August 2018 | Blue Donkey

The big 5 personality types

Posted on 28 August 2018 by bluedonkey

As anyone working in business will know, your personality type has a big impact on how you perform in the workplace. While one personality type may find communication and diplomacy a doddle, another might be a natural born leader. On the other hand, some people may find their personality makes it difficult for them to take charge and impacts on their chances of rising to the top in their chosen field.

Understanding the type of personality you have, and how it may impact on your career, can help you to take charge and approach situations in the way that suits you best. As Mind Tools says, “When our personality doesn’t fit our role, everyone loses. We’ll likely be unhappy because we feel that we don’t “fit in.” Although you may not be able to change your personality, understanding your strengths and weaknesses is the first step to taking control of your career.

The big 5

According to the experts, there are five main personality traits. These are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and stability. Each of these types has its own specific sub-traits and it’s these sub-traits that often have the biggest impact on how we perform in the workplace.

Openness

People who have openness as their dominant personality trait are capable of being imaginative, original and daring. They generally have broad interests, prefer variety over fixed routine and are always interested in trying something new. This can make people with an open personality very suitable for sales and marketing as their natural creativity will help them to bring something a little different to their projects.

Conscientiousness

If a personality test points to someone having conscientiousness as a dominant trait, the person is likely to be hardworking, ambitious, energetic, and organised. Conscientiousness is actually one of the strongest predictors of leadership and people with this trait often find it easy to rise to the top.

Extroversion

Another strong predictor of leadership, extroverts are sociable, fun-loving, friendly and talkative. As they don’t mind putting themselves out there, they are often noticed by management and so find it relatively easy to rise through the ranks of an organisation.

Agreeableness

Being agreeable is one of the few personality traits that can actually point to lower leadership potential. This is because people who are agreeable don’t want to rock the boat or upset their colleagues by forcing their way to the top. Conversely, people who get a low agreeable score in the test, and who could therefore be classed as ‘disagreeable’, are likely to succeed as they don’t have any qualms about treading on toes on their way to the top.

Stability

Resilient and responsive, stability is always a positive attribute in the workplace. People who score highly in this element of the personality test are likely to cope well in stressful situations and stay calm in emergencies.

Understanding your personality type can help you to be a better communicator and excel in the workplace. Find out more about effective communication techniques for all personality types by taking a look around our site today.

The role of rhetorical questioning in intelligent telemarketing

Posted on 21 August 2018 by bluedonkey

From helping you to get your foot in the telephonic door to opening up the conversation and getting to know your potential customers, questions can help you at every stage in a telemarketing call. One of the most important tools that telemarketers have at their disposal, questions can help to bring a call to very successful conclusion.

One type of questioning that’s often overlooked by telemarketers is rhetorical questioning. Although not as obvious a tool as open or consultative questioning, rhetorical questions can play an important role in telemarketing calls.

Steering the conversation

Rhetorical questions in telemarketing are invaluable when steering the conversation. Asking a rhetorical question, instead of simply changing the subject, can help to move the conversation on while keeping it flowing. Ideally, even if you are trying to steer the conversation, you don’t want your rhetorical question to come out of the blue. Instead, it should be related to the subject you’ve been discussing and should allow you to link the previous part of your conversation with the discussion that follows.

Demonstrating that you’re listening

Rhetorical questions can be used very effectively to show that you’re listening to everything your potential customer is saying. Try to use rhetorical questions to bring together the key points that have been made in the conversation. As well as forming a useful summary of the conversation so far, this also helps you to demonstrate that you’ve been listening and that you’ve been taking your potential customer’s ideas, concerns and requirements on board.

Using rhetorical questions to emphasise your point

As Business2Community says, “Rhetorical questions can be used to encourage customers to agree or consider a particular point.” This can be a useful way of getting a customer excited about your product or service. Although rhetorical questions are unlikely to change someone’s mind if they haven’t been convinced by what your company offers, it can help to reinforce positive points and remind customers about the key benefits your company can provide.

Asking a combination of questions

Although rhetorical questions can be used to great effect during a telemarketing call, you’ll need to use a variety of questioning techniques during your call if you’re going to see real results. Open questions can be a great way to get a conversation going, especially when the prospect first picks up the phone. Consultative questions can also be incredibly useful as you attempt to find out more about the business, its needs, its requirements and how you may be able to provide the perfect professional solutions.

