The art of selling is difficult to master because the variables are different every time. However, following the sales process blueprint helps to tame this wild beast, systematise it and reproduce it.
To sell more, your company needs access to a highly qualified, high-performance sales team with many years’ experience of telemarketing in a call centre.
This team must know the steps involved in selling more. In other words, they must be able to develop a sales script and improvise when necessary.
The world of telephone prospecting is immense, but in this article we have chosen to answer two essential questions:
- Telemarketing in a call centre: Who can sell more?
- Telemarketing in a call centre: How do you sell more?
Telemarketing in a call centre: Who can sell more?
A salesperson who lacks self-confidence will find it hard to attract a potential customer. The agent assigned to telephone prospecting in a call centre must always remain calm, answer confidently and be firm when asked a question. To do this, the agent must be well trained in the product or service he or she is selling and know it inside out.
At any point in the discussion, the agent assigned to telephone prospecting must be able to take control of the situation. When they sense that the conversation is starting to stagnate, a competent agent knows how to get the process going again by asking relevant questions that make the prospect think that this product or service could meet one of their needs. Knowing what stage the conversation is at during the sales call will help the agent move from one stage to another.
Identifying where the customer is in the sales funnel enables the agent in charge of cold calling to adapt his approach to the needs of the person on the other end of the line. For example, a prospect at the awareness stage needs more information about the product or service on offer to move on to the next stage of the conversion funnel.
Meanwhile, prospects who are already further down the funnel may just need a little nudge (i.e. a special offer) to push them towards purchase.
Throughout the buying process, the agent in charge of cold calling must bear in mind that they are dealing with human beings. A person with real telemarketing experience in a call centre won’t just talk about the benefits of the product or the company’s values, but will actively listen to the prospect and answer their questions enthusiastically. This approach tells the future customer that the person in front of them really cares about their well-being and isn’t there just to sell.
Finally, it is imperative to remember that the product or service on offer must meet a specific need and enable the customer to solve a problem. Using aggressive sales techniques may win sales in the short term, but good luck trying to retain those customers over the long term.
Telemarketing in a call centre: how to sell more?
The following steps outline the structure that most sales calls should follow. The process starts before a call is made, because first you have to find out whether a prospect is qualified for sales and tailor the presentation to their specific needs.
Then comes the call where the agent assigned to telephone prospecting presents his case and deals with objections in the hope of closing a sale. The final stage involves maintaining and optimising the relationship with the customer.
When telemarketing in a call centre and when prospecting, it can be useful to create a buyer persona to refine the profiles of potential customers. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional character who represents the perfect customer. It is used to categorise people with similar objectives who may be interested in the product or service on offer.
Now that the potential customer has been identified, it’s time to acquire as much information as possible about them before approaching them. It’s also important to research influential companies in the industry and look at competitors. It is at this stage that it becomes possible to tailor the sales pitch to the prospect’s real needs.
To present the company and the products or services it offers, you need to develop a sales script. This script should include pre-qualification questions to ask the prospect.
During telephone prospecting, the agent lists the advantages of the product or service that are most beneficial to the customer, using the information gathered earlier.
Although it is preferable to have a script, improvisation remains the key to a successful sale.
Furthermore, it is crucial for any telephone prospecting operation to actively listen to the customer’s questions and react accordingly.
It is always possible to close the deal on the spot, but what is likely to happen is that the customer will need more time to think about the purchase and talk to other people before making a final decision. The agent responsible for cold calling should not push too hard, but rather try to contact these prospects regularly to see where they stand.
If the customer has further questions or hesitates before accepting the proposal, a script can be prepared that summarises common customer objections, ensuring that these concerns are dealt with politely and tactfully.
Finally, don’t forget to send a thank-you note after the sale has been concluded and to follow up any concerns new customers may have about the products or services they have just purchased.
Now that you know how you can sell more through Call Centre telephone prospecting, all that’s left for you to do is contact us to obtain an offer that matches your company’s needs and that will enable you to boost your sales and your turnover ?