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Why Listening is an Important Component in Telemarketing

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Telemarketing and lead generation are more than just listening, it’s also about hearing and understanding what the other person is saying, regardless if it’s on the phone or in person. B2B lead generation requires you to ask questions in order to learn more about your target prospect. Listening is used to determine for “buying” signals that indicate if prospects are ready to purchase.

Although in telemarketing, you have a script that you can use as your guide and can help you start with a conversation, listening is important to know when to ask the right question at the right time. Here’s what to do when calling a prospect on a bad day.

The most important skill that a professional sales must possess is the ability to listen and understanding what the person on the other line is actually saying. It may sound easy but understanding truly why you need to listen plays an important part to become successful in cold calling.

If you don’t listen, you may sound a bit too pushy driving the prospect away instead of gaining their trust. So when do we really use listening?

Listening is a skill that can be acquired and develop in time. We listen to:

  1. Build trust. Trust can make a prospect change his mind and listening is the key.
  2. Show RESPECT and EMPATHY for other people.
  3. Gather information. Read more about customer profiling in Malaysia..

Here are some tips on how to enhance your listening skills.

Focus on the prospect

Sales reps must learn to give prospects 100% of their attention from the start of the call to the end. They must pay attention not only to what the prospect is saying but to details such as; the tone and volume of the prospect’s voice as well as the words they are using.

Prevent yourself from being distracted by colleagues or other external noises and concentrate on your prospect.

Here’s how to reach more prospects in Malaysia.

Listen to key information

Every sales reps must learn how to read between the lines and understand the thought as to what the prospect is actually saying.

Listen for key feelings

Feel­ings are just as important as facts. When a sales rep noticed the prospects emotion, it gives him clues as to how to han­dle the call. Noticing that a prospect is upset or appears to be short on time will give the sales rep hint on what to do next. Listen to the emotion in your prospect’s voice and ask yourself, “Does it match the words they are using?”

Example:

When faced with a prospect who’s in a hurry, the sales rep must know exactly how much time he needs to ask important questions such as, “When is the best time for me to callback?”

Clarify understanding

Sales reps must do this to make sure the prospect is heard and under­stood. How?

  • Ask a con­firm­ing ques­tion (ask them to elaborate, if necessary)
  • Ask the question again.
  • Ask the prospect to repeat what he just mentioned. (WARNING: be careful not to let the prospect repeat it more than twice)

Related: Building a Solid Understanding of the IT Industry before Generating Leads

Don’t Interrupt

Let the prospect finish what they are saying as interruption is a big turn off. It will make prospects think that you’re objecting from what they are saying. Avoid preventing the prospect from saying something by interrupting them. Chances are, you might miss some of the important details he’ll mention on the conversation.

Make sure to have pen and paper ready

Make it a habit to have a pen and paper handy to take note of all important information provided by the prospect.

Note: If you are thinking of what to say or what will happen next while the prospect is talking, then you are NOT listening. So while the prospect is saying something, focus on listening and taking down notes.

Communication is a two-way process. Telemarketing is less about talking and more about listening. Most of the time, sales reps are too eager to say their sales pitch so they tend to do all the talking instead of listening. In order to convert leads into sales, understand and enhance your listening skills using these tips.

What did you missed: Contradictory to the Hype: IT SMBs Should Invest on Telemarketing

Contradictory to the Hype: IT SMBs Should Invest on Telemarketing

Read more lead generation and telemarketing blogs today!

Tongue-Tied? 5 Effective Ways to Improve your Telemarketing Skills

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In many cases, telemarketers make certain mistakes that can instantly turn off prospects, or simply convince them to opt out from an offer.

Mistakes happen all the time, but the bad part of it is that they can produce bad impressions for your brand and can instantly hurt your B2B lead generation and appointment setting. The good part of it is that you can instantly learn from these mistakes so that the second you engage another lead, you will know what to say and what not to say.

And while you are learning, be sure to check these tips out for a smoother audience engagement experience.

Practice!

For newbie B2B telemarketers, this is a no brainer. Buying yourself time to train yourself in talking to a business prospect lessens your anxiety. The only downside to this is that contacts can be spontaneous, asking questions you haven’t prepared yourself for. This leads us to our next point.

