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Do you have
the right attitude?
Don't you hate people that have a negative spin on everything you do? Those
people with a negative attitude are exactly the kind of people that we all try
to avoid. So why would it be any different to people on the phone? If you're starting your sales efforts with
a negative attitude then you're already behind the eight ball. Having a positive
attitude makes a huge difference to your approach and the
way you come across to your prospects.
Before any SSW sales staff make any telemarketing calls, as a company standard, the
sales person is to note down 3 reasons why the people they are calling are going to want to buy from us.
For example if you're selling SSW Tech Breakfast here are some typical affirmation statements:
- I've read evaluation forms of people that have attended our events and I
know that
people will benefit significantly from attending
- I've investigated our competitors and I know we're offering a much better deal
- Even if it wasn't a good event I'm a great sales person and I can sell ice to Eskimos!
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Do you use your database to find your prospects?
At SSW we don't believe in picking up the white pages and calling everyone
in the book to make a sale. We believe in a more focused approach; we query our
own SQL Servers for the prospects we're after. We also frown on buying lists
because there's nothing worse than buying databases that have already been used
and abused by the people before you. If you've got a business then you will
always have a database to capture business and client information which can be
queried against.
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Have you targeted the right people?
We all get sales calls from time to time whether we like it or not. The ones
I hate most are the ones where the product/service on offer has no interest to
me. It goes without saying then that the success of your cold calling will depend on the prospect list you are using.
Ensure the people you're calling are likely to be interested in what you have to offer:
Don't call pensioners offering them tickets to the next Eminem concert. Spend
extra time on targeting your prospect list.
For example when we try to market our training events we take into
consideration:
- Geographic spread: There's no point in calling people in another state for a half-day training event.
- Position/Title: In most databases you'll probably have information on the prospect's job title.
This is often a good reference point as you will know if you are speaking with a
decision maker or not. Assume you're a sales professional for Ferrari: you
wouldn't make any sales if you were to speak with CEO secretaries rather than
speaking with the CEO's directly!
- Interests: Some databases hold information about their interests or
hobbies. This is a great way of building instant rapport with the person as you
have a way of relating to that person. Even if you aren't interested in Rugby,
for example, the five minutes you spend on the web researching last weekends
results and whose been named in the Wallabies for the upcoming test could end up
paying dividends, as the person on the other end of the phone will immediately
identify with you.
Using our own SQL Servers we run queries which are able to identify people from our database that:
- Are developers (positions such as DBAs, web developers, programmers etc) in the IT industry
- Have registered themselves as interested in a particular topic (though our website or
an answer on one of our evaluation surveys)
- Live in the right geographic area E.g. NSW
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Do have an outbound script?
An outbound script forms the foundation of all sales. It is important before you start calling your prospects to have an outbound script memorised.
Whilst you will know your script verbatim you will find an equal need to be flexible
throughout the conversation and adapt the call to suit each person you call.
As a guide your outbound script will
have at least these things:
- Introduction: introducing yourself, your company and why you are calling
- Questions that immediately identify the decision maker: E.g. Are you a developer? Are
you in IT?
- How you propose to offer them a solution to their problems and what
tool/product they will be utilizing to achieve this.
- General questions you could ask them, ie. Did you happen to catch the
Wallabies thrashing of Italy over the weekend?
- What contact details you need to collect/confirm
An important point to remember is that you are speaking with another human and people in general thrive on communication with other people. However, as humans
we do not like to be bored by someone just plugging another product. So always approach a call like you're
talking with one of your mates. Never
repeat the script word for word with no interaction like a parrot!
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Have you rehearsed your Outbound script?
Assume for a minute you're a professional athlete and are preparing for an event
at some time in the immediate future. You spend the majority of your time
practicing and trying to perfect your shot, jump or speed. Only a fraction of
your time is actually spent competing. So why will it be
any different in business? This same concept will always be adopted to your outbound script
as you're only going to be spending a fraction of the time on the phone and you
want to get it right on the day.
