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Monthly Archives: June 2018

Why goal setting is essential in intelligent telemarketing

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An essential part of telemarketing, goals are very important in all sales and marketing campaigns. Used well, they help to keep teams and individuals motivated and provide an important focal point for both long and short term projects. This can help to increase a campaign’s chances of success and give those working on the project a real feel of satisfaction when the target is achieved. What’s more, setting a goal can help you to measure your achievements and make your marketing campaign more quantifiable. Keep reading to find out more

How goal setting can influence a telemarketing campaign

Everyone works a little harder when they have a tangible goal in mind. Whether it’s a short term target or a long term aim, having something to strive for brings out the best in most of us. If you want your telemarketing campaign to produce visible results, setting a goal for your project makes perfect sense. Not only will setting a goal help to mould your strategy and focus your mind, it will also make it easier to gauge your progress during the campaign.

How to set useful goals

In order to make your telemarketing campaign as intelligent and useful as possible, you need to put some thought into selecting your goal. As the target you choose is likely to have a big impact on your outcomes, getting it just right is essential. As HubSpot says, you need to be “Specific — Do set real numbers with real deadlines. Don’t say, “I want more visitors.” The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to stay focused and to assess your progress throughout the project.

However, it’s also essential that your goals are realistic. Although we’d all like to triple our number of visitors overnight, this is unlikely to happen and missing goals by a wide margin is never good for morale. Spend a little time looking at your company’s current performance and then think about how you can realistically improve this performance. Doing a bit of research before your intelligent marketing campaign kicks off will help to make you better informed and better placed to take full advantage of the project.

Last but not least, it’s important to give your specific, attainable goal a deadline. If it’s a long term, ongoing project try dividing it up into stages. Give each of these stages a deadline so that you and your team have something concrete to work towards.

Helping to give your telemarketing campaign a clear focus and giving your team something to strive towards, a well-chosen goal can help you to boost your telemarketing achievements. If you’d like to find out more about goal setting, or about intelligent and informed telemarketing, explore our site, or get in touch with a member of our team today.

Who’s the MAN?

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Identify the MAN

Identifying the right decision maker is a crucial part of any telemarketing call. As The Balance says, “In business-to-business sales, you will frequently have to work your way through one or more people to reach the appropriate decision maker.” Although some of the other people you speak to may well be able to help you in some way, ideally you need to ensure you talk to the person in charge as soon as possible.

One of the best ways to identify the right decision maker is to use the MAN method. By following these simple steps, you can easily qualify the position of the person you’re speaking to and use this information to ensure your call is a success.

The ‘MAN’ we want to speak to is…

There can often appear to be more than one ‘MAN’ in an organisation. It’s not uncommon for different people to have the same level of authority when it comes to making buying decisions. However, in some cases one of these employees may be more familiar with the needs of the business than the others or might have more funds left in their specific budget for the products or services you provide.

M – the person with Means

Firstly, it’s important to ascertain that the decision maker you’re talking with has the means necessary to make a purchase. You can get this information by simply asking outright if they are in control of the budget, or by asking if there’s someone else you need to talk to who has the means to make a decision.

A – the person with Authority

Authority is an important factor when it comes to identifying the decision maker. Use a qualifying method to decide if you’re speaking to the right person. Firstly, check that they are the person responsible – as opposed to the person ‘dealing with’ – the relevant area. Secondly, ask the person you’re speaking to their actual job title.

The answer to this question may well help you to decide if they’re senior enough to make a decision. This is a good way to work out who the correct ‘MAN’ is at an organisation. If you don’t think the person you’re speaking to has the right level of authority, ask to be put through to the decision maker that they answer to.

N – the person with Need

A key factor in making a successful telemarketing call is identifying a decision maker who has a need for your product or service. If they have a need to make a change from their current supplier, or even to take on a new product or service that may make their life easier, decision makers will be much more likely to commit to your business.

When making telemarketing calls, there are a few key points to keep in mind: does the person you’re speaking to have the means to make a buying decision, the authority to make a buying decision and the need to make a change? If the answer to all of these is ‘yes’, you’re talking to the MAN and should be able to bring your call to a satisfactory close.

