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Category Archives: Telemarketing

Things the appointment setter should consider when meetings are not an option

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Things the appointment setter should consider when meetings are not an option

To achieve their objective, appointment setters rely on getting face to face meetings. The premise here is that looking someone in the eye is the best way to build trust and long-term relationships. However, these are not normal times and we’re all expected to change the way we live for at least the short term. So how do appointment setters thrive when getting in front of decision makers is no longer advisable?

Organisations still need to function, and sales still need to happen whether we can get in front of prospects or not. Despite its huge potential for building relationships, generating leads and boosting brand awareness, the telephone remains undervalued as a sales tool. Often, this ambivalent attitude is the result of a lack of confidence on the part of organisations about the power of the telephone, because past attempts have failed. At Blue Donkey, we know how impressive telemarketing results can be for appointment setters looking to engage prospects and build new sales pipelines. We also know that it takes planning, skill, and consistency to achieve results. Maybe now is the time to take another look at the role the telephone plays in organisations.

No more eyeballs

Appointment setters may well find that the way we do business in future changes as a result of the current Coronavirus epidemic. Learning to get more of the sales cycle completed by telephone could become the new normal for all of us, and let’s face it, there are some real long-term environmental benefits this relatively short-term pain could bring about. Fewer face to face meetings means there are fewer cars on the road for starters. Additionally, since more of us will be sat at our desks when we might otherwise be out at meetings, the potential to reach people by telephone is possibly greater. Working from home can feel isolating, lonely and at best a bit boring, so again calls may be better received than they might otherwise have been.

Phone is next best thing

When looking to build new client relationships if you can’t get face to face with someone, the telephone is the next best thing. Where email, direct mail and most other forms of marketing cut out the human voice, telemarketing allows you to have a personality. Most b2b products and services are sophisticated and complex, they need the benefit of a human voice to get across their specialness. The telephone enables you to ask specific questions, probe for information unique to each buyer, and respond sensitively and spontaneously. When you’re using the phone to communicate with buyers, you are only one sense removed when you can’t see them, so you’re still able to engage naturally and pick up or tune in to their response. People buy from people, they want to deal with someone who is listening and who shows care, the telephone is the perfect tool to achieve this.

Limited resources

Making limited resources go further is likely to be an issue for many companies as the effects of the current situation begin to bite. Appointment setters will find their sustainability at risk if they don’t adapt by cutting out the need for meetings and instead get more from their calls. The benefit for those who manage to make this transition successfully is you can reach more people, faster and cheaper by phone than you ever could face to face.

Get more from calls

Instead of appointment setters saying just enough in their telemarketing to get a meeting, they’ll need to get more from their discussions. Asking the right questions is key, so make sure your team knows what they need to get out of a call and what they want to give in the call. Use a clean database and have a process for appending additional insight as it’s gathered. The database your appointment setters use for their telemarketing campaign will have a big impact on success rate. Data that’s well-profiled and up to date will help your team hit their goals, and if your data is wrong, to begin with then it will impair the quality of your calls and will make it almost impossible for your appointment setters to achieve their targets.

Manage metrics carefully to ensure your team is working efficiently. Consider free video calling facilities such as Zoom when the face to face element is really essential.

It’s important to remember that one of the biggest benefits of telemarketing is the opportunity it offers to build long term relationships with your 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 and the impact it can have on sales, get in touch with a member of the Blue Donkey team today.

3 techniques used by lead generation companies to get over fear of cold calling

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3 techniques used by lead generation companies to get over fear of cold calling

Lead generation companies know that no one likes cold calling, so helping staff to pick up the phone confidently from day one is essential. However experienced you are with making telemarketing calls, and however confident you are in your products or services, picking up the phone and dialling someone who’s not expecting your call can be daunting. But with cold calling continuing to top the leader board of successful marketing methods for building relationships and securing leads, it’s a discipline that no business will want to ignore. What’s more, lead generation companies understand the power of telemarketing, to reach infinitely more companies than face to face meetings.

