How to find good telemarketers?

[Roberthughes]

[FONT=&quot]Hello everyone,


[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My company is looking to expand and i need some advice as to how we might get new business for our web design and SEO company. We are loooking for a good telemarketer, who's role will expand with the company and potentially lead to becoming a sales director. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The job role would be on a commission basis to start, with high earning expectations. I know who to target and how but dont have the time to devote all my time to this. I know that any good telesales marketer or sales executive would be able to earn some great money, and in turn boost the sales of my company dramatically.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Can anyone please give some good advice as to how we should find one? We have advertised in the job centre, gumtree etc with no luck to date.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Our company USP's are:

- Provide a personable service, providing results not just statistics!
- Cheaper than most of the competition for SEO & Web Design
- Every website and SEO campaign tailored to individual company
- Amazing results from SEO (stats & case studies to prove it)
- Very quick turn around time for static and eCommerce websites


I look forward to your responses.

Many Thanks,

Rob[/FONT]

 

[theleadmachine]

Hi Rob

Are you thinking about offering JUST a commission to start with ? If so you'll struggle to find a telesales person to be honest. You're in effect asking that person to finance your company at the end of the day. No doubt you will find someone in the end but it will take a lot longer than paying them a smaller salary with a promise of bigger earnings further down the line. Commission only positions always promise a big OTE but if you don't have any proof of anyone actually earning this then people will no doubt be dubious of the offer

On another note I think you need to refine your USPs. They're not really really unique at the end of the day and if you do a quick search on your competitors you'll find most say similar things to yours. They're mostly benefits not USPs but thats not such a bad thing - too many people/companies sell their features not their benefits.

Good luck.

Have you thought about engaging an outsourced telemarketing agency to see how things go before bring it in-house? Don't worry - I'm not pitching you for the business as your line of business is something I find FAR too competitive so the cut through rate is too low

 

[Mike W]

Hi Rob

I agree with Pete on both counts. You'll find it almost impossible to find anyone, let alone anyone good, to do telemarketing on that basis. And your USP's aren't exactly that U.

I think you're going to have to dip into your pocket a bit and pay some sort of base. Offer that and you might find someone. And if you think having someone will 'boost the sales of your company dramatically' then maybe it's worth it.

Regards

Mike

 

[Roberthughes]

Thanks for the reply guys,

I hear what your both saying. We really need to concentrate on this part of the sales ourselves i think. For the time being anyway. I have had a similar response from many people like yourselves.

I can see what you mean with regards to the USP's. However, we are certianly cheaper and more hungry than most companies with a great team behind us. I recently got a load of quotations from local web design companies and found we were on par with the cheapest, arguably offered one of the best services, and had much better results from our SEO campaigns. So we definatley have the USP's, its just a matter of getting that accross to the local community.

We are going to concentrate on networking events, and meeting with local graphic designers so that they can outsource their web design etc out to us. I think we will start the cold calling campaign next week and set a minimum amount of calls per day.

Thanks again for the advice,

Rob

 

[Working First Aid]

Just out of interest -

If you have a better team and better results, why are you also aiming to be the cheapest? If you can offer great results, why not let your prices reflect this? It could be a chance for you to move up a gear slightly?

 

[manosonia20]

ineviably, at every workshop teach, at least one person will ask the inevitable question. Where can I find a good telemarketer? Here´s what I tell them. First, ask yourself what function you want the telemarketer to perform (appointment setting/lead generation, sales etc..)Obviously budget is a deciding factor so, can you afford to hire several telemarketers and set up a department in-house (more on this in later)? Or can you afford to go to an outside firm? What traits do you look for in a telemarketer? Are you looking for someone who can think on his feet and offer suggestions and comments on improving your telemarketing campaign? Or are you looking for someone who can simply make phone calls and follow a script? Whatever you´re looking for, there are a few rules to follow.

