does anyone here do telesales training?

[Matt1959]

the reason I ask is I'm interested in a Trainers perspective on why those being taught to telesell are told to address people they cold call by their first name.

So I get another call today and it goes like this...

Hi is Matthew there please
ME yep speaking
Oh Hi Matthew, how are you today are you ok?
ME fine thanks
ok Matthew, I'm xyz from abc Ltd
ME right
sorry matthew am i interrupting your day?
ME well you're cold calling me
I'm not, your a client ( I'm not) its ok I'll move on (she puts the phone down)

this pally and familiar approach absolutely does my nut! Why are you guys teaching these operatives to use such crass methods when cold calling? Dont you realise how grossly annoying it is and guaranteed I would say to turn just about anyone right off who is aged over 21!!!!! How can these people get such a simple task so wrong or am I missing something??

 

[Deleted member 244558]

Matt I think the real problem is that most telemarketing agents are employed on a fairly low wage sat down and told hit the phones with little or no training.

I've taught people to do telemarketing the past with high success rates but I've never been trained I just understand things other people seem to overlook.

Like that fact that no one gives a shit where you're calling from or what your name is.

It's a dying art really which is a shame.

I have to admit I love to take the calls when someone gets it right but I'm just a weirdo.

 

[profitxchange]

A Guy called steven brewer wrote a guide to cold calling - I have a copy but cannot get a link of copy on here

 

[Ashley_Price]

Like that fact that no one gives a **** where you're calling from or what your name is.

That does depend on whether you're calling B2C or B2B. I call B2B a lot (34 calls today) and 8 out of 10 times the person asks "Who's calling please?"

 

[Ashley_Price]

You're not missing something, there are too many training videos out there (especially American) that teach you to go with this technique. This is one of the cultural differences it seems between us and the US. Trying to become friends with the person your speaking to appears to be the "preferred" way in America, but it doesn't work here.

It also comes up in all the films like Wolf of Wall Street and Boiler Room - which of course, these newbies will watch trying to get tips on how to cold call, completely forgetting the films are fiction.

Over here, all people are interested in is the reason for your call.

I try and be as precise as possible and keeping exactly "on point". I don't ask people how their day is, or how they are, etc. I will only bring humour into the call, if there is a reason to. So, for example, if the person answers the phone "Good afternoon" and it's still morning and they realise and correct themselves, I smile and reply "My, that was a quick day!" and it usually gets a laugh. If they don't realise what they have done, I don't highlight it. But I am not sitting here coming out with wisecracks etc. I have a reason for my call, I give them that reason, and I think the fact I average a quote request (which is the point of the call) in every ten calls, shows the way I do the calls works for me.

 

[Matt1959]

yes I knew it had to be in a training manual somewhere as so many do it..... the women are the worst by far!

 

[Ashley_Price]

yes I knew it had to be in a training manual somewhere as so many do it..... the women are the worst by far!

I think we all know the internet can be the best training guide... and the worst. Unfortunately, people see films like Wolf of... or Boiler Room and think that's how it's done. There are modern American sales "gurus" - Grant Cardone is a popular one - who teach people to go with an aggressive, but "pally" attitude. Watching some of his sales training videos and you just cringe. Yet he seems to be "well respected" in America.

I am not a salesman in the true sense, but of course I am on the phone a lot promoting the business. I belong to a couple of Sales Professionals groups on Facebook, and it is from these people that I get a lot of tips and guidance. I trust and respect them because they are at the coal face every day, doing the cold calling, etc. As it happens one of them is a salesman for an international office supplies firm. He is Irish, but now based in Australia, and we Facebook message each other a lot and share advice and tips.

 

[aflat9]

Regardless of the training, most of the time it is down to the operative. Cold calling is a hard job and not many people are good at it. The one's that are good are the people who try and gain a connection with the customer. You can train people as much as you want but if they don't care you will get the typical:
"hi can I speak to xxx please?"
"Hi how are you today?" - Worse question ever
"I'm calling as I think you could benefit blah blah blah"

Whilst what they should be doing is asking questions and building rapport.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Whilst what they should be doing is asking questions and building rapport.

Once I am through to the relevant person (I do B2B calls), the last sentence of the introduction becomes a question: "...if you have a couple of minutes?"

Yes I get "not interested", "I am busy right now"... etc., but if they say they do have a couple of minutes then this is the biggest buy signal!

Think about it. They know it's a sales call. So if they weren't at least interested in possibly using a new stationery suppliers then they wouldn't bother taking the time to speak with me. I know some say they ramble on to cold callers to waste their time*, but I am not (knowingly) calling one-wo/man bands, I am on the phone to businesses that have three or more people. They are busy, they don't have time to toy with a cold caller, they will simply say "not interested", "don't call again"....

So, if the relevant person says they have a couple of minutes, I know I have a good chance of getting to do a quotation for them (which is the goal of the call).

(* On a cold calling training YouTube channel a woman put a comment saying when she receives a cold call, she sees how long she can keep the caller talking before they realise they're not going to get a sale. She said her record was three-quarters of an hour. I think she was expecting a lot people to enjoy that and come back with favourable replies, but nearly every one (including mine) was that didn't she realise she was wasting her own time, because she could have been using that time far more productively, rather than sitting chatting aimlessly on the phone.)

 

[aflat9]

@Ashley_Price I'm glad that works for you. I regularly conduct b2b calls too and personally it doesn't work for me (not saying you're wrong, some people just have different methods). It depends on what you're selling. With the proposition I am sending it can be incredible fruitful for the business so it's a case of getting my point across.

If I give them any reason to object it can stop me in my tracks and then I have lost the sale.

It is crazy how bad people are at telesales though. Most people know what's going on so you may as well have a laugh with it!

 

[Ashley_Price]

Oh, I completely agree @aflat9, my technique won't work for everyone.

Before I bought Pavilion, I was the "Customer Account Manager", and the then owner gave me the "script" she used for cold calling. I tried doing calls with that but found it so uncomfortable that I was having no success at all. It was only when I changed it to how I speak that I started to get some success.

It does also depend very much on what you're selling. With office supplies and stationery, far more businesses need that they possibly what you are selling. So, I can make 10 calls and get a quote request (which is the aim of the call) quite quickly, depending on if I get to speak to the relevant person.

But what I do stand by is that if you get through to the relevant person, without being given the brush-off, then they are at least interested in what you have to say, else they would just say "Not interested". etc. I am not saying getting a sale is a foregone conclusion, you still have to sell yourself and the business, but you are at least talking to the person you should be selling to.