July 2018 | Blue Donkey

The best way to sell is… by not selling!

Posted on 31 July 2018 by bluedonkey

If there’s one thing that all decision makers hate, it’s a pushy salesperson. Having someone call you up and then give you an aggressive – and often irrelevant – sales pitch is annoying and frustrating. Even if the product or service they’re selling could benefit a business, coming on too strong will put a decision maker off regardless.

As Small Biz Trends says:

“Getting someone to buy your product or service can create a lot of pressure. You want to make sure that you’re approaching each prospect the right way.”

Counter-intuitively, this often means toning your sales pitch right down or even taking it off the table completely. Actively choosing to not sell your product or service to your potential customer may not sound like a great way to increase sales. However, it can produce real results and help to boost your company’s profits in the long term as well.

The problems with selling

As many salespeople will know, one of the main problems with selling is that customers don’t like to be sold to. As soon as they sense anything that sounds like a pitch, decision makers are likely to switch off or try to get the salesperson off of the phone as quickly as possible. This means that telemarketers who have been tasked with boosting sales need to approach the decision maker in a way that doesn’t sound too pushy or too salesy if they want to achieve real results.

Building a relationship before making a sale

Although it may be a cliché, people really do buy from people they like. This means that taking the time to build a relationship with a decision maker is often the best way to make a sale. Although you may not close the deal on the first, second or even third call, taking the time to build up a level of trust, and get to know the needs and requirements of the organisation you’re talking to, should help to ensure you create a solid business relationship that will last for years.

Become a thought leader

Although customers don’t like to be sold to, most are happy to receive advice from people they see as experts. By setting your company up as a thought leader in your field, you can guarantee the advice your telemarketers provide is taken seriously. In many cases, offering free advice over the phone and online is the best way to promote your business’ expertise. Although the idea of giving something away for nothing may seem illogical, potential customers will be a lot more likely to seek advice from your company, trust your telemarketers and, in the future, buy from your business.

To learn more about how not selling can help to boost your sales, or about other intelligent telemarketing techniques, take a look around our site today.

How to use your database diligently

Posted on 24 July 2018 by bluedonkey

A database is one of the most important aspects of a telemarketing campaign. It is the foundation of your campaign, offering a vital framework and ensuring you get in touch with the right customers for your business. By utilising your database properly, keeping it up to date and conforming with regulations, you can keep on the right side of the law and achieve your telemarketing goals.

Update your privacy policy

In May, new European data protection rules came into force. Designed to help protect an individual’s personal information, these new regulations are having a big impact on the way businesses interact with, and inform, their customers. As Data Protection Network says, “European data protection law gives individuals (and some business people) the right to prevent direct marketing approaches.” This means that telemarketers now have to be a lot more aware of privacy and consent when using their customer database.

Respecting customers’ wishes

Whether they’re a business or an individual, as soon as someone asks you to remove them from your list, you take the appropriate action. If you continue to call a customer after they’ve requested that you stop, not only will you irritate them and damage any future business relationship, you may also find you fall foul of data protection and privacy laws. To confirm you have the consent of your customers, ask them for their permission to get in touch when they make a purchase, or otherwise interact with your business.

Also be sure to ask your customers for their consent to store and use their email address for future communications. Resist the temptation to send mass email and always try to carefully target and profile who and how you communicate with your database. Ensuring you use small, select segments of data, rather than taking a broad-brush approach will help you retain permissions, as well as presenting your brand in the most professional way possible.

Perform regular database maintenance

Giving your database deep cleans on a regular basis will help to keep your information fresh and up to date. Although it takes a little time and effort, making sure that phone numbers, addresses and contact names are correct will make your life a lot easier when it comes to managing your next telemarketing campaign.

The easiest way to ensure a database is kept up to date is to check customer details on a regular basis. Every time your existing customers contact your business, simply ask them to confirm their details and update any areas that might have changed. Getting staff members into the habit of checking the database whenever they call a client will verify that your customer list is spot on.

Databases are an incredibly important part of telemarketing. Helping to mould your marketing strategy and allowing you to approach it methodically, your database will play a crucial role in your campaign. To find out more about using your database, and about intelligent telemarketing techniques, take a look around our site or contact a member of our team.

