Silicon Beach Training offer a great telephone sales training.
Telemarketing or any over the phone sale, is obviously different from any other type of sale in as mush as you cannot see your client and they cannot see you. Although many of the same principles apply to over the phone sales as with normal sales there are certain techniques you will need to utilise in order to help you achieve the best results.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences in telemarketing is that on the whole your audience will often have very little time for you and maybe annoyed that you have phoned them. Essentially, if you are a telemarketer, you have interrupted and maybe even inconvenienced your potential buyer. So it is often the case you will have your work cut out for you from the very beginning as your prospect will no doubt be predisposed to saying no even before you have started.
First Impressions and Using Your Voice
First impressions are vital. You need to get your point across quickly, clearly and politely, fitting in as many keywords and phrases as possible to get the interest of the customer. Realistically you will have about two or three sentences to grab the customer’s attention before they tell you that they do not want your product, so make sure that you make them count. Don’t be too aggressive or pushy either as this will only put off your customer, instead ask questions and explain how your service or product can help.
In a telephone sale the only tool you have is your voice and it is the only thing that will either lose or gain you a sale. It is what a customer will judge you on, for instance if they feel that you are friendly and trustworthy they are much more likely to listen. With this in mind it is vital that you address the customer in the right tone of voice, finding a balance between friendly and professional. One thing that will help is to relax and talk naturally; studies have shown that although they can’t see you, any negativity in your body language will get passed on in your voice, so bear that in mind.
Preparation and Organisation
As with any sales pitch it is essential to practice before hand, this will help you correct any mistakes and build your confidence. Be prepared for what a customer might ask you or you might give the customer the impression you don’t know what you are talking about. You may learn more about the questions customers may ask as you go along but try and anticipate as many as you can.
Have notes prepared before you start; this is one of the advantages to selling over the phone. Make notes whilst you are talking to your potential buyer to avoid getting lost or irritating them by asking them to repeat details.
Selling over the phone can be a difficult skill, but with the proper preparation and confidence it is a skill that can be mastered.
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on April 24th, 2009 | No Comments »
Hindsight is a terrible thing, realising you missed an opportunity that could have led to a sale is never a comforting experience. However, through proper preparation and the right attitude you can learn to recognise and take advantage of every opportunity.
Through preparation comes confidence, if you know what you are talking about and have the knowledge to back it up you are instantly in a good position to close a sale. A potential buyer usually recognise when you are bluffing especially if they know their subject well, but similarly they will also realise when you know your stuff.
There is nothing that can sink a sale faster than forgetting an appointment or client’s name or being late. The potential buyer will take this as a sign that you don’t value them as a customer. But you don’t even need to be good at names to get this right; all it takes is the proper preparation before hand. Remind yourself of the client’s information and history and make sure to keep a diary or schedule of appointments, the more interest you take in a client the more likely you are to make a sale.
Never try and “wing it”. A good salesperson will always be properly organised and prepared and whilst others might prefer to “wing it” their loss can be your gain.
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on May 8th, 2009 | No Comments »
One of the most common problems people encounter whilst trying to sell their product or service is that they can’t seem to close the deal. Here are some helpful pointers which should lead to you being more successful closing a sale.
Center your pitch around the customer
The main focus of you pitch should be about how this product is good for your customer in particular. One way of doing this without being too intrusive or obvious is to refer any question you are asked back to the customer, for instance if they ask “does it come in pink?” you would then ask “do you want it in pink?”
Be honest
Reassure the customer that you can be trusted. The customer will always be a little skeptical of your intentions so it is important to be honest with them from the beginning. Tell them what you would like from the sale, what the product does and how it benefits the customer. This will let everyone know where they stand and avoid wasting time.
Recognize the signs
When a customer has become more open to the idea of buying or seems to be considering it they will often ask questions that relate to the buying process, i.e.” how long is the delivery?” or ” how long does the warranty run for?” These are the signs you have to learn to recognise, they show what a customer is thinking and when it would be a good time to try and close the deal.
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on May 1st, 2009 | No Comments »
Here are 5 basic rules top help improve your overall customer satisfaction.
- Prioritise people before paperwork. Make sure that the customer is always number one, this will help the customer to feel more important and that they are valued by your business, after all it’s them that your business depends upon.
- Manners. Customers are very sensitive to how they are being spoken to, a few polite manners in this sort of situation will go a long way.
- Never hurry your customer. This is something that all customers hate. They don’t like to feel under pressure or stressed, especially if it means that they might buy something that they don’t want and waste their money and time.
- Always be friendly. This will not only help the customer feel more at ease but it will also help lighten the mood and help create a bettor environment for customers in general. It may even be the case that a customer now somehow feels a sense of loyalty toward your business and will be more inclined to use you again.
- The customer is always first. This is really the underlying principle behind all the previous rules. If the customer doesn’t feel wanted or appreciated then obviously they will be far less likely to buy anything or to ever return. However if they do feel that they are wanted and appreciated then the reverse is true and they will be more inclined to do the aforementioned actions. This is the key to customer satisfaction and should be the building block of how you treat your customers.
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Posted by Aaron Charlie in Sales Resources on April 1st, 2009 | No Comments »
