The Only 6 Tips You'll Need For Cold Calling and Telesales Success

Not everybody enjoys doing cold calling. Having a seemingly endless list of prospects who simply hang up on you should be enough to make you abandon all telemarketing efforts and seek a career elsewhere. But there is something attractive with telesales that beckons people. The fact is, cold calling is here to stay though a lot of people do not like it.

The following telesales tips should help you make cold calling an enjoyable and profitable venture.

Do your cold calling early in the morning or late in the evening.

Decision makers, especially the most dedicated types, usually come to the office early in the morning and stay after office hours in the evening. You should be able to reach the decision maker if you call within these times. They might get surprised if they answer the call so be ready with what you are going to say.

Turn the gatekeeper into your ally.

We usually see the gatekeeper as an obstacle that we have to put out of our way. Why get rid of them when they can actually facilitate the discussion that you want with the decision maker. Treat them nicely and call them by their name. Once you have succeeded in getting them on your side they will make things a lot easier for you.

Focus on benefits/value.

One of the deciding factors that make people buy are the benefits or value they are going to get out of your product or service. Be prepared with all the benefits for each feature of your product or service to convince your prospect why they should buy from you.

Leave a voice mail.

As a last resort, prepare a very short message when you encounter voice mail if you fail to reach the decision maker after several attempts. This extra effort should increase your chances of getting more sales appointments if people return your call.

Be persistent.

What sets the most successful telesales professionals apart from the crowd is their persistence. Those who failed to make the cut gave up too soon. Most often the sale does not come in the first attempt or contact so do not let go of your prospect so easily.

Schedule follow-ups.

Sometimes you are required to make a series of contacts to finally be able to close the sale. It is important to make follow up calls at the right time and each call should be built on the progress you have gained from the previous call. But do be careful that you are not making too many follow ups. You may be successful with that one prospect but all the time that it took you could be spent more productively with other prospects.