August 2019 | Blue Donkey

B2B appointment setting persuasion techniques

Posted on 27 August 2019 by bluedonkey

Appointment setting is a key task for the telemarketing company, but it’s also important for all sales professionals. If you use the telephone to develop your brand, persuasion is one of the most powerful tools you have. At Blue Donkey we’ve gathered together a few of our favourite gentle, but powerful, persuasion techniques to help you with your B2B appointment setting.

Product knowledge

Potential customers are much more likely to take your call seriously if you demonstrate in-depth knowledge of your offering. The better you know your business, the easier it will be to answer questions and counter objections. As well as enabling you to present an informed argument, knowing your product inside-and-out will give the impression you’re an expert in your field. When conducting B2B appointment setting, the ultimate goal is to get from the phone conversation to a meeting. Oozing the benefits of your product, and having a thorough understanding of your market, will give prospects confidence in you and should help to persuade them to give you some face time.

Prepare a list of positives

Positivity can be a compelling and magnetic quality. If you’re passionate about the products or services you represent, this will come across in your conversation and will help to gently persuade them you’re worth meeting with. To ensure you come across as well as possible, mentally prepare a list of positives before you pick up the phone. Think about your brand’s special attributes. In the old days (oh dear did I really say that?) we called these USPs (unique selling points). Now, most brands have few USPs, however, it’s still possible to shine through the competition by showing enthusiasm and using intelligent dialog. By getting these attributes right, you can help to ensure you come across as passionate, knowledgeable and communicative. In the 1980s marketing guru, Michael Porter created a famous model for helping us do just this. His strategies help us understand where we fit in our competitive landscape and what to do to exploit our strengths. Using such models can help businesses achieve appointment setting success.

Listen

Though persuasion technique relies on your arguments, there is a lot to be said for playing a more passive role. Decision makers often listen to pitches all day long. Making your call different will help it to stand out and get noticed. Instead of barrelling straight in with your offering, try asking the person you’re speaking to about their needs and requirements. Once you know a little more about their circumstances, it will be easier to tailor your offering to suit them.

Honesty is definitely the best policy

A lot of prospects will expect you to gloss over negatives and relentlessly pursue the positives. If something you’re offering isn’t the right fit, be honest and match them to another service that is better suited; even if it’s not so commercially appealing to you as the seller. At Blue Donkey we trade on the understanding that honesty wins the long term advocates that make a business worth working for.

Summarise when appointment setting

Summarising the benefits and features of your offering at the end of your call can help to tempt the decision maker into accepting a meeting. In your summary, go over the details of the meeting including where, when, and parking arrangements. This will help cement the next step of the process in the mind of the decision maker.

To learn more about powerful telemarketing techniques, or if you need some B2B appointment setting for your team – contact Blue Donkey today.

Open questions in B2B telemarketing

Posted on 21 August 2019 by bluedonkey

Over the years, Blue Donkey have tried out lots of different ways of getting telemarketing calls off of the ground. We’ve found by far the best method is the ‘open question’. Simple but effective – this tried and tested technique has been helping the Blue Donkey team to achieve outstanding results year after year.

B2B telemarketing needs to successfully identify, reach, engage, and motivate decision makers to change something they have been content with. We already know they are ‘not interested’. How? Well put simply, we are calling them, and they are not calling us. Depressing, yes? Not really, it’s why B2B telemarketing is a skill that takes time to learn and hone. Successful telemarketing requires engaging people quickly. The faster you can get someone talking, the easier it will be for you to build a report and begin laying the foundations for a business relationship. However, as a lot of decision makers are incredibly busy, getting them to sit down and talk isn’t always easy.

What are open questions

Open question can’t be answered with a simple yes or no response. They are probing questions that have the potential to generate a conversation because they require some thought. The right open questions need careful design, but they are worth investing some effort into because, during the course of your B2B telemarketing, they are one of the main tools of the trade. A great way to learn what open questions work for you is to try a few and see which feel more authentic. At Blue Donkey we use David Kolb Learning Cycle theory to support our learning. Kolb argues we learn from our experiences; he treats reflection as an integral part of such learning. According to Kolb the process of learning follows a pattern or cycle consisting of four stages involving – try something new, reflect on the outcome, think about improvement, test a new way. The open questions that are right for one person won’t necessarily work for another, so it’s important to develop a method for creating, changing, and adapting the open questioning techniques we use.