At Blue Donkey, we know a thing or two about transforming cold calls into warm business relationships, keep reading to find out how.

One: Have faith in your products and services

If you’re confident about your products and services, this enthusiasm will come across as soon as the other person picks up the phone. Most good lead generation companies would recommend you write down 10 excellent facts about your business and its products. These should be aspects of your business that will excite and enthuse your target audience because they make you special in some way. They are the things that set your product or service apart from the competition.

Be clear about how these 10 features could benefit the company you’re calling. Consider their business needs and company goals. If you can demonstrate how your product or service can save them time, save them money, make their life easier or improve the quality of their work, you’ll be onto a winner.

Two: Use your senses

The more senses you can use when making a business call, the better. Though the telephone takes a number of senses out of play, you can increase your awareness of the situation by using visualisation. Next time you make a cold call, try to visualise the face of the person you’re speaking to before you begin. When they answer, talk to them as if you were speaking face to face. Lead generation companies find this technique helps make the conversation flow more smoothly and makes picking up the phone less daunting too.

Many professional sportspeople use visualisation techniques to improve their performance in big competitions. As well as helping them to focus on their ultimate goal, visualisation helps to build confidence and create an expectation of success, two things that are incredibly important to lead generation companies when making cold calls.

Three: Smart objectives

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed. By setting yourself these parameters at the beginning of a call, you can push yourself to achieve tangible goals and maximise your impact. According to career management and learning experts Mind Tools, SMART goals are an effective tool that provides the clarity, focus, and motivation you need to achieve your goals. It can also improve your ability to reach them by encouraging you to define your objectives and set a completion date. SMART goals are also easy to use by anyone, anywhere, without the need for specialist tools or training.

If you can get yourself into the right mindset, use positive visualisation techniques and set yourself clear, achievable goals systematically, regularly and in a disciplined manner, you won’t only find your cold calling is more successful, you may even find it empowers you.

At Blue Donkey we call this process, intelligent telemarketing. We’ve seen our client companies go from good, to great by embracing the opportunities presented by systematic, intelligent use of the telephone.

Talk to us today to learn how we can develop and train your in-house telemarketing crew, or outsource your lead generation to Blue Donkey’s seasoned teams of expert communicators, and transform your business.

3 Surefire ways to get your prospects talking

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3 Sure fire ways to get your prospects talking in B2B lead generation

One of the biggest challenges in B2B lead generation is getting a prospect talking. Once you’ve started a conversation, it’s easy to get into your prospect’s headspace, communicate your message and begin growing a relationship. However, if the prospect won’t engage with you, your chances of a successful outcome will diminish. Despite being an important aspect of B2B lead generation, many people still find themselves baffled by how to get their prospects talking. While some are held back by fear or nerves, others can simply lack the communication skills needed to break down barriers and have meaningful discussions.

One of the most important moments of any B2B lead generation call is the second between getting past the gatekeeper and waiting for the decision maker to pick up the phone. At this moment, when you’re taking a deep breath and are poised to make your pitch, the success or failure of your call is often determined. If the next few seconds go well, you’ll be able to glide effortlessly into your call and connect with the prospect you’re speaking to. If you make a mistake, however, you could end up fluffing your pitch, making the call awkward or even crashing out altogether. To help you avoid this happening, we’ve developed a few easy techniques to guarantee a great first impression every time. Keep reading to find out more.

Simple opening

Make your opening as quick and simple as possible. In B2B lead generation, the opening is just who you are, the company you’re calling from, and the reason for your call. Always remember to use your first and last name, and don’t pack too much detail into the reason why you’re calling. Try to avoid phrases like ‘find out of your interested’ and ‘might be able to help you’, instead use stronger language that puts you in a more positive light. The sooner you can get your opening done, the sooner you can ask an open question and get the prospect engaged with the call.

