how did you learn telemarketing?

I started in a call center when I was 18 and just out of high school. I needed a job and did not want to do manual labor.

I had to learn how to sell on the phones, because there was no other jobs that were out there for me at the time. I did not have a college degree, wasn't good with labor, and had no skills to even be an apprentice.

Sure did hate if for the few years that I was there, but now there is nothing in the world that I would trade for it. Because of the phones, I was able to learn how to sell in the other sales jobs that I had landed over the years.

I worked in direct sales and became exposed to the company's call center out of curiosity. Still to this day that company hires and fires multiple telemarketers daily and the company does tens of millions per year.

I learned that anyone can do telemarketing if you stick with a script and simply read off it and learn scripted rebuttals. Call centers are effective because they train people to do it and force them to make large amounts of calls. When you're doing it on your own it's very difficult to have the discipline to stick with the script and make hundreds of phone calls.

That's literally all you have to train yourself to do and you'll find it works consistently. As you get experience you can fine tune things and start getting more finesse but really it's just about volume and sticking with a good script.

thanks guys, il just keep making calls then. Bob quick question, are you that guy that had his own painting show?

As long as you have a good sales voice you should become better as time goes on. Practice makes perfect.

thanks guys, this thread is a big confidence booster

I moved to the big city of Atlanta when I was about 22 after I Met this guy who owned a cell phone agency when it was in its infancy. I tell Im too scared to work on full commission having never done sales before, he offers me a salary to come work for him.

After about 2 weeks with no sales he takes me into his office and tell me I need to pick up my game. Ill never forget that he told me that he could have bought a new suit for the money that he paid me the last 2 weeks.

I went on to sell about 30 lines in the next month once I realized how easy it is once you start calling with purpose.

I had one person that was pretty slow mentally. I am really not trying to be mean, but he was on disability for it and was in his late fifties. Never sold a thing in his life. He even had a problem reading the names right and nine times out of ten would ask for the wrong name, or really butcher even the simple names.

Now while he was not one of the best telemarketers I had, not by a long shot, he did make enough sales to be able to keep him around. He just kept plugging away.

Really he is one of the best examples that can be used to make the case that telemarketing works, and will continue to if you keep hitting the numbers. Obviously there is no way he would have been making sales if he was not making a few hundred calls each and every day.

some great stories coming through, thanks guys

I agree that using a script works the best, but more often than not people are getting caught up in the script stage and trying to make it perfect. I know that I did for a while before I started cold calling again.

The best thing to do is put together an easy to say script, and at the end of the day see how it did. From there on develop it to make it better everyday. If you are putting in the time, you will notice how people react to it in comparison to yesterdays script.

I agree with everyone... especially sitting next to the best person in a telemarketing room, and doing everything he does. Smile and dial!! It's a numbers game. Pound that phone 5 hours straight a day and you'll make money no doubt. Jog around the block, then get on the phone, anything to get yourself into a no fear state of mind. Breath deep and slow a bunch of times, do some jumping jacks, sing out loud like an opera singer, lots of ways to get into state. Freeeeeek.

Perhaps for any telemarketers, whats needed the most is targeted leads. Well, just these days, there are seo, but I think offline marketing is still the best, hands down!

@kvnkane, I did agree with you 100% on the Durham's book! also, I also agree that telemarketers improve as they get more experience, so keep up d good work man!

cheers

Thanks everyone, im going to hit the phones, if i make anymoney il purchase the "[OFFLINE] Lose Your Fear of Cold Calling 4EVER & Make Sale After Sale After Sale...|Audio+Video" WSO to see if i can improve more. id like to buy it before i hit the phones but being skint means i cant lol.

I don't cold call or anything but did have a job many moons ago.

My profession pre IM is as an NLP Trainer, Personal Development Coach and Corporate Strategist. I've trained sales teams in how to communicate effectively.

Bear in mind people don't mind being asked to help you with something. In fact some people like it. What they don't like is anyone being smarmy or pretending to phone about something else.