Examples

Most open questions begin with the words Who What When Why How. Consequently, these simple words usually require a more extensive answer than yes or no. Create the question that’s consistent with the objective of your B2B telemarketing call. Avoid making unnecessary small talk at all costs, clearly ‘How are you?’ is not likely to be relevant, and it won’t improve your call or your outcomes. Instead, link your question to the business for example ‘how do you go about achieving x?’ or ‘what do you look for in a y?’ Secondly, try to avoid turning your open question into a multi-choice response. Nervous people often ask great questions but can’t bear the silence that follows whilst the contact ponders their answer, so they jump in with possible closed responses.

Using open questions to gain valuable insight

As well as helping you to get the decision maker talking, open questions can be used to gain valuable insights about the business you’re calling. Asking the right question will open up opportunities to tailor your message to suit the needs of the organisation. As you’re dialling bring up their website to help fuel all those nice open questions. Asking about the business, their success factors, their marketplace, and products will arm you with a better understanding of who they are and what they do; two things that can make a big difference to the success of your call.

Open questions are a powerful telemarketing tool. To learn more about improving your telemarketing technique, or to find out more about what we do, contact a member of our team today.

B2B Closing techniques that work

Posted on 20 August 2019 by bluedonkey

B2B telemarketing requires a whole host of key skills and competencies in order to be successful. From call openings, getting decision makers involved, questioning techniques, listening skills, and building appropriate responses, to finally closing the deal. A particular area that gets us quaking is B2B closing techniques. Closing a call well is one of the most important skills in telemarketing. The words you use, your tone of voice and your manner will leave a lasting impression. So it’s important to get your B2B closing techniques just right.

No pressure in B2B telemarketing

The last thing you want to do at the end of a professional call is pile on the pressure. This can put even the keenest customers off and can make your business come across as aggressive, or desperate. Ideally, your call should have been so positive that you won’t need to put pressure on your contact. If decision makers aren’t convinced by the end of the call, gain consent to call back at an agreed date. Give them the respect, time, and space to make a decision that’s right for them, not right for you.

People are busy

In B2B telemarketing sometimes telemarketers become so focused on their targets they forget the person they’re speaking to has a busy schedule. The Independent who ran a study of 2,000 workers, found the UK is a nation with its nose to the grindstone, with 22 percent struggling with the ‘overtime’ they have to put in at the office. So it’s important to respect the pressures today’s businesses are under. Therefore, once you’ve discussed the benefits of your offering, ask for the appointment or sale. Acknowledge awareness of decision maker’s busy schedules to demonstrate you’re thinking of their needs, at the same time as moving the call towards your ultimate goal.

Summarise

B2B telemarketing calls can be long and detailed. If the call has been a long one, a good way to close it is to sum up the benefits offered by your product or service. Make this section of the call snappy and compelling. Keep the language you use simple and easy to understand and stick to your core USPs. This summing up will remind the decision maker of all the points you’ve covered and should help to nudge them towards making a purchase. If not, it provides a positive note for you to build a future discussion upon.

End with a question

As an opening question, an end question can be used to keep the lines of communication open. Ask if there’s anything else they need to know, if you’ve answered all their questions and if they can see how your product is right for them. Asking these questions crystallises the benefits of your product in the mind of the decision maker and can offer an opportunity for further dialogue.

Be positive

Whether you’ve managed to achieve your goal or not, effective B2B closing techniques require ending calls on a positive note. These last few sentences will form a big part of the impression you leave with the person you’ve been talking to – so make sure you’re polite, positive, and personable.

To learn more about powerful telemarketing techniques, or if you think your team could benefit from a bit of expert help when it comes to B2B closing techniques, take a look around our site or contact a member of our team to find out more about what we do.

Effective telemarketing to BIG-up your brand

Posted on 19 August 2019 by bluedonkey

Effective telemarketing is all about brand building and growth. It generates sales, builds relationships with target buyers and creates the enduring voice of the company. It also has the advantage of allowing you to go to your customers, instead of waiting for them to come to you. As well as being a powerful sales tool, effective telemarketing is the perfect way to build your brand and reach new clients. You can pick up the phone today and find yourself face to face with a new buyer tomorrow. It’s also affordable and infinitely measurable – what’s not to like!

