Ring in the business

Telemarketing to the uninitiated can be a difficult concept to understand, yet applied correctly could revolutionize the sales of any business.

By phoning other businesses and making a professional introduction of you and your products or services and arranging an appointment to meet with the decision-makers, even the smallest business can greatly improve its turnover and client base.

It can transform a local SME into a UK-wide operation by specifically targeting customers the length and breadth of the country.

This of course brings new challenges like the need for more staff to deal with the increased demand, but perhaps this method would be better than sitting back and waiting for passing clients to arrive.

Telemarketing can be a confusing name for an activity that, in simple terms, means using the telephone to generate business activity: you can keep in touch with your existing client base and assess their current requirements or you can use the telephone to generate new business prospects.

Most people are happy to speak with their existing clients and friends on the telephone but become mortified at the thought of cold calling new companies to turn them into business prospects.

This fear can be further compounded when contacts within the company are of director level.

By overcoming these fears and following a few basic guidelines, a small, medium or large business turnover can be transformed within a short space of time.

Spending just one day per week calling new business prospects and introducing your company's products or services could greatly improve both your client base and turnover.

As long as the calls are made correctly, you can contact more potential customers by using the telephone for one day per week than you can cover at a breakfast meeting or networking event and extend your target area across the whole UK.

If the fear of cold calling still holds you back from using telemarketing as an effective means of generating new business, you can outsource the task to a reliable and professional outfit but do remember that you are entrusting them with your new and existing business prospects.

Just make sure you check them out before placing any contracts with marketing companies.

Outsourcing your telemarketing has advantages in that you can avoid the rejection and concentrate on attending appointments. It also enables a company to advance market their business while they have work so that the next contract is being nurtured before their current workload dries up, thus avoiding that old evil of feast and famine.

The main problem for the small business with outsourcing is the initial cost which may take time to recoup in the early months, so if a business can become self sufficient with their telemarketing and follow a few simple rules they can keep control of the marketing and save on the outsourcing costs.

For those who want to use their own expertise and product knowledge, here are a few rules to help grow your business by using the telephone:

Golden rule number 1:

The more names you have to contact, the better your chances of success.

If you make 100 calls a day and this generates two new customers, calling for four days per month will give you eight new prospects and the potential of 88 new customers per year even when taking December out of the equation. Of course this number could well increase further as these new customers may also refer you to other businesses.

Golden rule number 2:

Make sure that your contact details are of the highest quality.

Asking around departments for the decision-maker's name will slow your success due to time being used up in asking the way.

You don't want to explain what you do over and over again as you try to find the decision-maker's name.

If necessary, make a research call first and find out what the company does and who you should be speaking to, then call back a few weeks later this will also save you the embarrassment of calling a company from a data list only to find they offer the same services as you!

Golden rule number 3:

This is the most important rule I could give to anyone who wants to increase their performance while telemarketing and one which often gets overlooked.

Always be pleasant when using the telephone and never try to dominate the other company's staff.

You will need their help to be connected and you never know who will answer the telephone.

I know of several occasions when the MD has answered the phone while being stood next to it.

What a mistake it would be to be brash and dominating at this point.

Golden rule number 4:

Never try to offer your product or service to the receptionist.

They have no authority to place an order and will probably tell you that the company doesn't need what you are offering even though the directors may well be planning to use a company with your product of service.

Golden rule number 5:

Only leave a message on voicemail when you have already spoken with a member of staff and never as an initial introduction.

It is always better to call back and speak to the decision-maker in person.

It is also good manners. Would you use someone else's services when they've just left a voice message as a first contact?

Golden rule number 6:

Always ask open or leading questions, for instance: "What type of product do you use at the moment?"

They will have to give you an answer whereas if you say "Have you heard of my company before?" the prospect can answer with a straight "yes" or "no".

Closed questioning is fine for a solicitor but you are not going to strike up much of a conversation with a potential client in that way.

When you've finally managed to get a potential client interested in your company and they agree to a meeting with you, send them written confirmation detailing the time and date of your meeting.

Send it out the same day and by first class post.

Finally, pick up the telephone 24 hours before your meeting and just make sure that everything is all right before setting off.

There is nothing worse than driving for an hour to find that your appointment has been cancelled.

By using a system of database management a production line can be built up to the point where calls are only made to qualified prospects thus improving its success.

Being able to generate new clients as and when a business wants, is essential to its long-term survival.

Telemarketing is a wonderful way to achieve this as long as it is done correctly.

Obviously your service to any new customer won will need to be excellent or all your good telephone work will be wasted, but either doing it yourself or outsourcing if you can afford it, telemarketing is possibly one of the most cost effective and convenient ways to market your business.

l Mark Sofflet is a member of both the Professional Speakers Association and the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management.

He runs training courses for beginners and advanced telemarketers as well as being the successful author of "87 Tips on Telemarketing" (why not '88', no one is entirely sure).

If you have any questions about telemarketing/training or would like to order a copy of his book (price £3.99), call 01793 740327 or 07792 668924.