We’ve been in the telemarketing business for a long time and have learnt a thing or two along the way. As part of our regular blog series, we’ll share those lessons, solutions and strategies.
Keeping up with the industry can make or break a telemarketing campaign. Do your staff keep up to date with changes and innovations in your sector?
Feed your team knowledge
Telemarketing is a fast-paced industry that requires in-depth knowledge of the products and services being sold. Whatever it is you’re trying to sell – it could be something technical like engineering products or something lighter like holidays, you need to make sure your staff are up to speed with the products/services and know the answers to pretty much any question they could be asked.
The best way to do this is to give them first-hand knowledge of what it is they’re selling. If it’s a product, set time aside for thorough demonstrations and ensure it has a knowledge bank easily accessible (especially if it is something quite complex). If it’s a service, then invest in time for your telemarketing staff to be a “customer” of the product and have the opportunity to thoroughly review what the service does, how it works, what the deliverables are and how the outcomes should be measured. Your team need to be able to put themselves in the prospects’ shoes and really understand the questions they’ll be asked, so they have correct and educated answers readily to hand.
Of course, sometimes all of that isn’t possible (and it’s unlikely a few days training will give anyone the true scope for a long-term service), but it is important to give them the tools with which they can answer questions quickly and thoroughly. Prospects need to feel they are buying into a company with strong communication channels and a solid support network should anything go wrong.
Upselling
The other key thing that arises from keeping up with your industry is the opportunity to upsell. This will depend on the sector you are in, but as technology and time moves on, your products and services will no doubt move with the times. Keeping your staff up to date will mean they can upsell to existing prospects and strengthen the customer relationship at the same time.