Reconnecting customers

Even if you do offer an outstanding service, and your innovation and quality management are all perfect: your customers can still forget who you are and why they use you over the competition. Most markets now are saturated at least to some extent, so differentiating your product or service is perhaps harder than ever. It’s possible your clients’ heads could be turned by competitors with more aggressive marketing strategies, causing a fall in sales and repeat orders.

Running regular effective telemarketing campaigns will help to ensure your brand stays at the forefront of your existing customers’ minds. Giving them a call every few months will help to keep the lines of communication open and ensure you are tuned-in to what’s important to them at that time, how their needs as a business might change, and what you need to do to stay relevant. Not only will this prevent your clients from turning to the competition, it will also help keep brand awareness high among one of your most crucial demographics.

Reach new customers

Unlike many marketing channels, B2B telemarketing puts the power firmly in your hands. You decide who to call, how to represent your brand and how to describe the benefits you’re offering. This makes the telephone unique among marketing tools. Placing you firmly in the driver’s seat, it means that – with a well targeted database and the right approach, you have the power to exponentially increase brand awareness and really get your name out there.

Put a face to your brand

Another benefit of using the telephone to build your brand is that it gives your company a face and a personality. Everything from the tone of voice you use, to the words you choose, will have an impact on how these potential customers view your brand. Get it right, and you could really make your company stand out while building a solid customer base for the future. According to Brand agency Underdog, in order to create incredible brand experiences, we need to see things from the unique customer perspective, on a personal level. B2B telemarketing allows us to engage buyers human to human and create emotional brands that not only get their audience to buy – but “buy-in”.

Effective

Unlike other forms of marketing, the telephone gives you the opportunity to answer customer questions instantly and specifically relate the answers to the individual customer’s needs. So if one of the businesses or individuals you call has a question about the products or services you offer, you can answer them and use the call to demonstrate how your product or service could benefit their situation and offer a solution to their needs. With email, direct mail campaigns, or social media posts, you would not get the chance to argue your case and help customers see how beneficial your company can be.

As the telephone offers an immediate and personal way of communicating with your target audience, it’s a great choice for businesses looking to grow their brand. To find out more about the power of the telephone, contact a member of our team today.

Smile as you dial in B2B telemarketing

Posted on 14 August 2019 by bluedonkey

In the 1970s and 1980s, quite a few psychologists got in on the smile-research action, with surprisingly consistent results. The evidence all points toward smiling as a cause of happy feelings. According to How Stuff Works subjects were asked questions that pinpointed their emotional state before and after smiling, and they overwhelmingly scored happier after smiling. So what does that mean in B2B telemarketing? Well, it’s official, smiling makes us happy.

No surprise then that when we are looking at ways to improve our telemarketing techniques – sometimes we have to admit the oldest techniques in the book are there for a reason. Smile as you dial is a tried and tested mantra in B2B telemarketing. And it really does make a difference. Smiling is a powerful way to improve the quality of your calls and connect with the person you’re speaking to. Putting a smile on before you pick up the phone could transform your telemarketing success rate. Here are just a few of the benefits of this fail-safe sales technique.

Does smiling really make a difference in telemarketing?

Though the person you’re speaking to can’t see you smile, they can hear it. The tone, pitch, and flow of your speech will change when you smile, and the person you are communicating with will hear the difference. This is important in the world of telemarketing, as we have to rely on our ability to communicate purely over the phone when engaging people, navigating gatekeepers and convincing decision makers, so it’s even more important to smile as you dial. This simple but powerful technique gives your voice a more engaging tone and puts you in a more positive frame of mind. As it turns out the simple smile can help us in other ways too. According to The Best Brain Possible when you smile, your brain releases neuropeptides. These are nerve proteins that regulate the way cells communicate with each other, they influence your brain, body, and behaviour in many major ways including your learning and memory, helping negate stress, aiding sleep, and elevating mood. Who knew? Now that’s definitely something to smile about.