Probe

Open questions are questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. Open questions should always be relevant to the reason for your call, so please don’t ask about the weather, or how someone is, unless you actually know them. In B2B lead generation terms, the golden rule is ‘if you don’t care, don’t ask’. All your questions should be designed to generate insight about your prospect and their organisation. Open questions tend to begin with the words What, When, Why, How, but ‘tell me’ type questions can also be helpful and they could begin ‘tell me about’. Some questions will suit you more than others, so experiment, and be prepared to bin your open questions and nurture new ones. As ever, your calls should never become copies of each other, they should be unique to each prospect, because each prospect and their needs are unique.

Have interest

If you want to get a prospect talking, you have to demonstrate interest and deserve their time. Listen to the answers people give you, probe for relevant or interesting detail, and show how your product, or service, aligns with their needs. Don’t be tempted in to listing off the benefits of your products and services. B2B lead generation is all about communicating with your prospect in a way that is appropriate and meaningful to them, so prioritise the information you give according to their particular requirements, preferences or business.

Enjoy

Though your call should always be professional and on point, as a skilled professional you should also be able to inject an element of yourself in to the conversation. If you’re confident and a good communicator your B2B lead generation will get under the skin of the people you speak with. This will help your work find meaning and create successes, all factors that will deliver enjoyment and satisfaction. Most people get a lot of enjoyment from doing a job they’re good at. The more success you have, the more you will enjoy yourself, and the more your enthusiasm will be communicated to the person you’re talking to. With increasing awareness of a mental health epidemic, workplaces can no longer ignore their responsibility for helping their people adopt healthier habits and ways of approaching their work. Learning to create and enjoy more meaningful connections, either by phone or face to face is a vital component of job satisfaction.

Making outbound B2B lead generation calls can be stressful, in fact for some, they’d rather do almost anything than make cold calls. Using techniques to de-stress and enjoy the process can be a liberating experience. Experts at Very Well Mind say how you react to this kind of stress makes all the difference. Strong stress management skills lead to higher levels of happiness and satisfaction. All you need is a plan and a bit of mindfulness.

At Blue Donkey, we’re always looking for ways to improve our techniques and our success rate to ensure our telemarketers are as happy, confident, and successful as possible. To find out more, or to learn how we can help boost the success of your telemarketing team, get in touch with us today.

Does your pitch pack a punch?

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Does your pitch pack a punch

If you’re wondering why your b2b lead generation pitch isn’t quite hitting the mark, perhaps it’s your messaging that needs a workout. When we’re with a business, brand, or product for a period of time, it’s natural to find ourselves getting comfortable with the pitch. We know what it is, and why it’s special, so we assume we’re getting that across to the people we’re communicating with. Quite possibly, we are getting it across but in a way that fails to impress. The good news is, there are things we can do to inject a bit of sass and attitude into our calls to turn limp into lively.

Repetition

If you’re saying the same things over and over again, it’s no surprise your pitch gets hackneyed and dreary, after all, if you’re not excited, how can you expect your b2b lead generation pitch to enthuse someone else. At Blue Donkey we have some tried and trusted methods for keeping our pitch crisp. We use probing questions at the start of calls. Here’s how it goes, we introduce ourselves and our business, then drop straight into an open question that’s relevant to our purpose. As soon as we get the buyer talking, the process of building a relationship starts to happen, while at the same time we can begin gathering vital insight about what that business needs. This information then drives the messaging we insert into the call. So instead of having a pitch, or patter that we use over and over again, what we say is uniquely moulded around the individual buyer we are engaging in that moment.

No singing please

One of the most infuriating habits we see in b2b lead generation environments is singing. People who say the same things over and over again often unwittingly ‘sing’ their patter without realising. This is usually in the form of inflecting sentences in the same place each time they’re used, or regular overemphasis of particular words or phrases. This sing-song pattern of speech is as annoying to the receiver of the b2b lead generation call as it is to the person sitting next to the caller. Do yourself a favour and tell your friend in the next chair to point it out next time you’re guilty. Or better still, imagine a person in your mind’s eye and speak to them as if they were in the room with you. This way, the bad habits that come from repetitive, mechanical calling that you’re not fully concentrating on can be phased out.

