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Monthly Archives: December 2017

Are the days between Christmas and New Year a peak opportunity or no-go for telemarketers?

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Christmas workplace

The days between Christmas and New Year can be tricky for those involved in sales and marketing. While some companies will shut down for the entire holiday period, others will be at work as usual, making it difficult to plan a telemarketing schedule. What’s more, some businesses fear that telemarketing calls won’t be well received at this time. Even those who are in the office may still be recovering from an overdose of festive cheer.

Although it’s true that telemarketers need to tread a more lightly in between Christmas and New Year, this brief period does offer a number of unique sales opportunities. By approaching calls with the right attitude and taking things slowly, businesses can get a head start on their January sales and hit the New Year running.

Taking advantage of seasonal good cheer

The period between Christmas and New Year is famously quiet in almost all industries. Those who are in the office are often in a happy and relaxed mood as the workload is generally light and January deadlines have yet to be set. Running a telemarketing campaign at this time of year can allow you to take advantage of the seasonal good cheer that lingers in most offices.

Getting a head start

As a lot of competing telemarketing teams won’t be working between Christmas and New Year, launching your 2018 sales campaign at this time will allow you to get a head start. By the time January rolls around, many of your prospective customers will already have heard of your brand, your products and your services, allowing you to stay one step ahead of the competition. This head start can be invaluable in a competitive market and could make the difference between your brand having a good 2018 and a great one.

Setting the right tone

The key to making the most of this inter-festive period is to keep calls light, engaging and interesting. Try to avoid being too pushy or coming on too strong. Instead, ask your telemarketing team to use seasonal greetings to get the call off on a positive note and make sure they’re adept at creating productive conversations and two-way dialogues.

The more they can engage with the decision maker, the easier it will be for your telemarketers to lay the foundations of a productive business relationship. As decision makers often have more time available during this period, it’s possible your telemarketers will find it easier to begin a productive conversation and to discuss the brand’s needs and requirements. This can provide you with valuable insight into your customer base and help you to tailor your products and services accordingly.

Although not all of the businesses you try to connect with will be available between Christmas and New Year, those that are will often be more open to hearing what your telemarketing team has to say due to the relaxed festive atmosphere. To find out more about effective telemarketing techniques, explore our site or get in touch with a member of our team.

How to capture someone’s attention over the phone in 10 seconds or less

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Grab attention

If you can capture someone’s attention within the first few seconds of your telemarketing call, you’ll have a much higher chance of achieving your goals. If you currently struggle to capture your prospect’s attention, take a look at these tips for grabbing a prospect’s attention quickly and effectively.

Be original

One of the best ways to capture someone’s attention quickly over the phone is to be original. By giving them something they’re not expecting, you can disrupt their routine and ensure their focus is entirely on you. Work on effective opening techniques so the start of your call is original, informative and captivating.

Make it personal

If a prospect thinks your telemarketing call is generic or irrelevant to them, they’re very unlikely to pay attention to what you’re saying. However, if you tailor your call to make it personal to them and their business, you’ll be able to demonstrate not only that you care about their needs and requirements, but also that you’ve taken the time to do your homework. Try to mention something specific about their company in the opening few moments of your call. This should make them feel appreciated and allow the conversation to progress with a positive way.

Ask an insightful question

Asking an open question is always a good way to begin a telemarketing call. If you can make that question insightful and interesting, you’ll have a good chance of capturing your prospect’s attention. As you dial the number, take a moment to scan the company’s website. This should provide you with the information you need to find a question that hits the mark.

Keep it simple

Few things can cause a telemarketing call to wither and fade faster than technical jargon and business speak. Instead of trying to impress your contact with buzzwords and long, complex phrases, keep your conversation simple. Use short sentences and make sure your references are accessible and universal. If you can, begin your conversation with a few statistics or facts that concisely demonstrate why your brand is worth paying attention to.

Give them your complete attention

If you want your prospect to give you their complete attention, you need to provide them with the same courtesy. Make sure you don’t become distracted during your call. Try to make sure you listen carefully to their answers instead of trying to think ahead to what comes next. As well as helping you to build rapport with the person you’re speaking to, giving them your complete attention could help you to gain valuable insight into their needs and requirements, something that may help you to build a lasting rapport.

Capturing someone’s attention quickly and effectively is an essential telemarketing skill. To find out more about useful telemarketing techniques, take a look around our site or give us a call and speak to one of the friendly members of our team.