 

[amuthanjrv]

Telemarketing is a role where they simply need people who have basic telemarketing skills, but who can have a bit of fun with the clients. So for this role, I recommend advertising on the job pages of university and college websites. Students are always looking for good part time work and telemarketing fits the bill perfectly.

 

[Phil Richardson]

Hi Rob, I agree with what's been written and a couple of other points

Very few companies buy on price and being the cheapest certainly doesn't mean winning the most business even if you are the best. The companies that buy on price are always the hardest to keep as they will just move on to a supplier that offers a cheaper price in the future.

I'd look at your target market and see what motivates them to buy, most people perceive cheap as poor quality.

In terms of getting a telemarketer who can also progress to a Sales Director is incredibly difficult. If you get a candidate who has the drive and ability to be a Director they will not want to do telemarketing for very long.

You need to recruit for the existing job and if you get an exceptional candidate they may progress. Some of the best telemarketers I have don't want to progress and see a career in doing well on the telephone. Don't forget that with hiring a telemarketer you also need to have somebody available who can manage, motivate, coach, support and mentor them. Telemarketing management is crucial to success and takes time and effort.

 

[Phil Richardson]

Telemarketing is a role where they simply need people who have basic telemarketing skills, but who can have a bit of fun with the clients. So for this role, I recommend advertising on the job pages of university and college websites. Students are always looking for good part time work and telemarketing fits the bill perfectly.

With respect I couldn't disagree more with this post.

This may be an approach that works for B2C telesales, but with B2B appointment setting I think this is one reason why so many companies think that telemarketing doesn't work for them.

Good telemarketers are skilled in what they do, they can have detailed conversations with MD's and senior decision makers in businesses of all sizes. They have a few seconds to engage the DM, be liked and get the pertinet aspects of the call across to them. After that it is understanding requirements, motivation, drivers and matching what is required with what is offered.

If a prospect has no interest currently the caller still has to get as much information as possible to build a relationship with them so the next call moves the sale forward.

It is exactly the same as face to face sales but in a very condensed format, I can't image that untrained students would be sent into a F2F environment.

There are a lot of telemarketers who do smile and dial, these are often those that don't succeed or in companies who have a very high turnover of staff.

 

[truesilver]

Hi Rob

Not sure if you're looking for a bit of free advice or someone to help you with finding a telemarketer.

We've helped companies set up in house telemarketing departments before for the exact reasons that are being talked about here - the conversion rates are very low for such a highly competitive industry.

When you ask how to find good telemarketers, do you mean where or what to look for or how to get them apply for a position? Quite happy to have a bit of a chat with you if you want some free tips and we may be able to help you further if you want too.

Private message me and I can see what we can do.

Hope it goes well.

L

 

[marketingquotes]

Hi There Rob,

You could try people per hour - there are students & skilled pople on this site that may be able to help.

Regards,

Marketing Qutoes Support.

 

[telemax]

[FONT=&quot]Hello everyone,[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]My company is looking to expand and i need some advice as to how we might get new business for our web design and SEO company. We are loooking for a good telemarketer, who's role will expand with the company and potentially lead to becoming a sales director. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The job role would be on a commission basis to start, with high earning expectations. I know who to target and how but dont have the time to devote all my time to this. I know that any good telesales marketer or sales executive would be able to earn some great money, and in turn boost the sales of my company dramatically.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Can anyone please give some good advice as to how we should find one? We have advertised in the job centre, gumtree etc with no luck to date.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Our company USP's are:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]- Provide a personable service, providing results not just statistics![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- Cheaper than most of the competition for SEO & Web Design[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- Every website and SEO campaign tailored to individual company[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- Amazing results from SEO (stats & case studies to prove it)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- Very quick turn around time for static and eCommerce websites[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]I look forward to your responses.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Many Thanks,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Rob[/FONT]

Rob if everyone brought on price the're would be nothing but Kia's in the road. Actually your commision would have to be very high. If you're selling SEO, there is a very specific way it needs to be done. I would expect 50% commision eg £250 per month on £500 per month contract. That is the only way you'll find someone good commision only..

