This is a Guest post by Jill Konrath of Selling To Big Companies.

Kevin Writes: I have a long-standing client. One noteworthy group asked us for a meeting to converse about a project and we geared up a moderately complex Statement of Work in just two business days.

We sent it, followed up with an e-mail several days later, followed up with one telesales call each week the following two weeks, and with another e-mail the next week. Ultimately, having hear nothing from the folks we were working with, I elevated to higher ups.

As you can imagine, I got a reply from my Director contact, and of course, ire and frustration from the unresponsive project folks.  Was I wrong to elevate? The logic of the project folks (my prospect) is that if we weren’t hearing from them, we should continue contacting them.

Now, where is it written that only telesales people or sellers have to exhibit professionalism, not the client?

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My thoughts: The game has varied in the corporate world today. However, honestly, it is not that they are bad individuals. They are literally expected to do too much in too little time.

They are running so lean and mean that it is impossible for them to keep their head above water. I have preferred to have compassion for them. Personally, I would have hate to be in an environment like that.

However, that doesn’t mean that we need to change what we do. With each project you do, ensure you have full communications going at all times with multiple people in the organization.

Let the prospects know that you are communicating with the executives. Be completely  transparent about it-  it’s how you work.  That way, it won’t seem like you’re going around them.

What would you suggest?

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. She’s a frequent speaker at annual sales meetings, kick-off events and professional conferences. For timely and provocative sales advice, visit www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

This is a Guest Post from Paul Archer, of Archer Training.

Here’s some body language reminders for you that as salespeople, we simply must get right. I’m sitting on a busy commuter train to London Paddington. There are a few seats available and most of the passengers are relaxed and enjoying the journey.

In my carriage there are a lot of table seats. One big table and four seats. Looking around I’m reminded of the human need for territory and how this can upset people if they’re not getting their territory respected. The problem is big laptops dominating the tables. Across the way from me right now is a chap with the biggest laptop I’ve ever seen. Now this is plain rude but if you could see her face and body language. She’s furious and the odd thing is, that chap is completely oblivious to and the poor lady opposite him is being squeezed out by the size of his electronics. what’s going on around him. He can’t read the signals.

In sales the message is respect zones and territory of your customer. Desks have an invisible mid line which you just do not cross, or indeed place your laptop. Items taken over to their side of the desk belong to the customer. A nice little trial close is to place something in the middle of the desk and if your customer takes it over to their side, they might be interested.

Body zones are even more important. I’m about to jump on the tube and will suffer armpits, backs and stomachs all over me during my half hour standing room only. We put up with this because we have no choice, but when we do have a choice, we do not like anyone we don’t know personally, within our intimate zone. This is roughly half a metre. Cross this as a salesperson at your peril. Be particularly wary of the zones of people who live outside cities. If they’ve been brought up in the country they may well have a larger personal zone than people who have lived in the confines of a city all their lives.

Test it next time you’re in a lift. Notice where everyone heads to the sides to find their own space.

And the best tip for you I’ve left to the end. Ever been to a networking event, or a party and you get stuck with someone you don’t really want to talk to? If so reverse the territory rule and get into their personal zone. Why? Because they will immediately back off like two poles of a magnet and move away, feel really uncomfortable and may well leave you alone.

Paul Archer is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He specializes in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. For more information on Paul and his training courses, visit www.paularcher.com, where you’ll also find his own sales blog, too!

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The following is a Guest post by Mike Brooks, AKA Mr. Inside Sales.

One of the largest dupes telesales professionals tumble into is the “Just Send Your Material” objection. In their enthusiasm to set up leads to call back, majority of the telesales professionals will agree and send their demos, quotes, and other information believing that they at least have a luck to close the sale once they call back. However, the question is: “How many individuals who tell you this objection actually close?”

Most likely, if you’re like most telesales professionals, the answer is “very few”. So, how do you handle this obvious brush off? The experienced telesales professional utilize cautiously prepared telephone scripts to manage objections like this and to get prospects to reveal how interested they really are.

Below are top five telephone scripts to help split the real buyers from those prospects who will end up wasting your time:

“Just Send Your Material”

Response #1:
I’ll be happy to do that __________, but until we know if this is truly a fit for you, we’d be wasting your time.  If you’re sincere about learning how this can actually help you, then I’d propose we take a couple of minutes right now to discuss your situation.  After that, if you’re really interested, I’d be glad to get something out to you – is that fair?”

Response #2:
“I’d be happy to _________.  Quick question though and please be honest with me: When do you think you’ll be serious about moving on to something like this?

