One of the hardest things for any business to do is to reach out to other businesses in order to make a sale. There are problems reaching the people who can make the decisions. There are problems saying the right things once you get the right people on the phone. Luckily, there are ways in which your sales team can say and do the right things to not only get the right people on the phone, but convert the contact into a sale or at least nurture a solid lead so that it can become a sale.
The first thing it is important to understand in B2B telemarketing is you are not on the agenda of any company you are calling. It is not a scheduled call and they are not waiting for you to make a sales pitch. When you call, the executives are busy going about their day. They are working on projects and making phone calls of their own. When they answer the phone and you are there, they cannot automatically swing into the nature of the phone call. It is your job to bring them into the fore.
Start the call off right
A key to telemarketing is to never give away your hand too quickly. Do not use any kind of remarks which will let the person you are calling know you are trying to sell them something until it is time to make the sale. Stop yourself from starting off with remarks like, “how are you today?” You want to start off with a comment which will greet the potential client and make them feel as if the phone call might be something they want to listen to. Say something more along the lines of, “Thank you for taking my call. My name is … and I would like to talk to about … ”
Break their line of thinking
Since the people you are calling are thinking about something else when you call, it is important to get them away from what it was they were doing. Go slowly and present your introduction to them. If you rush through what you are saying, it is likely you will not even be heard because they are still thinking about the thing you interrupted. Make sure that you do not cover any important points in the beginning, only points which have the ability to capture the attention of the person you are looking to talk to.
Create a conversation
No potential client wants to be talked at. Instead of simply rolling through a text, break into pauses every once in a while to give your contact a chance to respond. By giving the contact a chance to speak, they might feel inclined to ask questions or make comments here and there. The more responsive they are, the more in touch with the conversation they are. By interacting with them, you create an awareness which will pay off with the ability to really sell them on your product or service.