 

[sammy.sammy]

Hi Rob

Are you thinking about offering JUST a commission to start with ? If so you'll struggle to find a telesales person to be honest. You're in effect asking that person to finance your company at the end of the day. No doubt you will find someone in the end but it will take a lot longer than paying them a smaller salary with a promise of bigger earnings further down the line. Commission only positions always promise a big OTE but if you don't have any proof of anyone actually earning this then people will no doubt be dubious of the offer

On another note I think you need to refine your USPs. They're not really really unique at the end of the day and if you do a quick search on your competitors you'll find most say similar things to yours. They're mostly benefits not USPs but thats not such a bad thing - too many people/companies sell their features not their benefits.

Good luck.

Have you thought about engaging an outsourced telemarketing agency to see how things go before bring it in-house? Don't worry - I'm not pitching you for the business as your line of business is something I find FAR too competitive so the cut through rate is too low

hey very good explanation, i think you made every point clear.

 

[TangerineDream]

Price and margins are so important to a business. Lowering price if you feel you have a great offering and using that as the differentiator to your competition will only reduce your profit. Have faith in your proposition, if it is a strong one it will stand up against the competition and if you demonstrate the extra value you can deliver then you can charge more than your competition and increase your profit for no extra effort

Also I read with interest that you are looking for a telemarketer commission only with potential to be a sales director.....Is there a contradiction in there...

Good luck and think to your margins before using price as the mechanism to win new business.

 

[starburst]

As a freelance telemarketer I feel that having the right support in company and infrastructure is extremely important.
In the past I have worked for clients that have tried to set up telemarketing departments using Excel spreadsheets to manage the calls. My experience has shown that this just doesn't work. A crm system should be in place to manage the calls, allow reporting etc etc.
There are many crm systems out there but very few handle telemarketing properly. The one that seems to be becoming the norm is itmscrm - worth having a look

 

[lauren-turner]

Hi rob have you thought about contacting a telemarketing business to see if that could be the answer to finding someone who would soley work on commision?

 

[sammy.sammy]

As a freelance telemarketer I feel that having the right support in company and infrastructure is extremely important.
In the past I have worked for clients that have tried to set up telemarketing departments using Excel spreadsheets to manage the calls. My experience has shown that this just doesn't work. A crm system should be in place to manage the calls, allow reporting etc etc.
There are many crm systems out there but very few handle telemarketing properly. The one that seems to be becoming the norm is itmscrm - worth having a look

very good point taken... you need to look out for professional crm system for sure...

 

[captaincloser]

Just a cursory trawl of PPH,Gumtree,Freelancer etc will show anyone just how many web designers/SEO merchants etc etc are almost begging for 'telemarketers'/'telesales professionals'. (Has anyone ever met someone who calls themself an amateur at telesales ?). These are almost universally the most unattractive recruitment ads you can imagine.

My thought is that anyone any good at this work (telemarketing for website contracts) would do much better setting up themselves and actually sub-contracting the web design to someone on a carefully selected list of designers for a big commission. This turns the business on its head but the bottom line is it's harder to get the clients than do the work it seems !! So do the sales and have a varied stable of designers to do the work. Become the broker.

Bottom line for designers is DIY to get clients and saying you cannot sell is very silly and similar to saying you cannot speak Spanish.

Get out of bed and learn. Nobody will sell YOU better for this type of work better than you will yourself. 'Can't sell' syndrome will eventually bite you in the bum as it does for everyone in business.

 

[kate1]

I think alot is to do with expectations and clients. Rabbits and hats spring to mind. We will invest in telemarketing and they will carry our business, it really gets my goat, 21 years Ive been doing this. clients - keep expectations real, nobody is going to pull a millionaire rabbit out of the hat. I get sick to death being asked "how many appointments a month?" how sodding long is a piece of string???? Are telemarketers some kind of instant fix??? Just find it funny that people that employ us lot take no factors into account, dont think long term................ expecting instant results with minimum effort