4 Tips to Help You Be a Better Telemarketer

I’ve been in telesales for about 14 years now, and for the most part, I have made a decent living at it. In this article, I will cover some basic strategies that will help you to be a better telemarketer. I will not be covering any business to business (B2B) telesales strategies, but if your job is to sell goods or services to individuals at home, this article can help.
Becoming a telemarketer can provide you with a decent income. Many companies do not require previous experience and provide paid training. You may think that you need to be a natural salesman to make a living as a telemarketer, but this is usually not the case. There are a few strategies that you can implement that will help you be a better telemarketer regardless of your past experience.

1. Ask for a person by their first name. If you’re calling for John Doe, don’t say, “Hello is Mr. Doe available”. This automatically brings up a red flag. Jot down nortes adn be more organized in telemarketing. I suggest you use  Toad Diaries for personal and work use.

2. To be a better telemarketer, assume that the person who answers the phone is the person you are trying to contact. Don’t ask if the person is home; assume that this is the person you’re looking for. I don’t care who answers the phone, you say “Hello (persons name)”. If you’re calling for John Doe and a lady answers the phone, you say, “Hello John”. If it’s not John who answers, 9 times out of 10, they will say, “hold on I’ll get him for you” or “he won’t be in till whenever o’clock”. By doing this you usually get past the, “who is this?” stage of the conversation that can waste time and give the person a chance to lie about whether John is actually home or not. This alone can help you be a better telemarketer, because it will increase the amount of contacts you get in a given day.

3. Answer a question with a question. If you want to be a better telemarketer, then you need to keep control of the conversation. If you’re selling widgets, and a person asks you a question about the product, you briefly answer their question and follow with a question of your own. If they ask “how long has your widget company been in business?” you could say something like, “We’ve been in business for 10 years now and we’re also accredited with the Better Business Bureau. Where exactly are you purchasing your widgets from now?” Once they’ve answered, you briefly acknowledge their response and go back into your sales pitch. Now you’re back in the driver seat without being forceful or inconsiderate.

4. Once you’ve requested something from a potential customer, the next person to speak loses. This is very important if you want to be a better telemarketer. Let me give you an example: You’ve just asked the customer if they have the $149.95 available in their checking account today. Once you’ve made this request, shut your mouth and wait for an answer. This may seem like a given, but many telemarketers will start rattling off at the mouth if the customer doesn’t give them an answer right away. After a few seconds of silence, if the customer has still not answered your question, you simply restate the question and shut up again. If you want to be a better telemarketer, you always need to remember that the first person to speak after you’ve made a request loses the battle.

So, we’ve learned that if you want to be a better telemarketer, you must; ask for a person by their first name, assume that the person answering the phone is the person you’re calling for, answer questions with a question of your own, and the first person to speak after you’ve made a request loses. If you implement these tips, you’re sure to see an increase in your paycheck.