First impressions

No one wants to answer the phone to someone who sounds bored, miserable or uninterested. Busy professionals need to be immediately engaged, to be convinced by a telemarketing pitch. If telemarketers smile, those crucial opening sentences will be enhanced, giving the call a better chance of hitting the mark.

Communication

The majority of information the person you’re speaking to gains during the call comes from the tone of your voice. If you smile as you dial, the person you’re calling will hear it in your voice and they’ll respond more positively to you. The way you speak, rather than the words you use, will help them decide if you’re trustworthy, if you’re genuine and if they can connect with you on a personal level. This will have a big impact on the success of your call and could even be the crucial factor that tips the decision for or against you.

Company image

If you want your telemarketing to be seen as passionate and energetic, ensuring your team is smiling whenever they pick up the phone is a great place to start. If every interaction a business has with your company is engaging and positive, they’re more likely to feel a connection to your brand and use your company in the future.

Sometimes, the simplest techniques make the biggest difference. To find out other methods for improving the quality of your telemarketing calls contact Blue Donkey today.

Professional and skilled cold calling

Posted on 13 August 2019 by bluedonkey

Professional and skilled cold calling is a compelling and effective route to gaining new business leads and growing a powerful sales funnel. We are only too aware of the infinite number of possible opportunities out there, perhaps with the next call.

Cold calling is tough, and it can send the best of us running for the hills. So no surprises then that when telemarketers are nervous about making a call, research can suddenly seem like the most important thing in the world.

Telemarketers who are unwittingly putting off making their next cold call, often begin by trawling their target businesses website; carefully looking up their products, blogs, and history, in the hope that they become ‘knowledgeable’ about the business. This sounds like a sensible and diligent measure, yes? We say no! Spending too much time in preparation can itself be the cause of failure in B2B telemarketing because you simply don’t have the luxury of time.

There’s no denying that in B2B telemarketing a bit of research can make a big difference to the quality of your communication. However spending five, ten or even fifteen minutes researching a company every time you make a call is highly impractical. Not only is it unnecessary, but research is time consuming, so potentially a waste of your time and your company’s precious resources. Too much research will put a serious dent in your productivity and can prevent your company from getting the results it needs from its B2B telemarketing.

Productivity and success

On average, reaching a senior decision maker in an organisation takes between eight and twelve attempts. If a telemarketer spends valuable time researching a company before picking up the phone every time, their productivity will be severely reduced and it will take them a lot longer to hit their targets.

In the UK we have some of the lowest productivity figures in the western world. Called the productivity puzzle the Office for National Statistics (ONS) continues to report that the UK struggles to keep pace with the demands of western economies, and again report Labour productivity for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2019, as measured by output per hour, decreased by 0.2% compared with the same quarter in the previous year, so the problem isn’t going away any time soon.

According to Snacknation however, it seems like more and more companies are adopting the motto “do more with less”. They propose some ways UK workers can adopt new habits to increase productivity at work. We like this one: try one thing at a time and do it for at least 21 days, the time it typically takes to form a new habit.

So, we suggest that for 21 days, you spend less than 90 seconds researching a company before you actually pick up the phone. Then start a dialog which includes some good open questions to get them answering your curiosity about who they are and how you can help them.

At Blue Donkey, we’re used to making the most of every moment we’re working on a project in order to optimise the value we deliver to our clients. So we’ve developed our own techniques for making our research more efficient and our call rate much more productive.

Research

Instead of looking through a company’s website before calling them we suggest dialling the number, while simultaneously logging onto their homepage. This enables a swift look at the products and services on offer before a conversation with the decision maker. This will provide us the information we need to ask insightful open questions and get the person we’re calling engaged in the conversation. As well as boosting productivity, this mini research technique ensures our telemarketers don’t develop any preconceptions about a business. By avoiding assumptions, we can approach each call on its own merits and get more out of our interactions. Remember the adage, assumptions make an Ass of you and me!

Our toolbox for successful cold calling

As an outsourcer, everything we do at Blue Donkey needs to be benchmarked, measurable and based on best practice not just simple compliance. We need to be powerful and effective on the phone, but we need to do it fast. To help us to achieve our time sensitive goals, we’ve developed a basic toolbox of telemarketing techniques. These tools give us the ability to gain a clear and compelling understanding of the products or services we’re representing. Enabling us to take on the voice of our clients and understand what they do, what makes them special, and how the services we’re representing can help decision makers.

