One question I constantly get asked is “What one thing can I do to increase success?” Most of the time this is asked by people who think there is a magic bullet or a single thing to create success.
As anybody who has done telemarketing knows, it’s a tough job that takes skill, dedication and hard work. However, I was thinking about this question at one of my training courses recently and the answer I came up with was to call people when they are looking to buy.
This is why shops have such a high conversion rate; people only go there when they want to buy something. The sale only comes down to the right stock, attitude of staff and store design.
So how does this apply to B2B outbound calling? Not everybody has a crystal ball. No we don’t but we do have the next best thing – a pipeline.
Your pipeline is the most valuable asset you own at work. It’s the future of most of your commission, if you manage it correctly.
So often I get calls when after the initial opening the conversation goes as follows.
Caller: So can I interest you in some ********
Me: No
Caller: Oh, okay then when is the best time to call back.
Me: Next year
Caller: Excellent, we’ll catch up next year.
This is quite a simplistic example but you get the idea. There was absolutely no point to this call and our relationship hasn’t moved on in the slightest.
The whole point of the pipeline is that you gather relevant information on the requirements of the buyer, their motivation, the reasons they can’t buy now, the suppliers they currently use and any pains/issues they are having. Even if somebody isn’t interested now you can still find out when they will be interested and what will be their motivation for when you do call back.
Every phone call you make you should be gathering information; this serves a number of goals:
– The more information you have the easier it is to make an immediate sale
– You are gathering information so that you can re-contact them at the right time if they don’t buy now
– You’re improving your relationship
– You have information to alter the opening of your next call.
If we look at the last point, what does this mean? Your contact gets called constantly to try and sell to them, most of the time they have no recollection of the people they are talking to. So if you have information and use it in the opening they are more likely to open up.
Wouldn’t it be better to open with the following?
“Hi John, it’s Phil from Shortlist Marketing. We spoke a couple of months ago about your telemarketing requirement and that your contract with Smile & Dial Telemarketing was coming up for review as you hadn’t had the results you expected. I thought I’d call to…..”
Fine, a couple of months ago they weren’t looking but by asking questions, recording relevant information and calling back at the right time you have maximised your chance of success. It now comes down to the service/product you offer, your company and your sales approach; all elements which are in your control.
Every call you make takes you one step closer to reaching your objective, if you do it right. Remember your pipeline is key and make sure you call people back when they are looking to buy.