Use a call script

A script is always handy when you have a production quota to meet. It also provides a good list of things to say that can effectively guide you when things get a little too complicated. Especially when you are not much of an expert about the product you are promoting, a good call script makes it possible use your communication skills to improve your chances of getting a sales appointment.

Personalize your calls

Too often, call scripts limit spontaneity. Of course, this is a big no-no when you intend to create long-term relationships with potential clients. As much as possible, try to connect with your audience the same way you connect with someone asking for directions. Refer to call scripts only when you feel the conversation is moving towards a dead-end.

Use data profiling

A data profiling system comes in handy when you want to learn how best to approach a certain prospect. Such software allows you to uncover the fine details about the people you are going to contact and makes sure that you interact with leads who might get the most out of your brand.

Don’t sprint. Let your audience keep up

Being too eager can sometimes be counter-productive. A prospect would get easily annoyed if you keep on rambling about your product without giving them  some talking space. Essentially, telemarketing calls are all about taking into  account the current priorities and needs of the prospect. Asking them the right questions and giving them ample time to voice out their concerns allows them to stick to your propositions like flies to a spider’s web (for a lack of a more appropriate analogy).

The Psychology of Outbound Telemarketing: Assessing Prospects’ Personalities

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graphic concept of psychology of a person

Talking to another person is part of human’s basic natures. It’s not supposed to be a complex system or an art to be perfected. However, in instances where the manner of conversation would determine how a certain goal is reached, it is very important to know various types of personalities. In the commerce of b2b outbound telemarketing and lead generation, talk is money. And conversations run the business.

Sales leads are generated prospective clients are contacted by professional telemarketers and attempt to engage them into a meaningful, information-oriented discussion of a potential business partnership. But because each person is so dynamic – and sometimes erratic – there should be a structure of profiling and assessment for telemarketers to craft the best approach towards each personality type.

There are four established social styles that customers may employ:

The Driver
Drivers are talkers. They like to run the show. They don’t want to be dictated on what they need to do, and they don’t want to be told what they already know. They want telemarketers to get to the point in the least amount of time, and then they throw a lot of unrelated questions simultaneously. Some of those questions need not be answered, and the challenge is to have them listen – which could be a difficult task especially if they’re not interested by default. It is very uncommon for Drivers to admit that they are interested with the product, but once they do, it’s genuine. The rule is to never interrupt them in their streak of monologues.Wait for that rare, miniscule window of opportunity.

The Analytic
The term itself can be intimidating, and indeed, this social style is a no non-sense type. Analytic ones dwell on the most specific of specifics, and unlike Drivers, they only throw questions which are relevant. They actually like to be drawn into a thorough discussion of the goods or services, and they don’t mind if the telemarketer does all the talking. Are they interested? One can never tell. They just like to gather as many information as they could and analyze them in a discreet, swift manner. These are common in software and IT products and services companies where most decision-makers are experts in their field and are usually subtly technical in the way they converse.

The Amiable
Talking to Amiable ones is a walk in the park, but usually unproductive. These are people who have absolutely no problem with spending precious time on the phone with telemarketers who may or may not present benefits to them or their company. They are not necessarily talkative; they just enjoy the “act” of talking to people. They would answer any reasonable questions, agree to appointments if they have the time, and even respond to surveys, emails and follow-ups. The quality of their interest can be dodgy and tentative,therefore, this level or receptiveness doesn’t automatically equate to sales leads.

The Expressive
Expressive ones have all four social styles rolled into one. They like to talk, analyze and make friends. While Drivers may bombard telemarketers with all the questions and objections, Expressive ones would blab about how their business is going, what’s happening with their current provider, or how they indeed require such external services, etc. They’re the type who knows what’s going on with their business; they are open to ideas and services and would consider every one of them as much as they can. They can be very accurate on describing their business needs, and with the right questions, they may turn into solid sales leads.

Every unique individual deserves a distinctive approach to telemarketing, and it all comes down to having the right knowledge and skills to “assess” common behavior. The last thing a telemarketer wants is to employ a style that would “clash” with the prospective client’s personality, thus reducing chances of a potential business opportunity.

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