Its been a long week. However, I wanted to post this quick list of prospecting tips. Being a professional telesales person isnt easy, and after 18 astounding years in the business I am happy to say I am still learning every day! Cold calling, telesales or telemarketing – it doesnt matter what you call it – the most important thing is that you strive to get better, and never give up the opportunity to learn something new.
So, here you go, my 5 quick telesales tips to use when prospecting for new business via the telephone – feel free to turn this list into a larger one if you like, and be sure to post YOUR tips in the comments section at the end of the post!
Tip #1 - Always be prospecting. There should never be a single working day that goes by without you picking up the phone and spending a certain amount of time looking for new business.
Tip #2 - Be friends with the gatekeeper. Never argue with them. I have definitely, without a doubt, closed more sales in my career by befriending and being polite with the gatekeeper, than I have fighting with them!
Tip #3 – Make sure you are speaking with the decision maker. Regardless of what youre selling, make sure the person you pitch is the one that can sign the purchase order. Pitching anyone else other than the decision maker is simply a waste of time.
Tip #3b – If you’re calling small-to-medium sized businesses, chances are that the decision maker, regardless of what product or service you are selling, is the owner of the business – ask for him/her, and nobody else.
Tip #4 – Manage the perception of your prospects. Don’t promise something, like a price break or a free gift of some kind, unless you can actually make it happen. Its always better to under promise and over perform, remember that.
Tip #5 – Always be prospecting. Yep – I’m slamming it in here again (besides, Tip #3b was a freebie!). Again, it is so important to dedicate time to the art of prospecting. The more people you speak to the more chances you have of making a sale, and remember, a ‘no’ today doesn’t mean ‘no’ forever. Take notes, mark your follow-up’s on your calender and be sure to call back when you promise.
This is obviously not everything you need to know about how to be a great prospecting machine, but its a start and it is basically the ‘juice’, so to speak. I am now happy to open the floor to you guys, the telesales pro’s of the world to continue building on my quick list. So, on your marks, get set, GO!
For more quick, regular telesales tips, you can follow us on Twitter through username @telesalesmagic, and feel free to add myself, too @chrisducker.
@Steve – thanks for the kind words. We’re just simply trying to put something good together here at TM, thats all. The bottom line is that the readers will ultimately decided whether we stick around, or not. So, I’m glad youre finding the current content good enough to keep coming back for more!
In regards to the book – its coming along very nicely. The most important thing for me is that i DONT duplicate any of the information on the blog, into the book. Thats not what I want at all. The book should be a stand alone product. Although there might be some similarities between the two on the final version of the book, it will still be its own entity, thats for sure. You can expect to see it out around the end of the year, if not a little sooner!
Great pointers here Chris. Thanks. I like the way you included number one twice. The blog has some great content. Keep up the good work. Also whats happening with your book? When will it be ready?