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Home > Blog > 2018 > November

Monthly Archives: November 2018

Why we buy – desire for gain vs fear of loss

Posted on 27 November 2018 by bluedonkey

Understanding buyer motivations

According to sales expert and best-selling author Brian Tracy, there are two main factors that impact on the buying decision: desire for gain and fear of loss. Essentially, decision makers are weighing up their desire to gain the benefits on offer with the chance that the same product or service could cost them time, money, or another important factor.

Understanding this decision making process is incredibly important if salespeople are going to achieve their professional goals.

The fear of loss

There are a few basic psychological concepts that consistently come in useful in the world of sales. One of the most important of these describes how the fear of loss is more powerful than most other motivational factors when it comes to decision making. As Curiosity.com says, “This trick of psychology says the pain of losing something is greater than the joy of gaining something.”

Working to consistently reassure a prospect that a positive decision is highly likely to have a positive outcome is therefore incredibly important. In fact, keeping this at the forefront of their mind when they pick up the phone can help telemarketers to improve the results they achieve. Telemarketers can also try to avoid mentioning loss altogether during their call. Although it’s likely to come up if the prospect raises any objections, focusing on the positives of a product or service can be a powerful way to get a message across.

The desire for gain

When it comes to tapping into the desire for gain, it’s important to remember that this gain can come in many forms. While some decision makers will be thinking along purely monetary lines, others will see potential gain in a variety of different areas. For example, if a product or service brings a company increased security, improves its status and prestige within the industry, or helps it to become a market leader, these factors will be taken into account when pros are weighed against cons.

Emphasising these gains and how they directly relate to the decision maker, can make a big difference to a sales call. The more adept the telemarketer is at describing these benefits, the more likely desire for gain will be to overcome the fear of loss in the mind of the decision maker.

Understanding the prospect’s motivation

In order to make the most of this sales technique, telemarketers need to understand the prospect’s motivations as clearly as possible. This comes from opening up a dialogue early in the conversation and building rapport with the decision maker. The more effectively telemarketers can do this, the more persuasive their calls will be.

Making a few small changes to your telemarketing technique can have a big impact on the results you achieve. To find out more, or to learn how we can help you improve the quality of your calls, explore our site – or get in touch with a member of our expert team.

Posted in Telemarketing | Tags: selling |

The importance of ‘self-concept’ when it comes to selling

Posted on 20 November 2018 by bluedonkey

Self concept and selling

When it comes to achieving success in sales, the way salespeople see themselves matters. Although no one wants to speak to an over-confident representative, a person who believes in their product, their services and their own abilities is much more likely to achieve concrete results than someone who is less self-assured. This self-concept can be incredibly influential in the world of sales. Understanding it, and harnessing its power, can help salespeople to push their sights ever higher.

What is self-concept?

Essentially, your self-concept is how you see yourself in your mind’s eye. If you see yourself as calm, competent, and confident, this is generally how you’ll come across to others. Developing this self-concept to reflect your professional goals can help you to improve your performance in the workplace and push yourself that little bit further. As Brian Tracy says, “Your self-image is clear. In your mind’s eye you see yourself as good and capable in that area, and nothing can interfere with your mental picture”

Changing your self-concept

If you feel your professional life has stagnated, or if you just want to aim a little higher, working to alter your self-concept can help to drive professional development forward. However, altering the way you see yourself is easier said than done. It often requires making a conscious decision about the area you want to change and then keeping this decision at the forefront of your mind as you go through the working day.

It’s important that you try to see yourself as you want to be seen. The more fully you can embrace this new self-concept, the more effectively you’ll project it to the outside world. In order to overcome the professional challenges you face, you also need to identify the areas that are holding your back. If it’s a particular aspect of your approach, performance, or personality, working to alter the specific area should allow you to move past your current impasse.

Creating the right self-concept

Creating the most effective self-concept for your career may well be an ongoing project. The challenges that salespeople face are always evolving, so it’s essential that you’re able to adapt to the ever-changing business landscape if you’re going to stay at the top of your game.

Being aware of the importance of your self-concept, and understanding how it can impact your professional life, will put you in a stronger position when it comes to driving your career forward. The more committed you are to your self-concept, the more of an impact it will have in the real world.

If you would like to learn more about powerful sales techniques, and about enhancing your own telemarketing technique, we can help. Explore our site or get in touch with a member of our team today to find out more.

Posted in Business advice | Tags: selling |

How to identify and honour a prospect’s emotional values

Posted on 13 November 2018 by bluedonkey

Emotional values

Although most of us like to believe we make decisions based purely on logic, in reality, our emotional response to a person, product or presentation often has a lot to do with the decision making process. That intangible feeling that a product or a supplier is right can be hard to pin down. This is because it’s driven by the emotional values of the decision maker.

Learning how to identify and honour a prospect’s emotional values makes it easier for salespeople to connect with their potential customers and find the basic needs motivating the purchase. This can have a big impact on the final outcome of a telemarketing call and to the long term relationship the salesperson builds with their customer.

Do your homework

A lot of the time, it will be fairly easy to ascertain the core values of a company by taking a look at their website. If a business is committed to offering luxury products, prides itself on its high quality services or is committed to helping the environment – this will often come across in the language, text, and images they use. Taking a quick look at the company website before you pick up the phone, or even as you’re dialling, should provide crucial insight into your prospect’s professional values. You should then be able to use this information to tailor your call and get the most out of your conversation.

