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This article is entirely based on the insights provided by Mr Girish Batra, Founder of NetAmbit, who was the keynote speaker at the webinar organized by Dexter Capital advisors and NeoDove on July 23, 2020.
Telesales has been a dominant method for generating leads despite the existence of numerous other techniques. Recently, however, telesales is not helping generate as much ROI as it did earlier. In fact, it takes nearly 8 phone calls to reach a customer and make a sale today.
However, telesales still prevails over other lead generation methods because of the various advantages it offers. Your representatives must be patient, persuasive, and persistent to employ this method effectively and achieve the ROI you want.
Throughout this article, we’ll cover a number of factors you need to consider when creating a robust telesales strategy for your business. Everything from does telesales work to how to improve telesales performance will be addressed.
Answering this question requires you to analyze the cost of your customer acquisition and whether the budget to cover that cost is available to you. To be able to reach out to potential customers, you will need a well-defined budget.
Input management is also crucial. As long as the inputs are right, such as the reports and telesales representative training, then the outcomes will be great, too.
Field sales can be hectic as it is complex and challenging and most importantly it involves a high execution cost. But with telesales, everything becomes quite flexible and as a result, your input management is well under your control.
Furthermore, when it comes to scaling, telesales is a great choice since it allows you to reach a large number of prospects as opposed to the field sales approach. You already have the customer data available, all you need is an efficient team to successfully convert those leads into sales.
The use of telesales is widespread in today’s business world. Due to the online and phone-based sales model, businesses can save a great deal on physical sales.
Among the most advantageous aspects of telesales is that you do not need an elaborate office setup. For such operations, coworking spaces offer all the essential and recreational services one could wish for in a workspace without requiring a large investment.
There are four major models of telesales. The first model revolves around both generating and closing deals by implementing an end-to-end sales process through the call centre. The second model of telesales is one about generating high-quality leads through telesales and closing deals in person.
The third model of telesales involves working on inbound leads or leads generated through digital platforms and closing them through telesales itself. Lastly, the fourth model requires telesales executives to work on inbound leads and leads generated through digital platforms and close sales in person.
Choosing a model that best suits your business will depend on your business offering and your competitive scenario.
Since the business market is highly dynamic, the sales process is constantly changing. It is subject to the current state of the market, the opportunities and the challenges. The influence of these factors requires you to restructure your telesales process every now and then.
It is very important to define your telesales process clearly and focus on constant improvement. You should not assume that if your existing process works well today, it will continue to work with the same effectiveness in the future.
Having a leader on your team who observes the changes as they take place and develops the sales process based on those changes is essential to staying current. You will then be able to see where you have been struggling and where you can bring changes.
Mastering certain skills is essential to achieving higher levels of efficiency and growth and here are some ways in which you can help your telesales representatives improve their performance.
Enhance your outbound telesales productivity by implementing a blueprint strategy. Be sure not to confuse a call blueprint with a script. A blueprint provides a call structure with checkpoints along the way for your telesales agents.
Ensure that your telesales agent completes pre-call planning before getting on a call and that they have clear call objectives. Understanding what they are selling and why the customer needs it is the next step. Most importantly, help them develop a positive outlook.
Through the pull conversation style, the representative can lead the conversation. For instance, they can ask questions like “what is the best location for you?” or simple yes/no questions. Telesales representatives should not waste time gathering unnecessary information from customers.
In other words, rather than using the push technique to present options to customers and then wait for them to decide on one, your telesales reps can gather information and take actions based on customer needs.
Give your telesales team the freedom to make their own decisions based on the customer’s needs. You will be surprised at how productive they will be. Asking them to fixate on something will stifle their creativity and productivity.
Self-learning and one-on-one coaching will help your representatives to come up with better solutions and will help them boost their productivity. Do not waste time on arguments with them or attempt to manipulate their decisions unless they are proven to be wrong.