By turning research into a fine art and carefully honing our telemarketing techniques, we’re able to get great results quickly and efficiently. To find out more, take a look around our site or contact a member of the Blue Donkey team.

Effective lead generation in action

Posted on 12 August 2019 by bluedonkey

Effective lead generation is a necessary part of any high value product or service marketing plan. When you experience effective lead generation in action, what you get is the lifeblood of growing companies reaching new buyers, building enduring sales pipelines. However, despite its huge potential for building relationships, generating leads and boosting brand awareness, the telephone remains undervalued as a tool in B2B lead generation programmes. This ambivalence is sometimes the result of a lack of confidence in the discipline, or where a previous telemarketing project has failed due to a lack of consistency, or a lack of planning, or simply limited understanding about the power of the telephone.

At Blue Donkey, we know just how impressive telemarketing results can be – effective lead generation in action takes planning, skill, and meticulous control systems to achieve the results it’s capable of. If your company is considering running a B2B telemarketing campaign, or if you’re currently working on a telemarketing strategy, here are our top tips for taking that leap of faith.

The dataset is key

In B2B lead generation, the dataset you use for your telemarketing campaign will have a big impact on your success metrics. A database that’s well-profiled and up to date will help your telemarketers to hit their goals quickly. If your data is out of date or inaccurate then it will need to be cleaned and appended with the right information as the project progresses. This won’t kill your campaign by any means as you will still find your lead generation process benefiting from the calls that do reach the right buyers, but it will impair the efficiency of your campaign, so you’ll need to make some additional time and cost allowances for this. On the other hand, your project will go on to deliver powerful outcomes and the improved data will serve to fuel your marketing machine for a long time to come.

Benchmarks and metrics

A big part of creating a consistent telemarketing strategy is finding a way to measure performance. The more information you have about your team’s approach and their success rates, the easier it will be to create benchmarks and drive your team onto ever better results. Gathering metrics for how much B2B lead generation achieved key financial goals, will give you some excellent data to model and target your campaigns against. This insight will also help you make a financial case for the vital cost benefit returns when your stakeholders want to know how you propose to use precious marketing funds.

Keep track of results

As soon as your telemarketing campaign gets underway, do always make a point of keeping track of vital information such as how many dials it takes to reach a decision maker, and how many conversations you need to have with a decision maker to generate something useful. Once you know this information, you’ll be able to get a better idea of how your message is received by its target market and how your telemarketers are performing against their objectives.

Messaging

Another important thing to note is how many people are saying they’re not interested in the products or services you’re offering. If a high percentage of the people you call aren’t interested, it could mean your database needs adjusting or that your message needs a little attention. According to B2B lead generation communications experts Raincastle, branding is lead generation’s best-kept secret. And what is “messaging” if not the public face of your brand? When clients and prospects approach them about lead generation, they’re seeking a way to cut through the clutter of similar sounding competitors.

Get something from every dial

B2B lead generation takes time and patience so even though we won’t achieve a sale on every call, we can aim to get an email address, permission to call again or the name of someone in the organisation that might be able to help. By getting something from every call, your telemarketers can widen the scope of your campaign and boost its long term impact.

As well as focusing on the all-important short term goals, it’s important to remember that one of the biggest benefits of telemarketing and B2B lead generation generally is the opportunity it offers to build long term relationships with potential clients. The telephone can be used to create and maintain these relationships, making it an incredibly powerful sales and marketing tool. To find out more about intelligent telemarketing, B2B Lead generation and the impact it can have on sales, get in touch with a member of the Blue Donkey team today.

Lead generation, where first impressions last

Posted on 7 August 2019 by bluedonkey

B2B lead generation is definitely one area of business where no matter what your role, sector, or industry, first impressions matter. Though it may be a cliché, it’s true that you only have one opportunity to make a good impression because, as well as getting your B2B lead generation off to a good start, a strong first impression will lay the foundation for a long term relationship. The impact of those first moments can go on to create a partnership that gives you and your business a client you can work with for years to come.

