Challenging yet rewarding. Telesales is a tough job, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s also very lucrative and incredibly worthwhile.
It’s a very demanding and very competitive job, and as a result, not everyone succeeds. However, if you’re different, if you want to earn a handsome wage and want to succeed in telesales then keep reading because this article will tell you how.
Preparation
If you don’t have a script provided, then you need to write one. If you do have a script, then you should read through and practice saying it out loud. The key here is to sound as natural as possible, so ask your line manager to amend the script slightly to include colloquialisms or phrases that make it sound more natural.
Have a cheat sheet of all the facts, figures, and information regarding the product and service that you’re selling.
Make it as comprehensive as possible, but in an easily readable format so you can quickly find the information when it’s requested.
Think about questions that might be asked regarding the product or service that you’re selling. If you have pre prepared an answer to the question, you will sound informative and knowledgeable which will come across very well when selling.
Practice
Practice reading your script over and over again. Even if you feel comfortable with the script you must make sure you have the commitment to practice.
When practicing your lines, you should ask another colleague to listen. They can ask questions that you would be expected to answer. Also you can get a feel for the script and figure out what is effective and what isn’t.
As mentioned it’s key to sound as natural as possible, if you sound like you’re reading a script, your sales figures may suffer as a consequence.
Don’t be shy or embarrassed about practicing in front of a colleague; you’re in telesales, if you can’t do it in front of them you stand very little chance of doing it for real.
Delivery
Tone, pitch and punctuation can all affect the way you deliver your sales pitch. This should be practiced during rehearsals, and you should deliver an opening line with conviction and confidence.
Also make sure you stand out from all the other telesales operatives. This doesn’t mean you need to be overly pushy or aggressive, but rather you should aim to build a rapport and develop common ground with the person you’re selling to.
Once you have engaged the customer, you can start to ask questions surrounding their needs. This takes practice and quick thinking, and the more calls you make, the sooner you will get the hand of this technique.
To start with, ask open ended questions based on the features of the product and service and also ask questions surrounding the customer’s needs. This gets the customer talking and you will be able to match the benefits of the product or service with their needs.
As you begin to close the sale, you should ask closed questions, where the customer can only answer yes or no. You will come across authoritative and in control which is crucial when selling.
Career progression
Being good at sales is just one part of having a successful career in telesales. You also need to make sure that you can manage your career. During any role, take on extra duties, supervise and manage other staff and get as much training and qualifications as you can.
Furthermore, when you sell to a business or customer, make sure that you maintain a good working relationship. Keep a list of good contacts so that for any future roles you have a list of quality contacts that enjoy working with you.