If you’re interested in learning more about intelligent telemarketing, or if you want to improve the quality of your own telemarketing calls, we can help. Get in touch with a member of our team, or have a look around today to find out more.

Questioning techniques – consultative questions

Posted on 14 August 2018 by bluedonkey

If there’s one thing that potential customers want from a telemarketing call, it’s to be listened to. No one wants to be talked at for minutes on end when they have no interest in a product or service. Many also dislike being talked into buying something that won’t really benefit their business.

Luckily, this type of sales call is rapidly falling out of favour. It’s being replaced with techniques that are more inclusive, less pushy and a lot more rewarding. One such technique is consultative sales. A great way to learn more about a potential customer’s needs and requirements while building a solid business relationship, this innovative questioning and sales technique can bring you real results.

What is consultative selling?

As SalesHacker says:

“Consultative selling techniques are rooted in the selflessness of the salesperson. It’s not about proving that your product or service is the best, it’s about finding the solution that’s right for the customer.”

This means that telemarketers need to spend time talking to their potential clients in order to get to the root of their specific requirements. Once they’ve established what it is the company needs, they can then work together with the prospect to find a solution.

Consultative questions

In order to learn more about a business, the challenges it faces and how your company can help, you need to ask some key questions. Often consultative questions are used to encourage a potential customer to think a little deeper about their circumstances, the challenges they face and possible solutions.

Asking things like, “What do you think would happen if you ……?” or, “What would you need to change in order for you to….?” Are good ways to get the conversation going and to get to know your prospect a little better. Although you don’t want to steer the conversation too much, try to keep these questions relevant to the products or services your company offers. Make sure you listen carefully to the responses your potential customer gives as these should form the basis of the rest of your conversation.

Demonstrate your expertise

Throughout the consultative selling process, you need to demonstrate your expertise as a thought leader in your industry. To get the most out of consultative questions, you need to ensure your potential customer trusts your opinion and your advice. This may mean pointing out how some of your products or services won’t suit their needs while others are perfect for their requirements. Even if the call doesn’t end in a sale, you can provide valuable and trustworthy advice to your customers, encouraging them to use your services again in the future.

By putting your customers first, and searching for solutions to their problems together, you can build a solid business relationship and help your customers to find the perfect solutions to their professional needs. Learn more about consultative questions, and intelligent telemarketing techniques, by taking a look around our site.

What makes a good question?

Posted on 7 August 2018 by bluedonkey

Questions are an integral part of any telemarketing call. Whether you’re using them to garner information, to make your potential customer think about their needs and requirements or to lead the conversation in a particular direction, questions can be an incredibly useful telemarketing tool. Thinking about what makes a good question, and how your query could impact on the conversation, will help you get the most out of your telemarketing call.

Leaving it open

Closed questions are something you want to avoid during a telemarketing call. So, instead of asking questions that can be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, try to think of questions that require a slightly more elaborate answer. These ‘open questions’ help to get conversations going, especially when they’re used early on in a telemarketing call.

Even simple things like swapping, “How do you xxxx?” to, “Tell me how you xxxx?” can help you to strike up a dialogue and connect with your potential customer. This straightforward adjustment in phrasing can dramatically open up the conversation. Inviting the decision maker to give you their opinion can provide you with valuable information about your prospective client and help you to get the conversation going.

Leading questions

Ideally, you want the questions that you ask during your telemarketing call to help you make your point. Think about how the questions you ask your prospective customer could help you to lead onto a discussion concerning a particular aspect or benefit of your company. When asking these leading questions, make sure you don’t jump in too quickly with your point. This will make your potential customer think that you only asked the question to move the conversation on and that you’re not really interested in what they have to say.

Making it relevant

Any questions you ask during a telemarketing call need to be relevant to your company or to your potential client. The best way to come up with questions is to do some research before you make your call. Researching your potential client should help you formulate questions to fairly naturally. Think about how your products or services relate to your prospect, how they could benefit from them and the information you need to find out to ensure your products or services are the right fit. Try to avoid making your questions formulaic and instead tailor them to each individual company or decision maker.

Listen to the answers

If you don’t take the time to listen to the answers your potential customers give, your questioning will be in vain. Work hard to listen carefully to both the words and the underlying meaning of your prospect’s response. Use the information they provide to inform your next question and you’ll be able to demonstrate that you’re taking their needs and requirements on board.

If you’d like to learn more about improving the quality of your telemarketing calls, or about the work we do, get in touch with a member of our team, or take a look around our site today.