First impressions

Though first impressions take just moments to form – according to Business Insider, it’s only seven seconds – their impact can be very long lasting. Come across as aggressive, bored or, untrustworthy, and your brand’s reputation could be in tatters before you’ve even launched your pitch. They add that the key message here is preparation. People who think they can always wing it, bluff their way past tough questions, or expect the other party to bridge all the gaps, sadly often find that what they think is a win, is actually a loss which can never be regained. On the other hand, come across as friendly, reliable, passionate and knowledgeable and your B2B lead generation could be on track for success from the start.

Making a good first impression

Recovering from a bad first impression can be difficult at the best of times when you’re trying to engage a new potential client over the phone, it can be all but impossible. This means it’s essential for salespeople to make a good first impression if they want to reach the right buyers and create new exciting B2B lead generation opportunities for their business.

Though there are no hard and fast rules for making a good first impression, there are many good techniques to help us make sure we embark on the B2B lead generation journey successfully.

Smile!

As we’ve said numerous times before, it’s really important to smile as you dial. This simple but powerful technique gives your voice a more engaging tone and puts you in a more positive frame of mind. As it turns out the simple smile can help us in other ways too. According to The Best Brain Possible when you smile, your brain releases neuropeptides. These are nerve proteins that regulate the way cells communicate with each other, they influence your brain, body, and behaviour in many major ways including your learning and memory, helping negate stress, aiding sleep, and elevating mood. Who knew? Now that’s definitely something to smile about.

See happy images

Another technique we use is positive visualisation: we ask our team to think about the person they’re calling, visualise their face and focus on the positive outcome of the call. We suggest they reflect on the last time they were really happy with a B2B lead generation interaction they had when they achieved something remarkable. This helps the salesperson to engage with the contact on a more human level and gives them a better chance of a successful outcome. We also encourage our telemarketers to get excited about the product or service they’re promoting by focusing on its competitive benefits before they pick up the phone. This enthusiasm will come across in the call, helping to create a great first impression.

Improving your technique

By continually working to improve the quality of the first impression you and your team make, you can help your sales department to achieve its goals and create positive relationships with the companies you contact. If you need help developing your telemarketing techniques, or if you think there’s more your team could learn from us, get in touch with Blue Donkey today.

Telemarketing needs the right sentiments more than the right words

Posted on 6 August 2019 by bluedonkey

B2B telemarketing, like all other channels, is reliant on organisations being able to clearly differentiate their products and services from that of their competition. For a buyer to purchase from one business rather than another, the company has to demonstrate they are different in a fundamental way. Whether they get better outcomes, have a more compelling price point, outstanding customer service, it’s essential businesses tell their customers exactly why they should choose them if they’re going to grow. However, in B2B telemarketing, convincing people you’re special is all but impossible if you don’t believe 100% in the product or service you’re offering.

This is why at Blue Donkey we believe the most important first step in making any B2B telemarketing call is taking a moment to really think about what makes you different. This shouldn’t simply be a list of features but should involve thinking about who you are as a business, what you do, why you’re special and how this can benefit other people. Once you’ve filled yourself with passion and enthusiasm, you’ll be able to make your B2B telemarketing calls stand out, resonate with each buyer, and really get your marketing performing.

Understand the market

As well as knowing your own products and services inside and out, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the wider market. If you understand what your potential customer may be choosing between, it will help you to better explain how your products and services are different. Though you’re probably already aware of the products and services offered by your competition, taking a few moments to remind yourself where your company falls in the business landscape, will help you predict which objections or resistance your potential customers may have when discussing your sales pitch. Created by the business theorist Michael Porter, Porters % Forces model is a great way to help companies analyse and understand the five main forces of competition in their market. Check it out on Mind Tools where they explain that this model is super-useful, because, when you understand the forces in your environment or industry that can affect your profitability, you’ll be able to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Avoid scripts or any form of prompt

Sadly, too often in B2B telemarketing, managers and other people within an organisation pre-design the telemarketing message for their team’s sales calls. Though this can offer you and your sales team a good starting point when thinking about your products and services, a script can make the call feel more automated and less personal. A scripted call can never replicate the power, passion, and charisma of a spontaneous dialogue, and it’s precisely these three qualities that will help to make your call a success.