Proof points and evidence

Proof points and evidence in b2b lead generation include items such as testimonials, certification, awards, unique features, product reviews, statistics, market share, third party endorsements and so on. They are supporting points to help prove what you’re saying. Using awards and accreditations in a telemarketing call is especially helpful for getting attention and differentiating from the competition because they offer irrefutable evidence of the quality and importance of something. By asking the right questions we can find out what is high on the list of priorities for each buyer and present supporting information accordingly.

Get emotional

Only a human to human interaction can truly create the emotional connection needed to get a buyer speaking with us honestly about their needs. We have an opportunity when we use the telephone for b2b lead generation, to get into someone’s head and influence how they view things. It’s vital we make the best and most respectful impact with that headspace. According to management consultants Mckinsey, one important revelation for b2b companies is how important the emotional dimension of the brand is. “Hard” facts matter, such as expertise, but the emotional components, such as “fits in well with my values and beliefs,” is an important element when b2b customers consider a brand.

 

Creating calls with great impact is a powerful way to get more from your b2b lead generation. To learn more about improving your telemarketing technique, or to find out about what we do, contact a member of our team today.

Sell the sizzle, not the sausage

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Sell the sizzle, not the sausage

One of the mantras we use with our client family at Blue Donkey is We sell the sizzle; You sell the sausage. This is important in b2b telemarketing. It’s key to why people come to us for expertise and forms part of our identity as an agency. So what on earth do we mean by sell the sizzle, not the sausage? We’re not sure where the expression originally came from as many lay claim to it, the version we like is Elmer Wheeler’s from the 1920s. He urged salespeople to focus on the experience around a product, rather than simply on the object itself. In b2b telemarketing, we translate that as the familiar concept of benefit selling, where instead of using features to sell (“it has xyz Mr. Prospect”) we use benefits (“which means it does abc”). One is basically what it has – its features or properties, for example, the other is what you get by having it – in other words, the benefit it delivers.

People never buy a product or service because of its features, they only ever buy a product or service because of the benefit delivered. So you won’t buy toothpaste because it contains fluoride, you buy toothpaste because you want clean, white teeth. The fluoride is the feature, the benefit is what you get from having this feature.

Mmm yum!

You’ll notice that sausages sizzling in a frying pan are appealing, often more so than actually eating the sausage (or not!) The sound and smell of the sizzle represent the promise of something nice to come.

Buyers in b2b telemarketing need to know what your product or service can do for them, rather than how it works. To us at Blue Donkey selling the sizzle is all about selling the particular business benefits of a product or service over the telephone. Our job is to connect with the right prospects, find out about their needs, and deliver strong benefits relating to those needs. We build an appetite for a particular way of improving their business or its performance and then critically, we pass that interest to our clients as a lead generated.

As the b2b telemarketing team, we do the first stage of the sales process by connecting with the right person and building rapport and desire (the sizzle), then our clients get the second stage of the process (the sausage) by way of the lead generation. If we go too far on the phone and try to sell the sausage, it negates the point of a meeting, and the lead is lost. This is one of the reasons why technical people sometimes struggle to make a success of b2b telemarketing, they try to take the call too far. According to business publisher Entrepreneur.com The best way to understand the true benefit of your product or service is to answer the “What’s in it for me?” question.

What’s a benefit (or a sizzle, or a sausage??)

Blue Donkey takes the interaction to the point where we have established need, interest, trust, and rapport with the prospect, this is the sizzle – the benefit selling. The sausage is passed to our client in the lead generation process as a sales lead for them to convert by taking the interaction with the prospect further and turning them into customers.

In b2b telemarketing, a benefit is something that helps you, an enabler. For businesses ‘a benefit’ is always associated with time, effort, money or security.

No business purchase is ever made unless it delivers against one of those four benefits. As a consumer we buy for all sorts of different reasons, as business purchasers, we only buy for one or more of those four business benefits.