Blue Donkey Ltd has been rated as Strong in a new market report

Posted on 17 July 2018 by bluedonkey

Although we tend to focus more on what we’re doing than how our competitors are performing, it’s always good to hear that Blue Donkey is ahead of the pack when it comes to professional performance. Not only does coming out on top of the pile show that we’re doing something right, it also demonstrates that our techniques, marketing philosophies and talented telemarketers are really making a difference. A validation of our approach, this rating is great news for our clients and for everyone who works at Blue Donkey.

Plimsoll Analysis

Plimsoll Analysis regularly carries out research into the UK’s leading businesses. This research highlights companies that are struggling, those that are ripe for takeover and the businesses that are out performing their competitors. As Plimsoll Publishing says, “The model highlights the latest performance of each company and separates those in trouble from those getting it right.” The information provided in Plimsoll reports helps to inform businesses in multiple industries and is considered a reliable indicator of the health of a sector.

Plimsoll reports highlight the areas in which each company excels and what weaknesses they may have. It also shows how they have performed over the past four years. As a result of the analysis they carry out, Plimsoll is able to provide a rating of Strong, Good, Mediocre, Caution, or Danger. These ratings can expose the truth behind company performance, showing which companies are stagnating and which are pushing the boundaries of telemarketing.

Blue Donkey rated ‘strong’

Plimsoll Analysis recently carried out research into the UK’s 240 largest call centres. As a result of this research, Blue Donkey Ltd was rated as strong, the highest accolade available. This is especially impressive as the past few years have been a challenging time in the industry, with record numbers of other call centres struggling to find their feet and adapt to the rapidly changing marketplace.

This success is largely down to our unique attitude and our skilled and talented team. Unlike other call centres, we take an innovative and modern approach to telemarketing and are always looking for ways to improve on our techniques and get better results for our clients. This constant improvement and development helps Blue Donkey to remain at the forefront of telemarketing and helps to ensure that we always get impressive results from our campaigns.

If you’re interested in improving the results of your company’s telemarketing campaigns, or if you would like to learn more about Blue Donkey’s unique and innovative telemarketing techniques, take a look around our site, or get in touch with a member of our expert team.

How to learn to listen

Posted on 10 July 2018 by bluedonkey

Most of the time, telemarketers are taught to focus on their persuasive, expressive and communicative skills. And although learning how to talk to potential customers, sell the benefits of your product or service and connect with your prospective client are very important skills, sometimes not saying anything at all can be just as effective.

“By becoming a better listener,” Mind Tools says, “you can improve your productivity as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate.” Learning how to listen a little better will improve your telemarketing technique and help you achieve impressive results from your campaigns.

Learning to concentrate

Learning to listen means learning to concentrate. All too often we begin to drift off when another person is speaking. This can result in missing out on vital information, something that can make it harder to form an insightful and relevant response. When someone is speaking to you, make a conscious effort to hear everything they’re saying. Don’t let yourself get distracted or let your mind wander. Instead, focus on their words, their tone, and their meaning and then try to use the information they’ve given you in your response.

Don’t be afraid of silence

In general, listening involves being quiet. You have to give the prospect the time and space to speak if you want them to give you information that’s really interesting and worthwhile. Once your potential customer has finished talking, allow at least a second or two of silence to let their words sink in.

As well as giving the prospect the opportunity to continue if they want to, this silence shows that you’re taking in their words and really listening. If you jump straight in with a reply as soon as the person you’re speaking to has fallen silent, they may well feel like you’re rushing the conversation and that you’re not taking the time to appreciate their needs and requirements.

Be interested

If you have a genuine interest in what your prospect is saying, it will be a lot easier to stay focused and to listen. Ideally, you should be calling to discuss a product or service that you really care about. If you believe your company offers genuine value to its customers, you’ll be interested their responses to your questions and staying focused during the conversation should be easy.

Do your research

If you’re thinking about what you’re going to say next, listening when a prospect speaks will be a challenge. Instead of reading through a script, hunting through spreadsheets and looking up technical details during your call, do your research before you pick up the phone. As well as making it a lot easier to listen when the prospect is speaking, this should help your call to flow more naturally.

If you want to improve the quality of your telemarketing techniques, we can help. Explore our site, or get in touch to find out more.