Telemarketing Expert UK

You’ve probably come across those companies that will treat you at reception like they’re your mother asking you lots of questions, but when it comes to them sharing information with you it’s off limits. All’s fair in love and war, as someone once said, but it leaves me wondering if companies that adopt this policy have something to hide or are in genuine fear that sharing names will somehow violate the company culture, standing, security or whatever. Hopefully they still print their names onto their business cards.

Whatever the case, it appears to be on the increase. How do you deal with it?

It’s a fact: The majority of people don’t like using the telephone in business. This can apply equally to those receiving calls (decision makers, high ranking officers, heads of department), or those tasked with making calls. So why do some people make the situation more difficult than it has to be?

There’s no magic bullet of course. The point is not to make your call sound like a sales call. Easier said than done, I hear you say. Perhaps, but here are nine nasty “No-No’s” to avoid at all costs that will give you away as the slimy salesperson people love to hate and that’ll significantly hamper your chances of holding court with decision makers:

I know this is a telemarketing subject guaranteed to generate discussion whenever results suffer due to a lack of access to decision makers. It’s also why those who’ve had success in dealing with gatekeepers continue to share their experiences on the subject. Here’s my take.

Why is the gatekeeper there?

It never ceases to amaze me that the very companies that employ a large cold calling ’salesforce’ are the same companies that shun any attempt to receive calls from other companies.

Everything from a “no name policy” to a “Mr/Mrs XYZ doesn’t take calls”. Really? Why have a telephone?

It’s as though these companies are displaying the contradictory stance that a parent may sometimes take towards a child: “Do as I say, not as I do”. The result is often confusion, resentment, even anger. Fortunately, the more seasoned professionals among us will ignore or defer any temptation to allow such emotions to manifest, as they know that in so doing, they relinquish control of both themselves and the call.

In this latest interview with Michael Beale, an authority in NLP training with PPI Business NLP in the UK, Telemarketing Expert Shaun Gisbourne answers many of today’s pressing questions about cold calling.

Happy listening! And remember, if you hear something you would like me explain further, or if you hear something you disagree with, call 0208 133 0702 or email shaun@phoneforbusiness.com

http://nlp-experts.org/sales/95-shaun-gisbourne-cold-calling.html

For many people, sounds something like this:

I can’t call, I won’t call, I don’t have the time,
I’m scared of rejection, I’m sure it’s a crime
To interrupt someone when they are at work,
And ask them a question, they’ll just go berserk!

Where will all the new clients come from I wonder,
If I use the phone I just know that I’ll blunder
My way through the call, make a poor first impression
But if no-one does, will we beat the recession?

There are two parts to today’s entry:

The first concerns the structure of a cold call when dealing with a person that picks up the phone at the company you dial.

The second concerns the structure of a cold call when dealing with a decision maker.

1. You’re on the phone. In the next 20 seconds you’ll deliver words that will influence the person at the other end of the line to either continue talking with you or get rid of you. Therefore, what you say has to be brief and to the point. How do you get it right?

How many times have you called an organisation, asked some seemingly straightforward questions of the person on the other end of the telephone (you know, those questions requiring a “Yes” or a “No” answer), only to discover they seem to be vague, evasive or know very little about anything going on within their four walls?

I’ve literally had this experience (again) just now! The man with whom I was speaking could not be relied upon to eat his lunch, much less to impart basic knowledge concerning his colleagues, the IT infrastructure at the organisation for which he worked, or how best to proceed given his lack of authority on any subject! The only thing he could suggest was that I send an email with the questions I wanted answered to a generic email address. Not helpful in building relationships, and not necessarily his fault.