Top Tip: SMILE WHEN YOUR ON THE PHONE - people can 'hear' your smile in your voice and it makes a huge difference to your tone. Think about the person you are calling as someone you like and it will reflect in your tone. Or think of someone you love and anchor that feeling when you get on the phone.

You'd be amazed how much a human can pick up without seeing the other person. Fact - only 7 % of our communication is the words we use - 93% is everything else.

Think about the benefits of what you are offering - really focus on them. What is good about it/you and what will the user gain. Really build up in your mind a positive feeling about what you are presenting/selling.

Now consider this - if they don't want to buy and they want to get you off the phone - you actually have some power - used wisely you could ask them a question to build up some knowledge (knowledge is power) but first you have to acknowledge their refusal to buy as this reminds them they are saying no to you - you can then ask if they would please let you know how they found your call /enquiry etc or ask if they would tell you why they are not interested at this time or if they use another service could they tell you 3 good things about it and is there anything they could improve on.

I recommend the book called Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion

Best of luck

Leah aka Larkrise

Thanks guys. Will report how things went soon i anyones intrested.

Read this article that was published on cbsnews:

Cold Calling = Dialing for Dollars

B2B cold calling fails because most people sound like they are making a cold call.

"Cold Calling" implies something less than "warm" and pleasant. I prefer to think of it as "Dialing for Dollars". "Dollars" is a more positive mental image than anything that is "cold"!

When dialing for dollars, most people are trying to "get" something from someone. They are trying to "get" an appointment or "get" an order. No one wants to "give" something to someone they do not know, like, trust and respect. This is why most salespeople fail miserably at this process.

But "Getting" is not the purpose of dialing for dollars.

Dialing for dollars is a "discarding" or "disqualifying" process. It is just like panning for gold or digging for diamonds. You have to turn over a lot of dirt before you find the gems. If you do not understand this principle, then you will become frustrated and think that your efforts are not working. Your objective in dialing for dollars is to "disqualify" as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. That eliminates the time, money wasted sending literature to people who will never buy, and it stops the fruitless "follow-up" calls that lead nowhere but to frustration.

You only have 30-45 seconds to deliver a specific and compelling reason for the person on the other end to "want" to continue the conversation. Skip the small talk and get right to the point.

You will be most effective when your 30-45 seconds causes the prospect to identify a problem in their business that you can help them fix. People will talk to you if you illuminate a problem they need to have fixed. Problems in business typically focus around loss of money, wasted time, inefficiencies in business processes or equipment, loss of market share, etc.

If the prospect (not you) identifies something that is having negative ramifications on their business (a problem) AND they are serious about getting rid of that problem, then you "may" have a possible reason to continue.

If there is a possible fit, then you can set an appointment to explore the possibilities of helping that prospect in some way get rid of that problem.

A few essentials:

• Tell them your name and company
• Ask permission for 45 seconds and tell them they can end the conversation after that if they want to.
• Get right to the point
• Help then identify their business problems by offering a short â??"menu"
• Never try to convince a prospect, instead let them convince you it is worth your time and effort to meet with them.
• Honor your agreement and let them off the hook if they do not want to engage,

Here's an example:

Rick, this is Josh Snider from Ace Delivery. May I take 45 seconds to tell you why I am calling and then you can tell me if we should continue speaking? I work with owners of small manufacturing companies that from time to time are frustrated because their customers do not get their shipments on time as promised, even though you completed the job on time. They are concerned about retaining their customers in the face of more competition and they are looking for ways to increase the reliability and consistency of product delivery. Rick, are any of the things I mentioned issues for you or is everything running 100% smoothly?"

In less than 45 seconds you will know if you have someone on the line who you can help or not. If they do not have any problems that you can fix, then it's over (for now). Remember, they may not have a problem today, but they may have it in the future.

If you make dialing for dollars, a scheduled event in your calendar and you do it with consistency you will be amazed how much new business you will dig up.

The best thing about "cold calling" is that you do not have to do it forever. Once you have a client base and they are more than satisfied with your products and services, they will, with your nurturing, become promoters of your business and you will have more referrals and less need for "cold calls".

Author: Geoffery James

You must have good communication skills. and guiding skill. your voice must be confidently and try to attract your clients.