Practice on your script will always be with someone else in your company that
has more knowledge of the topic than you. This will give you far greater
experience by having to answer questions and deal with stronger objections than
what you will more than likely get from your actual call. Remember a
professional tennis player does not become number 1 in the world by practising
against mere amateurs; he practices against the best to be the best! DO THE
SAME!!
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Is your introduction short
and sweet?
The first GOLDEN RULE during your calls which applies from the very
second you pick up the phone is ABS - ALWAYS BE SMILING! Whilst this may
seem ridiculous you would be surprised how your mood will resinate
through the phone. The person on the other end of the phone will know
what mood you are in so smile and think of something funny (or fake it
till you make it), people are always attracted to other people who are
happy and smile.
When you start calling your prospects with your outbound script, the most important
thing to perfect is your introduction. Without a solid introduction your outbound telemarketing efforts
are pointless and you may as well hang up there. A call is no different than
meeting someone for the first time and first impressions are the ones which stay
in peoples minds.
By nature most people are often on the defensive when
they know its a sales call and you'll find the first 5 seconds of your conversation is what makes or
breaks your outbound efforts. You'll hear millions of reasons why
they don't want to speak to you, such as: "I'm busy", "Not interested" or
"I'm having lunch". Though some of these may be true, at times, more often than not a great introduction
will draw the right person into the call rather than them looking for excuses to
get off the line or just hanging up.
Introductions will include a quick personal introduction of yourself, your
company and the reason for your call, all done with one breath without pause.
It is equally important you don't give your prospect a chance to speak
until you're ready to ask an open ended question.
- A bad example of an introduction:
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Scott:
Hi, this is Scott from SSW how are you today? (pause) I'm calling you to
introduce SSW Upsizing PRO!
- A good example of an introduction:
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Scott: Hi Mr. Smith, this is Scott from SSW calling about
some hands-on developer training, is this a convenient time?
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Does your outbound script build a YES ladder?
A good way to avoid the nasty dial tone midway
through your introduction is to ask them questions which they will answer "YES"
to. This is known in marketing as
establishing a YES Ladder. The theory is when prospects become so used to
saying yes to you, when you eventually close on them to make a sale they
have been put in such a positive mind frame and use to answering YES to
the sale. Another good benefit of a YES ladder is to provide you with a
chance to screen your prospects and identify the dead leads and get
feedback.
So after you've done your
introduction here's an example how your conversation will develop. Lets say
we're trying to sell some developer training:
Question 1: Jane, have you considered any extra IT training since starting your job?
(those that answer no, you're not likely to be targeting)
Prospect: Yes
Question 2: So you'd be interested in increasing your technical programming skills
then?
Prospect: Yes
Question 3: Great! We're holding unique hands-on developer training
sessions which may benefit you greatly. Is this of interest?
Prospect: OOH YES!
Scott: (I'll have what she's having!) Fantastic! The courses on offer
include our SSW Tech Breakfast
etc...
After the prospect has said yes to you three times it's going to be hard
for them to decline when you ask them if they would like to find out some
more information thus making it hard for them to give you an excuse to get off
the phone.
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Do you ask open ended questions?
The goal of any outbound call is to get the person on the other end of the line
involved. The way to do this is to employ a knockout combo. If you were a boxer, you'd follow up a jab with a cross
hook and an upper cut! (the good ole one-two-three knockout!).
If you're a telemarketer you follow the
YES ladder
up
with open ended questions. Here's how most of your combos will sound:
For your jab and cross hook combo use questions one, two and three (above in previous rule):
Then your knockout is going to be something like:
Question 4: So where do you see yourself fitting in with the move towards .NET for the next few years?
This question is great because of the following reasons:
- Stays on the topic.
- It's likely the prospect has thought about this.
- The answer is likely to give you some good points to feed off or identify
what doesn't interest them.
