Elements of Good Telesales and Telemarketing Practice

Cold calling, telesales and telemarketing tips abound. Tried and tested by telesales professionals, these resources have become a system that serves a formula for telesales success. The major elements of that system include the following.

Prospecting.

Spending at least two hours a day to screen out suspects from your list so you could focus all of your energy and resources on the most profitable prospects is one sure way to telesales success. This fact alone makes prospecting a must for any telesales professional before embarking on telemarketing. Prospecting ensures that your sales pipeline keeps flowing with prospective customers all day so you'll never run out of opportunities to make a sale.

Qualifying.

After you have engaged the prospect, it is better to qualify him first before getting to your presentation. The idea behind this is that the person who answers your call may not be the decision maker so it does not make any sense give your sales pitch to that person. Don't waste your time trying to sell to the wrong person. Find out if the he or she is the decision maker by asking probing questions. A good question to ask is: "Are there other people in your department involved in the decision making process related to this purchase so that I can also send the information to them?"

Building rapport.

The sales process is an interactive one that involves gaining the trust of your prospect, which can be achieved in many different ways. Get the prospect to open up and give you information about what they do by asking the right questions. Empathize with them and make them feel that you are genuinely concerned in helping them solve their problem.

Presenting.

Your rapport-building should be followed by your sales presentation. If you have successfully gained the trust of your prospect, it should not be difficult for you to influence them with your presentation. Do not fail to provide the benefits for each feature of your product or service. Use a script to guide you in delivering a smooth presentation that sounds conversational.

Objection handling.

Objections are sure to come up at any stage of your sales call. They come under any guise so be ready for them; they might be a trick to get rid of you. Ask questions to turn around those objections.

Closing.

Don't overdo your selling or things will backfire. Remember, you don't have to finish your presentation to be able to close the sale. Opportunities to close can come anytime and you have to look for the buying signal.