  • Time – so reduces the amount of time required to do a certain task
  • Effort – so it makes the process easier or reduces the amount of effort required
  • Money – saves money or makes money
  • Security – reduces risk, or increases the sense of security

Sizzling hot sales leads

When we sell the sizzle in b2b telemarketing it’s our job to get the prospect interested, understand how we can help, and once ready and committed to speaking to us further, we ‘close’ – so we ask for a meeting. Sometimes the close can feel awkward. Overcoming this can be as easy as saying “from what you’re telling me, it sounds like there are a number of ways we can help you, throw some dates at me and I’ll have somebody come and show you how we can help”.

More and more companies are finding the task of lead generation and b2b telemarketing specifically challenging for their internal teams. Outsourcing has become a popular choice especially for organisations that can make better use of their resources by concentrating on core tasks and outsourcing non-core activities to specialists like Blue Donkey. To find out more about the work we do, or to discuss a project of your own, get in touch with Blue Donkey today.

How lead generation companies find the right Mr Right

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ow lead generation companies find the right Mr Right

Have you ever wondered why lead generation companies spend so much time obsessing over gatekeeper skills? If you use the telephone for new business, you’ll know only too well that getting past the gatekeeper or receptionist and finding the right decision maker is pretty mission critical. For lead generation companies this competence is one that can make or break a project or even a business. In our 22 years we’ve discovered that determining the right Mr. Right isn’t always a clear-cut thing. Read on to find out more.

Mr. Right

For lead generation companies to perform consistently, they have to be good at qualifying the right names at reception level. Call after call they must ferret out new items of information, and new influencers or decision makers. As most lead generation companies will have a large number of retained projects, they’ll be concerned with building a long-term pipeline of names, as well as those required to secure the objectives for that week or that month. Questions used for calls at reception level will have a large bearing on the success of the whole cycle of telemarketing, or even the whole marketing cycle, because if the wrong names go in, the entire marketing cycle will be impaired. Asking who is the person responsible for/in charge of / or who makes decisions about, rather than asking for the person who ‘deals with’, will help guard against spending time and wasted calls trying to reach the wrong Mr. Right.

Mr. Right-Now

At Blue Donkey finding Mr. Right, Mrs. Right or Ms. Right is very close to our hearts. Occasionally we find stakeholders that are helpful to our purpose because they are involved in the buying process in some way, for example, they may be end users of a product or service, they could be in the procurement division, they might be part of a broader function such as operations. These folk need to be engaged, and convinced, they form part of the process so they are effectively Mr. Right-Now. They’re affected indirectly but don’t have chief decision-making responsibility. The notion of a ‘decision making unit’ is quite an interesting one. Some organisations simply don’t have single decision makers they have a number of people who perform different functions. Often lead generation companies may need to speak to one, some, most or all of them in order to onboard them. The reality is, your competition probably won’t have the patience to see this through, so it’s worth the extra time and effort.

Mr. Right-Then

Once won, these organisational stakeholders or groups are often customers for life. Most lead generation companies don’t have 22 years under their belt, some never will. This is simply because having too much of an eye on today’s goals can sometimes obscure the future. For a small family business like Blue Donkey, over our 22 years, we’ve seen the value our strong connections and friendships bring. It’s not unusual for our client friends to return through several career moves. They trust us to deliver a dedicated service they can rely on to achieve their organisational and career goals, and in doing so we achieve ours. If you’ve developed a strong bond as a supplier, a colleague, or partner, chances are, you’ll be called upon again. So past customers are also fantastic prospects.

More than that, it’s great to work with people you consider part of your professional family. You already have trust, and belief in each other. Experts at Forbes explain that keeping clients for life takes high emotional intelligence. They add “don’t tell me business isn’t personal, and I won’t tell you finance is void of emotion. It’s okay to let the authentic, relatable human creep in. That’s when stuff gets real and relationships blossom.”

To understand more about the techniques used by lead generation companies, or to find out what Blue Donkey can do for you, contact a member of our team today.