- The question can't be answered with a quick yes or no and the prospect must
think about how they really feel/think. This increases their involvement and
investment into the conversation bringing you a step closer to a sale.
Here's an example of the kind of question you DON'T want to ask:
Dud Question: Do you know a lot about .NET?
This question is a show stopper! It's too easy for prospects to give a one
word response. If they say no, then you've effectively dug a really deep hole
for yourself and it's tough to recover from this position to close the prospect.
If they say yes, then that's not too bad but they're probably sick of hearing
you speak and are waiting for something to wake them up. If you give your
callers a sniff of how to finish the call quickly then like a lion to its
prey, they'll pounce - NO NOT INTERESTED!
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Do you maintain control of the call?
Now we've learnt how to jab (YES ladder), then cross hook (open ended question), it's time to learn how to stay focused in the ring.
When we talk about maintaining focus, we're really talking about controlling the conversation. When the conversation is getting a bit off track
or the prospect is telling you more information than you need to know, the best way to get the conversation back on track is to ask them a question
that is related to the topic to which they are likely to answer "Yes".
For example, if I'm on the phone trying to sell a
training event, and the conversation started sounding like this:
Scott: I think I've got just what you're after for
advanced IT training.
Prospect: Really? That reminds me of a time when this other sales person
who was trying to sell me tickets to crack pot training events held in an
abandoned warehouse. He was the rudest person
I'd ever spoken to and he had this funny accent... Blah Blah.
When this happens ask a general question that you know they're going to say
"Yes"
to like this...
Good Question: So you'd agree that in today's tough market you've
got to stay up to date with today's technological advancements? (No self
respecting developer that wants to keep his job would answer no to this
question)
Prospect: Yes of course.
Scott: Well let me show you how you can keep up to date with
technology.
See how this tactic forces the prospect to get back on to the topic and think about what you're offering them.
So beyond the YES ladder you will always have a few more questions up your sleeve.
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Do you change your cold calls into warm calls?
Sometimes if your cold calling isn't working, no matter how much you try or how great your list is, you might
need to convert your cold calls into warm calls. In a nutshell a warm call is a cold call where the prospect
has exposure to your company or what you're trying to sell.
At SSW we convert
our cold calls into warm calls by sending prospects a mail out, either via
email, fax, or snail mail. This is what we call a pre-call strategy. This often
helps as it allows your prospects a chance to decide if it does or doesn't
interest them.
If you've already sent them some form of direct marketing your introduction
will sound like:
Good Intro: I sent you a fax the other day regarding our training you are
interested in
Always assume that they have got it and read it and are interested. Try to resist questions like :
Dud Question: Did you
get my fax?
You never want them
to say no to you. See the YES ladder for more
details.
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Do you call enough people?
All sales are a numbers game. Outbound calling is a game of attitude and numbers. If you call enough people and have a positive attitude
(ABS);
you have a higher probability of success. Outbound calling is also an acquired skill. You acquire it by practicing
and being prepared. The only way to get better at it is to make more of them
and practice, practice, practice.
So when you're starting your outbound calls you need to swallow that lump in
your throat and fire away. Along the way you'll feel disenchanted and rejected
but sooner or later it will start to click and as you become more confident, you
become a better telemarketer.
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Do you measure the success of your outbound efforts?
At the end of the day, when all the people on your prospect list have been called and you're just about ready to throw in the towel,
there's still one more task to complete. You need to remember that an outbound
campaign is just like any other business campaign - it needs to show a ROI
(Return on Investment). Management need to be made aware of its success or its
failures.
At SSW every time a Tech Breakfast call is made, it is logged in our database as one of either
5 states: Interested, Not Interested, N/A (Engaged call back), Not Contactable and
Sale. We run a query at the end of the day to find out how many people were:
- Emailed the invitation
- Called (attempted and successful)
- Sold
- Hot leads (Interested)
- Dead leads (Not Interested & Not Contactable)
These details are then emailed to the manager for review on a weekly basis.