Telemarketing

Even at Harvard they have to cold call!

I was just doing some research about cold calling and wondered if there was any reference to work done at Harvard.I was delighted to see that it takes place in the 2 year MBA programe and the The MBA Exchange in its business school profile of Harvard refers to "the infamous cold call being a rite to passage". I later discovered in The Harbus -The Harvard Student Weekly, an article by a student called "Second Semester Cold call: A Survivors Guide"   http://tiny.cc/tyvc1 , well worth a read as you...

A Part Of Me Dies Everyday!!

What a statement, this was said by a friend of mine who worked in a call centre!He said that he was so restricted by what he could say in "his script" that he found the work  soul destroying. Furthermore because he was so restricted in his communication style, the potentially interested prospects got really irriated with him and would not engage properly in conversation. This really got him down and he approached every call with the feeling "oh not another one". Happily he has changed job and is...

Now this is when you can use the power of the phone!

With all this beautiful snow you need.....     to really think about how you can really leverage the phone for your business.  This level of snow fall is clearly causing huge disruption as people try to get about their normal business days.  I know that alot of this movement is about getting to meetings to get specific outcomes from clients or prospective clients. My belief is that and I keep saying this!! Much of this could be done over the phone! Its simple, again it is about setting up a form...

What is the dream in your life?

I went to my childrens award presentation on Saturday for dance, singing and drama. The lady presenting the awards talked about the importance of the network and how important the role it played for those wishing to persue a career in the arts. In fact she said its importance could be as high as 50%. This  got me thinking about how the phone could help build your network. In persuing your dream, how much are you leveraging the use of the phone to make those all necessary "cold connections"?  It ...

Now is a great time to call!

As we approach the festive season now is a great time to call. I aways remember when I worked for companies as an employee and the days leading  up to the Christmas and New Year break rushed by, there was always the belief that people did not want to talk to us,  as they were enjoying their parties  or thinking about going away. Firstly how can that be said "for all people" as we are all different and I am sure in many different circumstances. Secondly even if it is the case , it is a great time...

Beware of hope pedalers!

One of the biggest time wasting activities in phone prospecting or sales ischasing people who say they are interested in your product or service.  They are always very polite and often enthusiastic in their response to your calls.  "Not now, call me back in a month's time" and when you do, you often get the same response. Although these types of call seldom go anywhere they serve another purpose in as much they they make us feel we are "making our calls" and being busy! The best way to deal with...

speak to their tone!

Very often when I am training or coaching my clients ask me what do I say that makes senior decision-makers listen to me Although the words are important, it is all about assessing the other person's world by listening to the tone of their voice. This will give you so much information about their mood as well as their availability to take your call. Especially in cold calling this precious information is overlooked.  Listen so very carefully to those first 5-10 secs of tonal information. Once...

You must believe in yourself!

I am following the Xfactor http://xfactor.itv.com/2009/ at the moment and the key phase that keeps coming up is the importance of believing in yourself Stacey Solomon was told that she needs to start believing that she is of star quality as she delivers her current great performances.  May be if they change the type of songs  she sings, it will give her greater flexibility in her performance and help reinforce her belief. Can you see the parallel with your phone work and your belief in whethe...

Are you hiding behind email?

Are you hiding behind email? Why not use the phone?You probably realise that it can take a long time to get a decision using email. This is because of the delay often in getting a  response. There is also the problem that you have no way of measuring the emotional response of the person you are sending it to. If you need a dialogue and to get real emotional feedback from the tone of the person you are speaking to, then use the phone. It is so much quicker to get a decision, it has been said that...

Reasons why a call goes wrong

When a call goes wrong, it is usually because you have not planned it properly or you have been called unexpectedly! In the first case ask yourself the following questions: 1.Did I do my research about my contact and their company? 2.Did you have a "valid listening reason" for the call? 3. If you were the other person in their shoes how would you have reacted? 4.Did you make sure you were in the right mindset before the call so you believed it would go well? My recommendation ...