Making a connection

Although looking at a company website can give you important information about the values of the corporation, it won’t tell you anything about the emotional values of the decision maker. The best way to get this information is by starting a two-way conversation and really listening to the answers. Although few decision makers will come out and explicitly list the qualities they value, most will give valuable clues over the course of a conversation.

How emotional values can benefit your conversation

Once a telemarketer has a good idea about the emotional values of their prospect, they can alter the way they present their products and services. Understanding exactly what it is a decision maker is looking for will enable a telemarketer to tailor the benefits of their product or service to perfectly suit the prospect. This can make a big difference to the outcome of the call as the balance notes:

“Benefits all have an emotional hook; that’s what makes them different from features and that’s why they are effective for selling while reciting a list of features just makes a prospect’s eyes glaze over.”

However, it’s important that salespeople don’t try and exploit emotional values or push this aspect of the conversation too far. Respecting the prospect’s boundaries, and honouring their point of view, will help you to lay the foundations of a long standing professional relationship.

Learn more about enhancing your telemarketing technique by exploring our site today.

Posted in Telemarketing | Tags: sales techniques |

Business Women’s Christmas Lunch – Peterborough

Posted on 8 November 2018 by bluedonkey

Christmas lunch

Thursday 29 November 2018
12.00-2.30pm

Holiday Inn Peterborough West
Thorpe Wood
Peterborough
PE3 6SG

Member Fee: £25.00 (plus VAT)
Non-Member Fee: £35.00 (plus VAT)
Fees are Per Delegate

Join us for a very special start to the festive season at our annual networking lunch.

As always, a festive two-course dinner, glass of wine, inspirational speaker and excellent company are wrapped up in the ticket price.

Starting with an ice breaker to get the conversations started, make new connections and share knowledge in a fairly fun and relaxed environment. You’ll be on the move between courses to gain the best value of making business connections so bring plenty of business cards!

Our guest speaker is Sureya Landini, Founder of Blue Donkey Intelligent Telemarketing. After 21 years in business, she will share the 21 life lessons she has learnt along the way. Sureya will talk about how taking an unorthodox route through life’s journey can lead to the most exciting places, help to shape your own personal brand and ultimately lead us to be the best authentic version of ourselves.

We’ll also be raising money for our Chamber charity of the year, Romsey Mill, with a raffle. If your company is able to donate a prize please contact Helen on the email address below.

Places are fairly limited and expects to be a sell out so early booking is recommended.

Chamber members can book this event online using a credit or debit card.

For more information or to book a place as a non-Chamber member please contact Helen Bosett on 01733 370809 or email h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk including your name, all delegate names and job titles and a contact telephone number.

Event details are courtesy of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.

Posted in News | Tags: Business women, Christmas lunch |

The 7 key areas of selling that spell success

Posted on 6 November 2018 by bluedonkey

Boost sales perfornance

As well as being one of the most important aspects of business, sales is also one of the most challenging. Small differences in the ability and skill of salespeople can lead to dramatic differences in their results. Attaining the top level of sales – and staying there – requires constant innovation, awareness and improvement.

In his book, The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible, author Brian Tracy identifies seven key areas that salespeople need to develop if they’re going to excel in their field. Covering the entire sales process from start to finish, these seven factors are integral to boosting performance and attaining goals.

1. Prospecting

Prospecting is one of the most challenging parts of sales. In order to achieve results, salespeople need to be able to communicate the main objective of their call, lay the foundations of a business relationship and listen to the needs of their potential client, all at the same time. This is a real skill and it can take time to learn. By actively working on your technique, and looking for ways you can improve your results, you can ensure that your prospecting calls have an excellent chance of success.

2. Building rapport

As Dan Tyre writes on Hubspot.com, “Rapport is the first step to earning confidence and trust, and it lets the prospect know you’re not running the typical conversation between a pushy salesperson and browbeaten prospect.”

3. Identifying needs

Identifying the needs of a potential client is essential if salespeople are going to match customers with the correct products and services. One of the best ways to assess a prospect’s needs quickly and accurately is to get a real, two-way conversation going and then listen carefully to the answers a potential client gives.

4. Presenting

Once a salesperson has identified the needs of their potential customer, they’ll be in a better position to present relevant solutions. Personalising the presentation of products and services to show how they can meet customer needs will help salespeople to bring the call to a successful conclusion.

5. Answering objections

However well a product or service is presented, most potential clients will still have a few objections. Handling these objections adeptly is important if salespeople are going to move onto the next stage of the process.

6. Closing the sale

There are lots of ways to close a sales call. Selecting the right one for each individual occasion will help to bring the call to a satisfactory close for both parties.

7. Getting resales and referrals

Making an initial sale is just the first part of the sales process. In order for salespeople to maximise on the value of each call, they need to ensure the customer comes back again and again. On top of return visits, salespeople should encourage existing customers to refer other individuals and companies. This can help to dramatically improve sales results and help businesses to achieve their goals.

Learn more about making the most of your sales team, and about improving your sales techniques, by exploring our site or getting in touch with a member of our team.

Posted in Business advice | Tags: selling techniques |

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