Importance of Closed questions for a lead generation agency

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Importance of Closed questions for a lead generation agency

For a lead generation agency, it’s critical that telemarketing is designed to maximise every tool in the armoury. Some of these tools are not ones you would normally associate with successful telemarketing, and probably won’t be ones your lead generation agency will wax lyrical about. Closed questions fall into this category. It’s true we all love an open question, at Blue Donkey Intelligent Telemarketing we like to be a bit sassy though, so here’s our take on the important role played by the much-maligned closed question.

What is a closed question?

A closed question in lead generation agency speak is one that can be answered with a simple yes or no. In telemarketing, you need to get people engaged as quickly as possible. The faster you can get someone talking, the easier it will be for you to build a rapport and begin laying the foundations for a business relationship. Consequently, closed questions are a definite no-no at the beginning of a call, especially since asking a closed question to someone that you haven’t yet built a rapport with will almost certainly attract a negative response. However, there are a lot of points in the call where closed questions work a treat. They usually begin with would you, could you, type prompts and for a lead generation agency they are the main tool used to pre-close, where you test the waters for whether a decision maker is willing to proceed. For example, ‘would you be willing to have someone come and see you about x’.

No need to go on about it

Closed questions are also excellent for helping control the flow of a conversation. It’s hard to believe perhaps but a good lead generation agency will find getting people off the phone is sometimes as hard as getting them on it. Decision makers love talking about their business, and for a charismatic, skilled telemarketer, getting people engaged won’t be too much of a problem until they start over-sharing or going off on a tangent. The closed question can help gently rescue such situations by steering the call to its conclusion.

So controlling

Another way they help with controlling a discussion is that closed questions can be used to gain agreement, and encourage the next steps, for example by asking the decision maker can we come and see you about that. In some cases, several closed questions might be used by a lead generation agency to successfully establish the appropriate criteria for a lead has been met. It’s important these aren’t fired out at speed like a machine-gun, but used carefully they can help ensure that the right boxes have been ticked before you close for a meeting, sale or whatever the objective of your call.

What we need is facts

Finally closed questions are a great way to establish and confirm facts. An open question is a question that generally begins with the words what, when, where, how, and they are designed to encourage expansive and informative answers. They’re also great for building relationships because we all like to talk about ourselves or our business. But once you’ve been showered with information you need to ensure you’ve established the facts correctly. A lead generation agency will have a quality management imperative here, as the database and the insight gained will be a measure of their ability.

Growing assets

However, whether you work in a lead generation agency or not, the database should be seen as a business asset. If possible, it should contain a searchable drop down menus to allow your marketing department to select and segment based on homogenous features – marketing speak for prospects who are similar so they can be targeted with marketing just for them. For example, a database might have a drop down menu for organisation size, the lead generation agency will populate this field as they go along, so small companies can be contacted with products that are relevant to them, and large ones can be targeted specifically with products designed for the larger organisation. This reduces wasted marketing budget and enables your messaging to be better targeted. According to Professor Malcolm McDonald, one of the world’s foremost authorities on strategic marketing, market segmentation and the concept of the ‘segment of one’, segmenting at key decision points is the bedrock of commercial success. It consists of splitting the market into groups of people who are likely to behave in a similar way

Using the database to carefully build this insight will overtime enable far better use of resources, reduce wastage and deliver success measured in the same robust way a lead generation agency uses metrics.

Closed questions are a simple but 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.

What’s Mindshare when it’s at home?

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What’s Mindshare when it’s at home

Telemarketing companies are engaged by clients to find the right key decision makers and communicate compelling messages. Most telemarketing companies would say they stand or fall on their ability to achieve this task well. But does this always mean a sales lead is generated? You might think so. However, the answer is almost certainly no.

Why bother!

What’s the point of going through the agony of finding decision maker names, dialling numerous attempts to catch them, mustering the pluck to get your message out, asking open questions, and phew… finally the close… if you’re not even going to get a sale at the end of it all. Some might say this is a waste of time if you don’t actually make a marketshare gain, like winning the sale or taking an order away from the competition. The truth is, telemarketing companies will not just be concerned with generating tangible, measurable results, whether they’re sales leads, meetings or sales transactions. In fact, the work of telemarketing companies is more often about having a series of two-way conversations with potential buyers that are simple enough to challenge the way they think. The premise being that if you do this often enough, and well enough, eventually sales or marketshare if you like, will follow.