What ‘send me some further information’ really means and how to make the most of it

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Phone

‘Send me some further information’ is a phrase that often comes up in telemarketing calls. Although it can be used by potential customers as a way to get you off of the phone, a lot of the time, it’s actually a positive signifier, especially if it comes at the end of a productive telemarketing call. In fact, if you take full advantage of the opportunity this request represents, it can well mark the start of a profitable and beneficial business relationship.

‘I’m too busy to speak to you right now’

Often, the reason that potential customers ask you to send more information is that they genuinely don’t have the time to talk on the phone at that moment. The decision makers and gatekeepers you’re trying to connect with have busy professional lives. Try to respect their time constraints – and avoid being fobbed off – by asking if you can call back later. Ideally, you should try to phone them again that day so that they remember you and are expecting your call. If this isn’t possible, ask when would be a good time for them.

Although not necessarily a negative, asking for information to be sent via post or via email is often a method used by potential customers when they’re trying to bring a call to a close. However, following up with an email is rarely a good idea. As @HubSpot says:

“Think about the number of emails you get in your inbox each day. How many of those do you actually read? Any message from someone you can’t immediately identify is probably going to get a quick subject-line glance followed by a trip either to the archives, or the trash.”

‘I don’t have the authority to make this decision’

Sometimes, potential customers will tell you they’re not interested because they don’t want to admit that they’re not the decision maker. This often happens if you’ve already spent a significant amount of time talking about your products or services before confirming that you’re speaking to the person in charge.

You can avoid this by identifying the decision maker as early on in the call as possible. Again, it’s important to see a request for more information as a positive in this situation. It shows that, even though they’re not the decision maker, the person you’re speaking to sees the value of the product or service you’re offering and wants to present it to people who can take action.

‘I still don’t understand the details of the product or service you’re offering’

If the potential customer still has questions about your product or service but doesn’t have the time to go into detail about them right at that moment, they might be asking for further information because they genuinely want to find out more. Try to really listen when the decision maker asks questions and do your best to give comprehensive, but succinct, answers.

When you hear the phrase ‘send me more information’ it shows that you’ve presented your information in an enticing way and that the business relationship you’ve just initiated may well go further. By really listening to your potential customer, carefully selecting the information that you send to them and following up on the call at a future date, you can bring your contact to a satisfactory conclusion.

Find out more about effective telemarketing techniques by taking a look around our site today.

The mind body link and why goals can lead to leads

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Harness mind and body

The mind is an incredibly powerful thing. Get it focused on a specific goal or aim and there are virtually no limits to what you can achieve. Fail to get your mind in gear, on the other hand, and hitting any sort of target can feel impossible.

In business, and telemarketing in particular, harnessing the power of the mind can produce real results. Even if you don’t realise it at the time, if your mind is focused on your goal, your body will respond. This can make you sound more confident and also give you the energy you need to complete the task at hand. As a result, you’re able to generate the leads your business needs to succeed.

The mind body link

Although it has been considered true for a number of years, it’s only relatively recently that scientific research has been used to confirm the connection between mind and body. The results of this research have been fascinating. As @LiveScience says:

“The researchers found links between the brain’s cerebral cortex — where many types of higher-level thinking take place, including decision-making and memory — and the inner part of the adrenal glands, called the adrenal medulla.”

The adrenal medulla region releases key hormones involved in the body’s reaction to physical and emotional stress. This means that by controlling your mind, you can directly influence how your body responds to stress and other difficult situations. This could be incredibly useful in the world of business.

Setting goals

Before we can achieve a goal, we have to believe in it. Visualising the outcome you want from a telemarketing call, or a meeting with a potential customer, should kick your mind into gear and encourage your body to respond accordingly. The more you can ‘see’ the result you want, the more your mind and your body will be able to work together to achieve your goals.

However, it’s important to remember that visualisation alone won’t make your business goals a reality. As much as we’d all like it to be true, just thinking about something doesn’t make it happen. Instead, you can utilise the mind body link to improve your performance and help you to go that extra mile when talking to potential customers.

When setting lead generation goals, it’s important to be ambitious but realistic. Although your mind is capable of impressive things, the last thing you want to do is to knock your new found confidence by coming in well under your target. Instead, decide how many leads you want to generate, visualise the success you’re going to have and keep this in mind every time you pick up the phone.

By engaging both your mind and body when making telemarketing calls, you can radically improve your chances of success and make your marketing campaigns more powerful and more effective. Find out more about the importance of harnessing high quality telemarketing techniques by exploring our site today.