Common Telemarketing Service Mistakes that Must be Avoided
Telemarketing is an effective marketing method that has been used by businesses for
the longest time. However, it also continues to be one of the most misunderstood
and negatively stereotyped methods. For many people, cold calls are synonymous with
pushy talkative strangers who call at an inconvenient time to try and sell things.
Telemarketing has got a bad reputation due to inexperienced telemarketers who don’t
have the know-how to make calls to prospects. Before mentioning some of the common
mistakes telemarketers need to avoid, it is important to learn a bit more about
the common myths associated with this marketing method.
People believe that telemarketers call just anyone and everyone which isn’t true.
For a successful telemarketing campaign, research is very important. Telemarketers
are asked to put careful research into who they call and why. They are asked to
research about the clients or prospects beforehand so that the pitch can be tailored
according to the prospect’s wants and needs.
It is believed that telemarketing is always scripted. Yes, there is a script that
telemarketers follow but skilled telemarketers are also trained in striking a meaningful
and relevant conversation rather than just sticking to the script. They understand
the power of natural conversation and asking thoughtful questions to the prospects.
Telemarketing is no just about making sales. It is also about building long lasting
relations with customers. For instance, in B2B telemarketing, the focus is on building rapport between
companies that can be used for generation of leads, customer profiling and event
telemarketing. There is no doubt that telemarketing is effective in spreading the
word about particular products and services but it cannot be considered to be the
be-all and end-all of successful telemarketing.
Lastly, people believe that telemarketing calls are easy and anyone can do it. This
is a myth because telemarketing requires a certain skill set. It requires training
in articulation, amiability, rapport building and so on. The telemarketer also needs
to have the ability to listen to the prospects in order to build a genuine rapport.
Avoiding Mistakes in Telemarketing Services
It is very important for telemarketers to avoid making some common mistakes each
time they make a call to a prospect.
Fake-friendly tone will prove to be a major turn off for sales leads prospects. If
the telemarketer is trying too hard to be cheerful and friendly on the call, the
prospect will get to know. It is better if they come clean and explain the prospects
why they have called and what is the purpose of the conversation. This will save
everyone’s time and efforts.
Prospects should not be pestered with calls. Ideally, it takes at least three to
four calls to speak with the contact in a B2B scenario. If telemarketers are making
phone calls constantly to the prospects, it will only create annoyance. It is recommended
to find out the ideal time for making a call and then spread the calls over a certain
time period in a diligent manner.
Not listening to the prospects is another mistake that telemarketers make. There
is nothing that annoys a prospect more than the feeling that the person on the other
end of the call isn’t listening to them. Not listening carefully creates annoyance
and telemarketers will also miss the chance to get as much information as possible.
Another mistake that every reputed agency for telemarketing UK avoids is being rude on call. For a successful
campaign, politeness is the key. For instance, in a B2B scenario, it is very important
that telemarketers are minding their manners with the gatekeepers. They need to
be polite with them in order to build a rapport with them.
Using closed questions in telemarketing calls is a strict no-no. The idea is to build
momentum on the call so that the prospect becomes more interested or inclined in
opening up. It is necessary for telemarketers to ask questions that begin with a
how, why or when instead of questions that have a yes or no answer.
Being unprepared will kill the effect of the call. This is the reason why research
is very important. You cannot call someone if you don’t even know whether they will
buy the products or services. So in order to save time, telemarketers need to be
prepared and make well-researched calls.
At times, many telemarketers fail to introduce themselves. This is not a good thing
to do because if there is no connect with the prospects, the purpose of the call
will be lost. This is a common problem in telemarketing because many sales organization
put too much burden on telemarketers to make as many calls as possible in a day.
For them, quantity of the call is more important than the quality.
Telemarketers need to be experts at improvising calls. This is a mistake that practically
every telemarketing agency makes. Just sticking to the script wont work. To make
an effective call, the telemarketer must know how and where to improvise the call.
They cannot get results from reading off a script and hoping for the best. They
need to understand that prospects are real people who are looking for real solutions.
They need to be talked to. So if telemarketers become script readers rather than
problem solvers, then the calls will become a waste of time and money.
Lastly, telemarketers should avoid presenting the offer too soon on the call. There
are some sales people who want to “cut to the chase”. Due to this haste, they don’t
spend time on presenting what is valuable in their offer. They just make the offer
blatantly. What they should actually do is to think about how the offer needs to
sound or look to the prospect.
By ensuring that these common mistakes are avoided, any business can run a successful
telemarketing campaign. If you don’t wish to run a campaign in-house, you can seek
help from a reliable telemarketing agency.