Twenty years of Blue Donkey

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Approved

Last week Blue Donkey celebrated a very important milestone: our 20th birthday. We are proud of successfully trading for two decades, an unusual achievement for a small family business. And we couldn’t have done it without our lovely clients and the wonderful army of Blue Donkey champions who, year after year, have recommended us to their friends.

Teenager no more

As Blue Donkey turns twenty, we leave our teenage years behind and march forward towards our quarter-century. Way back in 1997, we set out to meet the emerging intelligent telemarketing needs of local high-tech companies. Basically, we wanted to make the calls they would make themselves if they had the training, the teams, and time to do so. We’ve helped our clients navigate a changing telemarketing industry and several recessions. Over the years we’ve honed our skills and aided hundreds of businesses in improving their marketing and communication skills.

A Trusted Partner

Although hitting the two-decade mark is an achievement, we are more excited about what the future holds. Blue Donkey is the trusted brand in B2B marketing not because of our longevity, but because of our principles. We have not given into the temptation to become a volume operation. Our clients trust us to deliver a quality, bespoke service dial after dial.. This trust is worth its weight in gold, and we value it above all else.

Finding and maintaining success

Not only has Blue Donkey provided telemarketing services for 20 years, we’ve succeeded in creating impressive results for several clients. We’ve been able to build on our early success to create a business that offers real value to companies around the country.

We’ve gained both ISO:9001 and IIP accreditations, maintained exceptional levels of customer service and customer care and worked hard to ensure we’re always at least one step ahead of the competition. Throughout the past two-decades we’ve remained a stable and innovative voice in the world of telemarketing and have continued to build on our experience, our expertise, and our success to create a company that can intuitively meet a client’s telemarketing needs and produce results.

People help to make Blue Donkey what it is today

Over the years, Blue Donkey has been lucky enough to work with some truly exceptional people. Many are still part of our team today, while others have gone into new roles where we are proud that they’ve continued to build good careers using the blend of unique skills mastered at Blue Donkey.

Looking to the future

Although we have two decades under our belt, we know we can’t be complacent. In the coming years we’ll continue to work tirelessly to maintain our high standards, improve both customer and staff satisfaction even further and retain all clients that use our services.

If you think your company could benefit from our 20 years of experience in the telemarketing industry, give us a call and find out exactly how we can help your business to achieve its goals.

The psychology of asking open questions

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Open questions psychology

The best telemarketers know exactly how to shape the conversation to engage the contact and create a dialogue. Understanding the psychology behind these techniques can help you to improve the quality of your calls and give your telemarketing campaigns the best possible chance of success.

What is an open question?

Unlike a closed question, an open question can’t be answered with a single word. Closed questions can generally be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They are typically used to garner specific pieces of information rather than to open up a conversation. Although they definitely have their place in communication, they aren’t necessarily useful in telemarketing.

Open questions, on the other hand, require a little more thought. They often need at least a sentence or two in response and so are a great way to get people talking. Understanding exactly how an open question can impact on a conversation and benefit a telemarketing call can help you and your team to get more out of your sales and marketing campaigns.

Developing the conversation

As open questions can’t be answered with a single word, they encourage the prospect to open up a little and to develop the conversation. By beginning a call with an open question, telemarketers can therefore prevent the conversation coming to a premature end and can begin to create a productive two-way dialogue with the prospect. This can provide a valuable opportunity to find out more about a contact, their needs and requirements. It can also help the telemarketer to begin to build rapport with the prospect and create a beneficial business relationship.

Showing an interest

When you ask an open question, it shows that you’re interested in finding out more about the person you’re speaking to. Rather than just ticking facts off of a list or rushing the conversation towards a sale, you’re taking the time to really get to grips with the specific needs of the company you’re connecting with. As well as helping your conversation to get off on the right foot, this can also help your telemarketing call to stand out from the crowd.

Playing on politeness

The vast majority of people will go out of their way to avoid being impolite on the phone. Even the busiest gatekeepers and decision makers will generally take a few moments to answer your open question, giving you the opportunity you need to engage them in the conversation and get them interested in the products or services you’re offering. Although you don’t want to push this politeness too far, using it to get your foot in the telephonic door could help you to win over the decision maker.

If you need help and advice on improving the quality of your telemarketing calls, we can help. Contact a member of our team today to find out more.