Marketing in association with The Telemarketing Company produced some reassuring statistics:

Over 50% of respondents have increased their use of telemarketing over the last couple of years. tweet this!

45% of companies surveyed increased their expenses on telemarketing in the same period. tweet this!

75% of respondents use telemarketing to prospect and acquire customers. tweet this!

So, what’s with good old-fashioned telemarketing that makes it thrive in this era where social media seems to have a solid grip on?

Brings a Captive Audience

The ISP business is one that needs extra-aggressive marketing. When you’re selling the product, you can’t rely on people just coming to you. You need a team of dedicated people who can directly sell your product to the people who most need it. This isn’t simply cold calling; it’s designing a campaign to target those businesses and individuals that might benefit most from the product. With telemarketing, as soon as the phone is answered, the receiver is reeled in because he has no choice but to listen. A team of experienced telemarketers can target likely clients and more effectively approach hundreds of potential clients, rapidly improving your chances of new business generation.

Powerful yet Cost-effective

Using telemarketers to generate leads means increased sales revenue and greatly reduces the amount it costs to make a sale. It is a powerful and cost effective marketing tool, since the only expense involved is the telemarketers’ salary and the phone bills. Whether your ISP company is a start-up or a key player in the big leagues, you still want to cut costs, or at least use the funds appropriately. And when you use telemarketers to generate your leads, you free up your sales teams to do what they’re good at – which is making sales!

Gives Direct Feedback from the Customer

When your sales rep calls a lead, it means you almost always get an answer, even if it’s sometimes not the kind you were hoping for. Telemarketing allows you to immediately gauge your customer’s level of interest in your product or service. Unlike other forms, like the social media, where response may also be fast but not as quick, or traditional advertising, where all you get is a vague answer at best, telemarketing gives you the feedback you need, thereby allowing you to make decisions and adjustments on the fly. This can give you an edge over your competitors by quickly responding to customer needs. Specifically…

Explains Technical Issues more Clearly

If you’re selling internet service, being adept at the technical side of things is non-negotiable. It follows that everybody in the team should have a deep understanding of how the technology works. Telemarketing is advantageous in this aspect since customers can easily get detailed and easily understood answers for every query.

Allows Wider Sales Reach

Just the thought of selling a product – any product, in Australia is challenging, at least logistics-wise. With telemarketing, the company can sell from a distance, virtually increasing its sales territory. You can even extend your business reach by contacting potential customers around the world, and expanding your business on a global scale if desired. And once you enter different time zones, telemarketing comes in handy, enabling non-stop selling 24 hours a day. After all, the internet business is just as dynamic.

Attracts Patrons

Telemarketing provides a successful way to improve lead generation, and ultimately, sales by selling directly to those that are already using the product or service. Existing customers are much more easily converted because you don’t need to convince them of your expertise, reputation or benefits. Once you’ve established your credibility as a sought-after ISP, you can use telemarketing to offer extended service, upgrades and further features on something they’ve already bought, or offer them a completely new product or service. If the existing customer is happy with what they bought from you in the past, the worst that can happen is that they will simply reject your new offer. But since they were willing to listen in the first place, it wasn’t much of a challenge and you can still call them again in the future with new offers.

Provides Measurable Stats

An Internet Service Provider is expected to rely on number crunchers to churn out advanced analytics pertaining to sales and marketing. Using telemarketing makes the job simpler because campaign results can be analyzed, reported upon and measured, to provide a detailed picture of how successful the campaign has been. Additionally, an insight is provided into which methods are most effective, such as whether using a “scripted” speech or a more spontaneous and conversational style works best with your particular target audience. This valuable information can be used to increase success rates for future campaigns, allowing the company to decide whether or not to include telemarketing in their strategic plans for business growth.

It’s All in the Rapport

Enhanced customer service is often the only way to differentiate yourself from your competitors, and is valued by consumers who remain loyal to companies that understand their needs. Telemarketing allows a company to create a rapport with its customers, and to provide a personal service catering specifically to their requirements.

It goes without saying that telemarketing can significantly boost product awareness, improve your business image, and ultimately your bottom line.

The Top 3 Communication Advices Every Marketer Should Need

The Top 3 Communication Advices Every Australian Telemarketer Should Need

January 14, 2016/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Maegan

As a telemarketer, it is essential to make use of certain communication techniques to achieve desired results. Like it or not, the likelihood of getting a confirmation, a subscription, or a closed sale relies heavily on how engage your prospect’s in a conversation.

If you want to get better chances in your marketing activities, you can always use these important tips to effective communication, courtesy of author Devon Smiley via Business 2 Community.