Response #3:
If you like what you see, when would you be ready to place an order?” Or, “Sure, and after you review it, how soon are you looking to make a decision on it?”

Response #4:
“Before I do, I want to make sure you’d be ready to act on it if you like it.  Let me ask you a quick question: (Ask qualifying questions on budget, decision-making process, etc.)”

Response #5:
___________, my experience is that information like this, even when it’s this good, usually just gets buried under a stack of paper and that doesn’t do either one of us any good.  Now that we’re on the phone together, I can answer any of your urgent questions and then you’ll be in a better position to make a decision whether or not it makes sense to send you information.  Let me ask you about your needs for this type of (your service or product).”

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s Ebook: “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts,” 110 pages packed with word for word scripts and techniques you can begin using today to make more appointments and close more sales.  You can read about it by clicking here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/scripts.htm

The following is a Guest post by Mike Brooks, AKA Mr. Inside Sales.

Many business owners and sales managers ask me if I have a proven system or a way to identify and hire top telesales reps. They have tried everything, they tell me.  They check references, review similar work experiences, talk to ex co-workers, hold multiple job interviews, and sometimes they even spring for some high priced fancy telesales aptitude matrix tests.

Even with all that, however, many sales managers still haven’t found a way to identify who will actually perform well and work hard, versus who will merely show up, take up space and drive up costs by sending out brochures, running up phone bills, squandering leads etc.  “How can you tell?”  They ask me.

Well I’ve got good news for you.  There is one telesales technique that I’ve used successfully for years that will immediately separate who is for real and who’s not.  It doesn’t require any special tests, it can be done on the first interview, and it will always tell you what kind of sales rep you have in front of you. Here’s what you do:

During the course of the interview simply describe the service or product you’re selling, and ask them if they think they would do well selling it.  Almost all that will say, “Oh, of course!”  (Those who don’t, dismiss immediately!)

After that, tell them you want to get an idea of how they would handle some of the common objections you get with this sale, and then give them a couple of objections (one at a time, of course) and let them respond to them. That’s it! Several things happen here — all of which accurately reveal what kind of sales telesales rep you’re dealing with.  They usually have fallen into three categories:

The “A” Players — Top reps, or telesales reps who are well-trained and confident, will handle each objection with a recognizable rebuttal, and the really good ones will even ask for the sale at the end.  You will instantly know who they are.  You hire these reps right away.

The “B” Players — This group of telesales reps will also answer the objections, but their responses will be less polished.  With this group the lack of any formal training will show through, and you will be faced with the decision of whom you think can or can’t be trained.  Part of this group will be uncomfortable with the objections and you will be able to tell that they probably never will be comfortable with them. Your choice of who to hire from this group should be pretty clear.

The “C” Players — A common response from this group will be something like this:  “Well, I really don’t know your product so I really wouldn’t be able to answer these objections.” What they’re really saying, of course, is that they have no idea how to respond to an objection, they have no confidence, and the reason they are here looking for a job will be glaringly clear to both of you.  You pass on this group altogether.

Try this powerful technique during your next interview.  You will be amazed by how well it works.  Simply give them an objection, then sit back, listen and observe.

You will know instantly if you’re dealing with a real closer or someone who is just going to fill a chair.  Happy hiring!

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: www.MrInsideSales.com

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I’ve seen a ton of emails and tweets coming through over the last couple of months on the subject of emailing and leaving voicemails in regards to telesales and inside sales calling and follow-up’s. Being that we are a telesales tips, telemarketing tips and cold calling tips blog, I sat down and put together a few things on the subject. At first it was going to be a 2 part post, but it evolved into something a lot more heavy, content wise. After a little planning and getting together with a great eBook designer, our first FREE Telesales eBook was born.

POLITE “I CAN’T WAIT, GIVE ME MY FREE eBOOK NOW!!!” MESSAGE:  If you don’t want to read this post (which is largely taken from the introduction of the eBook itself) and want to get your hands on it immediately, stop reading, and just sign-up on the top right-hand side of the site. A download link will be emailed to you right away!

Fact of the matter is, making follow-up’s should be part of the contact strategy of any telesales professional. Following up on your prospects in a consistent, professional manner leads to a profitable flow in your sales pipeline. By making follow-up’s, you convert leads to prospects and prospects to customers and get more referrals in the process.