Make each call unique

Another drawback of a scripted call is that it makes every interaction the same. This leaves little room for your team of telemarketers to take the different needs, preferences, and goals of each prospect into account and can prevent them from becoming fully engaged in the call. However, if your telemarketers are given the space to draw on their own skills, resources and professional experience, their passion and enthusiasm will shine through. They’ll be better able to create heartfelt interactions and really get under the skin of the people they’re speaking to.

The telephone is unique in its ability to connect businesses with potential clients and enable real two-way communication. By being able to speak knowledgeably and freely on the phone, telemarketers can make the most of this powerful tool, make a positive impact on the people they’re speaking to and boost their chances of success. By empowering our teams with the confidence and the skills they need to communicate, we free them from the script and allow them to make calls that really make a difference. To find out more, get in touch with us today.

B2B closing techniques …and the Puppy Dog

Posted on 5 August 2019 by bluedonkey

B2B lead generation is not a new discipline. Salespeople have used numerous tactics to win over the hearts, minds, and wallet share of customers. In fact, people have been using closing techniques for thousands of years. From cavemen looking to secure the best trade for their excess mammoth meat to businessmen negotiating a new IT contract, we’ve developed a whole range of closing techniques over the years to seal the deal and make that sale.

The phrase Always Be Closing was popularised in the 1992 film, Glengarry Glen Ross starring Alec Baldwin. Called the ABC of sales, it became the motivational phrase of the day, used to describe a regimen where salespeople must continuously look for new prospects, pitch products and ultimately complete a sale. The movie emphasised the dark, cut-throat side of sales where an aggressive manager used ABC to motivate a group of estate agents. Eventually and inevitably his tactics backfire and the salespeople resort to a host of unethical and damaging methods to achieve their sales numbers causing havoc to the business in the process.

B2B lead generation experts are now only too aware that pushy, overly goal-seeking behaviours are both irrelevant and destructive in today’s marketing world, where relationships play such a mission critical role in B2B lead generation. Furthermore, with the world of sales moving faster than ever, many tried and tested techniques have become painfully outdated. Customers are now increasingly aware when they’re being ‘played’ and many big businesses will react badly to an attempt at manipulation, or having pressure placed on them by a company.

So more than ever it’s essential your sales team are aware of these outdated techniques if they’re going to avoid them. To help move your closing pitch into the 21st century, here are some of the worst offenders out there and a few alternative techniques for you to try.

The puppy dog close

One of the oldest tricks in the book, the ‘puppy dog’ (despite being an excellent opportunity for a cute photo) is a closing technique that salespeople use on buyers who are interested in a product or service, but who are unsure about making a commitment. The pet shop owner convinces the buyer to take the puppy home for a night to see how they get on. As soon as the new owner has bonded with the puppy and enjoyed its company, it’s very unlikely they’ll return the puppy to the shop and the sale has been made.

The impending doom

One of the most obvious tricks in the trade, the ‘impending doom’ close is especially outdated. In fact, many professional buyers find the technique so irritating they’ll opt-out of any future contact with the perpetrator. Not only will this dramatically reduce your chances of success, it could also damage your business relationship in the long term. The basic idea of the technique is that the seller implies the opportunity they’re offering will disappear if the buyer doesn’t take action immediately. Most decision makers today will spot this ploy a mile off, so make sure your team avoids it at all costs.

Good cop, bad cop

The ‘good cop/bad cop’ technique plays on the fact that people like doing business with people they get on with. If you can blame someone else – your boss, your targets, your colleagues – for the pressure you’re having to exert to get a deal, secure a contract, or recover payment, you can keep a good relationship going with your contact while pushing to seal the deal.

Alternative closing techniques

Though some people may find closing techniques useful, at Blue Donkey, we believe you shouldn’t need to use gimmicks and games to obtain your sales goals. Instead, we rely on using skilled telemarketers, a passionate message and an intelligent approach. Asking the right open questions, listening carefully for the buyer’s needs and preferences, communicating carefully thought through business benefits, and working at the prospect’s pace, will all mean that by the time you ask the potential client for the business, its welcome, appropriate, and leads to long mutual success.

As well as helping us to avoid sales clichés, this method allows us to build real business relationships, connect with our clients and develop contacts that will last.

To find out more, contact a member of our team today or explore our website.