Telesales agents are highly motivated towards their work if they are offered certain incentives. These incentives can include monetary benefits, shift preferences, vacation approvals, corporate parties, and so on.
In addition, an incentive program gives your telesales team reassurance about their efforts.
Also Read: How to effectively manage your sales team
Telesales is a fairly straightforward process and at its heart is the sales pitch. Several factors and circumstances affect how you deliver your pitch. To make a successful telesales pitch, follow the below-mentioned steps:
You shouldn’t pitch your product or service right away. Ask your prospect questions and identify what they are looking for. Then, position your offering as the solution to their problem(s).
The primary focus of a telesales agent should be to help leads and customers save time, money, and make money. Essentially, these are the three things that a client looks forward to the most.
Upon hearing a yes from your customer, plan a meeting with them to discuss your offerings in detail. However, if the customer wants you to discuss it over the phone directly, then go ahead and do so.
At this point, the conversation is in your hands. If the customer wants to discuss it some other time, make sure you schedule a slot and time that is convenient for them.
Plan your meeting after verifying the details provided by the lead or customer. Prepare in advance so that you can provide maximum information to your prospect during the meeting.
Also, provide them with your contact information in case he wishes to reach out to you outside of the officially scheduled meeting. Information such as your contact number, organization name, and email id would be expected from you.
Thank your prospect for showing interest in your product/service. Do not abruptly end the session once he agrees to go ahead with what you are offering. You will look unprofessional if you do this.
Make sure that you keep in contact with them. Such actions demonstrate your professionalism and how much you care about your customers.
Identifying the objections your telesales team face during customer interaction is important. Identify the objections and brainstorm the probable responses to them. Such practices help to instil more confidence in the telesales team and help them handle objections effectively.
A good telesales team can easily build trust by handling objections well.
Confirm the meeting date with your prospect by sending them an email or a message. Make sure to include any marketing materials that they might find helpful.
Job descriptions for telesales representatives are fairly clear. Telesales representatives are expected to take care of the following responsibilities:
They are responsible for calling potential customers and pitching them the company’s product or service. Furthermore, they are required to follow a script to qualify prospects who are ready to buy and those who will probably buy the business’ product or service.
Direct sales functions must also be performed by them. They are required to work on the data provided to them and successfully close sales and ensure repeat business.
Creating and updating activity reports is a necessity for telesales agents. The reports should include information like the number of calls made, leads generated and converted, and other vital statistics.
Other duties of a telesales representative include conflict resolution, customer service, taking and processing orders, and meeting sales goals.
Seekers must possess the following skills to be qualified to work as telesales representatives:
The candidate must possess the skills necessary for a sales profile. They need to know how to effectively follow a sales script, close sales deals on the phone, have good negotiation skills, and they should be able to meet their sales targets.
The candidate should have excellent verbal and written communication skills. The moment they begin talking to customers, they should be able to establish a connection. They must be confident and know what they are talking about without hesitating or mixing words while speaking to their prospects.
It takes patience, empathy, and persuasion to sell over the phone. This will allow them to build a strong rapport with the prospect. These skills will also help in gaining repeat business from customers.
Among other skills that the candidate must have are knowledge of telephone and computer systems, a cool disposition, and quick learning skills.
Companies around the world are relying on telesales to generate leads and sell their products. Telesales, when implemented with a targeted approach, good research, and an effective strategy, can be great for increasing sales as well as improving the customer experience.
To succeed all you need is the right mindset and technologically advanced tools.
About the Keynote Speaker – Mr Girish Batra is the founder and CEO of NetAmbit. In 2000, Mr Batra founded NetAmbit with a vision to make financial services accessible to everyone. Since then, NetAmbit has grown into a leading professional services company across sectors like real estate, financial services, sales processes, and hiring & staffing services. Girish has been credited with scaling up to 4000 team members in telesales.
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FREE GUIDE
Get your copy of the ultimate guide to lead generation through telecalling (scripts included)