Make no mistake, emails and voicemails will NOT ‘close’ business for you (maybe very rarely, but let me emphasize the word ‘rarely’ here!). People prefer to buy from people. Plain and simple. Even the greatest emails and the strongest, most professional voicemails left on hundreds of thousands of machines throughout the course of the day do not bring clients on board.

However, when used properly, they can greatly increase the possibility of doing so, by providing more in-depth information, and generally allowing you to look professional and seasoned, as a company or individual.

As telesales professionals it’s our job, and we know this, to help people find solutions to their problems. We’re picture painters. Artists. Helping people see that the issues and headaches that they have been experiencing can be forgotten with the help of our spectacular range of products, or services. This will almost always be done by creating rapport, engaging our clients, and helping them along in the buying process.

Remember, people LOVE to buy, they just don’t like to be SOLD!

Emailing and leaving polite, professional and thought out voicemails can drastically help us create the right mindset and platform for doing business together. However, let me stress again – you should not to make sales via email and voicemails – people will always prefer to do business with people, as I mentioned above. Simply think of them as additional ammo in your sales arsenal, that’s all.

This eBook focuses on using these two tools to help you when making your follow-up’s with prospective clients, to supplement your teleselling efforts. However, I do focus a little more on email, as we do tend to use this medium more than voicemail nowadays, don’t we..?!

Just sign-up at the top right-hand side of the site and a link to the eBook will be emailed to you directly. I hope it helps you out, and please let me know how you get on by commenting on this page.

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This is a guest post from Karen Andrews of ShineSales.Com

Did you know that one of the biggest gripes against salespeople by decision makers is the lack of follow up?

Many people resist following up because they find it uncomfortable and don’t want to seem pushy or annoying and many people don’t follow up because they simply forget. This lack of follow-up presents a great opportunity for those who are organized and take the time to do it.

Follow-up is important because

* It lets people know you are interested and that you care
* It’s shows your level of commitment
* It keeps the relationship progressing
* It provides opportunities for new discussions and new ideas
* It reminds people you are out there and available
* It shortens the sales cycle
* It saves people time
* It leads to sales!

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This is a guest post from Karen Andrews of ShineSales.Com

Well it’s hard to believe but it’s only 6 weeks until Christmas and this time of year always brings with it challenges for both business owners and salespeople. As we approach the festive season and the business year draws to a close, many decision makers prefer to put off decisions and new business meetings until the New Year. This is both challenging and de-motivating for salespeople but also frustrating and stressful for business owners, who need to keep generating revenue.

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Quality teleselling management system is required to guide the performance of  telemarketing call centers’ performance, staffing utilization, and telemarketing costs. This post will discuss the most important aspects of time management for a telesales person and provide telesales tips for professionals to become more effective and efficient.

As we all know, the commercial market’s pressure is continuously increasing.  There is that need to makes use of each telesales professional efficiently. Holding the appropriate number of telesales professional working at the exact time intensifies client gratification and team spirit by decreasing the waiting time as well as agent frustration. This is one effective management style in most telemarketing corporations.

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Not to get too off topic here, but we came across this blog post by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits and thought it was well worth a re-post here on Telesales Magic! Check it out and get ‘productive’.

A gorgeous workspace with a view invites longing glances at a sun-drenched lawn, a lingering visual tour across the spines of our book collection, and excessive fiddling with the trinkets and toys co-habiting our desk.

We put time and effort into making our workspace a nice place to be without realizing that most of what we add will serve only one purpose: to make procrastination easier.

Simplifying your workspace can help boost productivity by removing distractions.

1. Keep the light, lose the view. Natural light is essential to any healthy workspace, but an interesting view will have you staring blankly into the garden or out onto the street when work gets tough. During work-time, your computer screen should be the most interesting place you can look. During your breaks, however, a trip outside or a peek out of an open window can help reinvigorate you.

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This is a Guest Post from Mike Brooks, AKA Mr. Inside Sales.

I don’t know about you, but now that’s it September, it’s time for me to identify my top priorities for the rest of the year, and then set some specific goals for their accomplishment.  I know the value of having specific goals in each area of my life, and by becoming clear on exactly where I want to be by the end of the year, I can begin feeling good now as I imagine myself as already having achieved them.  It’s an empowering way to live!

So many people still ask me what the secret to successful goal setting is, so I thought I’d share with you one of the basic principles of goal setting.  The most effective way to set goals is to start by using the SMART principles of goal setting.  SMART goals give you a proven format and a much better chance of following through and achieving them.  By the way, these SMART principles of goal setting also work extremely well when setting goals within a company, department, or sales team.  Here they are:

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