Generating sales in telemarketing starts with a telemarketing conversation. Whether an agent is speaking with a customer or a potential customer, they have to spark a conversation. It's the only way to build trust and turn a prospect into a customer or a recurring customer.
What Is Telemarketing Communication?
Telemarketing communication during cold calling is when an agent speaks with a customer or potential customer about products or services that their company offers. A few forms of telemarketing communication include:
- outbound calls
- inbound calls
- lead generation
- sales calls
How Do You Write a Telemarketing Script?
Writing a telemarketing script begins with knowing the purpose of the call. Every campaign that you do will need its own unique cold calling script because each campaign has a unique purpose. After identifying the purpose of the call, you can begin to write the script.
- It is always best to start the call by introducing yourself and what company you represent.
- Next, consider what information you want to get out of the call recipient. For instance, if they are a cold lead, ask some clarifying questions about who they are and what they are looking for in a product.
- Then, state the purpose of the call. Ex: customer feedback on a product or a limited-time offer on a service.
- Lastly, remind them of your next call with them or how you will reach out next time and thank them for their time.
The good news is that there are also many example scripts available, like cold calling scripts for real estate agents, so if you need help getting started, you can use them for reference.
How Do You Start a Telemarketing Conversation: 5 Easy Steps
Every brilliant telemarketing script starts with knowing how to create a nice and flawless telemarketing conversation. With only five steps, anyone can implement this into their telemarketing process in no time. You will quickly experience the benefits of these steps once they are put into practice, so let's begin!
Step 1: Have a Good Cold Calling List
Meaningful telemarketing conversations start with good cold calling lists that are relevant to the business goals. Targeted cold calling lists will take into account the criteria of your target audience. Your target audience will be people who qualify to buy your product and are willing to buy it. Before you get your phone list, you must create a list of criteria for your target audience. Start by asking these questions:
- What age group purchases our product/service?
- What demographic purchases our product/service?
- What is the average income of our current customers?
- What job do the current customers have? In which industry?
- Why does our targeted audience need this product/service?
These questions will vary depending on what product or service you are trying to sell, but having qualifying questions like these will help you narrow down your target audience.
Once you have established the targeted audience, you can purchase a target phone list that fits the criteria you have set. This makes it much easier to sell and much less likely for you to run into rejections, so you will also waste less time.
Step 2: Project a Confident Tone
Having good cold calling etiquette includes having a confident tone. For one, you want the prospect to be able to hear you and understand what you are saying. You also show confidence in the value of the product and the company when you sound self-assured. Projecting a confident voice will predispose the prospect to what you are selling. It will also make them feel comfortable asking questions and voicing their concerns.
Note that there is a fine line between a confident voice and an arrogant voice. Make sure you are not overbearing and allow time for them to speak. Also, be sure to keep a mindset of helpfulness to avoid coming across as arrogant.
Step 3: Engage With the Prospect
There are a few ways to grab the attention of the prospect and hold their attention. First and foremost, be kind and helpful with every conversation you have with them. Then, as the conversation continues, ask questions and answer any questions that they might have. Be sure you do not spend the whole time talking because this will cause the prospect to lose focus.
Engage them with questions that will provoke more than a one-word answer, so you will also get information from them. Connect them to the brand by adding them to an email marketing campaign or using the company’s social media sites to message them or promote deals. Lastly, keep consistent with your calls to the prospect.
Step 4: Create a Connection
Creating a connection between you and the prospect begins with building trust through answering questions, handling concerns, and meeting their needs. Prospects become customers when they believe a business has something valuable and wants them to be happy with their purchase. Building that connection could take longer than you might think. Keep in mind that 80% of sales happen after the 5th call made to a prospect. So be persistent and continue to nurture your leads.
Step 5: Set a Call to Action
After you have had a conversation with the prospect, you have to create a ‘call-to-action’. This refers to giving the prospect an opportunity or getting a commitment to go to the next stage in the sales pipeline. Maybe that commitment is a meeting for the following week, or maybe that opportunity is signing up for the email subscription to get 20% off. Whatever it is, it must appeal to the prospect's interest and get them closer to a sale.
With these 5 easy steps, telemarketing conversations don’t seem so challenging anymore. Practice them and you will see the results. Check out the top 5 cold calling videos for more tips.