1) Speaker Notes

The Top 3 Communication Advices Every Marketer Should Need - Speaker Notes

Don’t jump into a conversation (or webinar, or call, or negotiation) without some sort of speaker notes to guide you. The idea here is to have a few bullet points listed, along with some key info-bites to guide you. Don’t write out a giant script – trust me – when you break out the script, the energy changes. You might get all your points across, but people will have stopped listening. (And how are you going to be persuasive if they aren’t listening?)

Try this: List out your 3 main goals for this discussion (or webinar, or call…you get the idea). Then, give yourself 2 info-bites for each of those goals.

For example:

Goal 1: Convince of the benefit of a design upgrade
Info-bite 1: Iterative period on the web now is X months
Info-bite 2: Conversion stats for current site = x%

2) Communication Audit

The Top 3 Communication Advices Every Marketer Should Need - Communication Audit

As uncomfortable as it might be, one of the best ways to improve your spoken communication is to record yourself, and then listen to it, paying attention for any vocal ‘ticks’ you have. Remember how in school certain teachers would use the same word over and over again, and you would put little hashmarks at the top of your notebook each time they said it? Do the same thing for yourself. This way, you’ll know what specific speech patterns are breaking down your credibility and persuasiveness.

Try this: Here are some of the frequent vocal ticks I notice. Use this as your starting point for your Communication Audit.

Overused words/phrases:

Uhhhhhhhh
Ummmmm
Like
Kinda
Just
Basically
At the end of the day

Styles of speaking:

Mumbling
Speaking too quickly
Raising your tone at the end of statements (and turning them into questions)

3) Take The Time

Sometimes when we’re really excited or nervous about something we can talk like this.

And we need to stop doing that.

The Top 3 Communication Advices Every Marketer Should Need - Take The Time

Coming across as calm and poised in a conversation or when delivering a presentation is the surest way to bump up the impact.

Take a deep breath before starting to speak. Pause occasionally for another one.

If you’re asked a question, take the time you need to formulate your answer, rather than winging it and winding up with a garbled response. (Truth: It’s tempting to think that we need to come up with quick answers…when really, a thoughtful, accurate response shows far more expertise than being the first person to blurt something out)

Taking the time you need also means taking the time to practice. With every discussion you have, webinar you present, or training call you host – your voice will get stronger, and so will your message. Go beyond the usual lead generation!

Must-Have Marketing Skills and Pro-Tips for Australian B2B Companies

June 9, 2015/in B2B Marketing & Strategy /by Maegan

Australian B2B companies have two things to worry about: competition and content.

If you ask around, a great deal of business executives express a desire to outmaneuver their competitors and acquire a bigger share of their respective markets. At the same time, they want to create content that can help them in their lead generation to achieve better sales numbers.

We can find that competition and content compliment each other in several ways. But it is also important to understand that there are also several ways to increase a business’ performance in the face of aggressive market competition.

It is imperative that Australian vendors and service providers must underscore the necessary marketing skills and techniques for ensuring the success of their brands.

If competition and content is currently worrying you, it’s a signal that you haven’t include these important capabilities:

Blogging: It’s already cliche for businesses to say that “blogging is all the rave” or “blogging is currently the greatest thing that has happened in B2B lead generation.” We get it, no business can survive without a blog nowadays. But tell you what: This craze over blogging exists for a pretty good reason. Blogs provide brand awareness and establish interest in your offers by serving as means for educating your audience. Do you have a new and innovative product? Promote through your blog and attract some people who might want to test your new offer.

Pro tip: Make sure to keep your blogs relevant and visible by selecting the right keywords.

Telemarketing: You cannot ignore the fact that B2B telemarketing is still a significant component for acquiring and nurturing leads. Insofar as quality is concerned, telemarketing establishes real-time discussions in which you are able to directly address the concerns of your prospects. This will eventually lead to a smoother and easier transition to a sales appointment.

Pro tip: Never (and we mean NEVER) throw a sales pitch during the first contact. Always ask questions that focus on the needs of your prospects.

Preparing webinars: Apparently, it’s a new thing, but B2B companies are preparing to use a bulk of their marketing budgets in preparing them. This is because webinars combine the directness of telemarketing and the educative function of blogging. But instead of engaging individuals, webinars aim to influence multiple decision makers at the same time. It comes to no surprise then that holding webinars allow for effecting a better impact on one’s market.

Pro tip: As much as developing your webinar’s content, promoting it through event marketing is important for ensuring a high volume of sign-ups.