Selling and sales

These days the task of selling is rarely about just winning orders. As more markets become saturated, the differentiating factor between one product and its competitors becomes harder to define. Everything starts to look broadly the same. When this happens, people and their collective personalities and attitudes become the main factor making a company stand out from the crowd. In the same way that we all remember great service, those calls that stick out in our mind because someone was charismatic, knowledgeable, demonstrated understanding of our business, will be the ones that stand out for us. And that’s what we call mindshare! It’s not just about being ‘nice’ it’s about truly connecting with people, and building an army of supporters as we go through our day.

It’s all in the mind

When mindshare works, it means that clients, customers, or prospects connect with your business and its values. Yes, it’s likely to create marketshare at some point, but on its own, it’s not a tangible sale. So where marketshare is measurable as the amount of revenue you generate, mindshare is about how well people remember your brand or business which is much harder to define.

Thought leadership publishers Future of Customer Engagement and Experience describe a failure to create this warm mindshare factor as the Chewbacca Syndrome. They explain the effect. ‘It happens frequently to those who are completely neck deep in their company lingo and have a unilaterally inside-out view of the world. The customer’s reality and the market situation might as well be on a disconnected parallel universe, for all the consideration it’s given’. One of their key recommendations to avoid Chewbacca syndrome is to put the customer at the centre of your universe. In other words, take the trouble to reflect on their needs and wants before diving into your remit to sell.

So why care?

Telemarketing companies consider mindshare to be as important as marketshare. Quite simply because the leads we generate this month might be a measure of marketshare, but the value we deliver in six months is attributable to mindshare, and depends on how we influence people today. When organisations are only concerned with winning sales, the culture within the sales team will be self-serving and flawed. Like the Chewbacca Syndrome, it’s a bit cheesy and repellent and definitely isn’t for organisations with an eye on long-term sustainability.

To find out more about how Blue Donkey can help you create positive mindshare for your brand contact us on 01353 724 880.

Why B2B Telemarketing companies use open questions

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Why B2B Telemarketing companies use open questions

B2B telemarketing companies love open questions, in fact, they are the single most important tool in our armoury. This is because, for a telemarketing call to be successful, we need to get people talking to us about what’s important to them and their business. The faster we can get someone talking, the easier it is to build rapport and begin laying the foundations for a business relationship. Of course, decision makers are busy, so getting them to sit down and talk isn’t always easy.

We’ve tried out lots of different ways of getting telemarketing calls off of the ground and like most good B2B telemarketing companies we find 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.

What makes an open question?

An open question is a question that can’t be answered with a simple, single word, such as yes or no. B2B telemarketing companies need to get people talking, dial after dial, as compellingly as possible. Asking questions that engage and capture a buyer’s imagination will get them contributing to a conversation quickly and attentively. Usually starting with words such as what, when, how, where or why, an open question is one that gets people thinking and draws them into a dialog. For example, a question beginning ‘how do you achieve…’ takes focus and concentration, so you’re likely to get some useful detail in the answer. Once you’ve got them talking, you can direct the dialogue, begin to introduce your business and get your relationship underway.

Open questions increase our likability

We all want to be liked. Engaging a complete stranger on the phone is never an easy thing to achieve. Coupled with the fact that at B2B telemarketing companies, we know the people we’re calling are NOT interested. How do we know that? Well, we’re calling them, and they’re not calling us.

Asking open questions, that engage and get people talking is a human skill that’s as useful in life as it is in business. By showing genuine interest and learning to listen attentively to others helps us build more enduring relationships, and helps us find meaning in our work (as in life). New research from a team of Harvard psychological scientists suggests that asking more questions and in particular, asking more follow-up questions —increases people’s positive impressions.

Open questions Do’s and Don’ts

B2B telemarketing companies invariably use open questions to gently probe decision makers about specific challenges their business faces. These are always in relation to the product or solution they are calling about. Here’s what we think.

Do keep your questions simple and focus on one thing at a time. Don’t try and double-barrel your questions so you’re asking about lots of things at once, as the decision maker will generally answer the last one only. Do be clear about what you’re asking if you’re not clear how can someone else be expected to understand? Don’t use the same question over and over again, like anything you’re repeating endlessly, it will eventually sound robotic. Do listen to the answer, most of us find listening hardest when we’re nervous. Finally, don’t ask someone you don’t know how they are today (nuff said).

Use open questions to gain insight

As well as helping B2B telemarketing companies get the decision maker talking, open questions are used to gain insight and build a mosaic about each organisation we call. This helps by both opening up new potential opportunities, and as a means of powering up our client databases, so that over time they can become a valuable business asset in their own right. Not only does a good database provide sales, it will also become an ‘intangible asset’ in company valuations if overtime open questions are used regularly to keep building insight and intelligence about prospect companies.

A bit of research before you pick up the phone, or as you’re dialling can help you identify questions that could lead to something more. A few moments looking at a website could arm you with a better understanding of who they are and what they do so you can ask the right questions when you’re speaking.

Don’t ask if you can ask!

Finally, B2B telemarketing companies probably spend as much time weeding out bad habits as they do teaching good ones. One of our pet peeves is the temptation to ask if you can ask. It serves no purpose other than to make a question longer and more cumbersome. Listen carefully and you’ll hear someone doing it in your office today. It’s when a question is preceded by the words ‘And can I just ask’.

Open questions are a vital and powerful telemarketing tool. To learn more about how B2B telemarketing companies craft telemarketing techniques, or to find out more about what we can do to help you, contact a member of the Blue Donkey team today.

Is it time to STOP opening B2B Telemarketing calls Happy New Year?

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Is it time to STOP opening B2B Telemarketing calls Happy New Year

At the right time of year, opening B2B telemarketing calls with the phrase ‘Happy New Year’ is a great way to set a positive tone for your conversation. Unlike the many religious festivals and events that take place over the same period, New Year is pretty much universal so applies to anyone.

However, as a lot of telemarketers begin their calls with ‘Happy New Year’ around this time, people can get bored of hearing it fast. And in fact, if you persevere with the opener for too long, you could end up irritating people rather than disarming them. So, when exactly is the right time to stop wishing everyone a happy New Year? And should you set your telemarketing team a clear cut-off point?

First week back in the office

The first week back in the office in January is generally an acceptable time to begin every call by wishing the prospect a happy New Year. Most people will be speaking to colleagues, telemarketers and B2B contacts for the first time since before Christmas so it won’t come as a surprise if they’re wished a happy New Year several times a day.

According to a poll carried out by Cambridge News, 22% of people stop using the phrase after the 1st January. Luckily for telemarketers, however, the same study found that a whopping 63% of people continue to wish colleagues, friends and B2B contacts a happy New Year until the end of the first week of the month.

Into January and beyond

The Cambridge News poll found that just 15% of people believe it’s appropriate to drag New Year pleasantries out for the whole of January. Most people will have done their fair share of well-wishing by the middle of the month and some may find the phrase a little jarring as January draws to a close.

In fact, wishing prospects and contacts a happy New Year long after the celebrations are done and dusted can make your telemarketers seem like they’re trying a little too hard to be friendly. It could also give decision makers and gatekeepers the impression that they’re low on ideas or poor innovators.

Getting it right

If you want to ensure your team gets their calls off on the right foot and doesn’t irritate anyone with their New Year greetings, it’s important to train them in effective and productive opening techniques. If they’re able to tackle a range of situations, they won’t have to rely on clichés and will be able to use seasonal greetings only when they’re really appropriate.

To find out more about improving the quality of your B2B telemarketing calls, contact a member of our team or take a look around our site.