Telesales is an unbeatable tool used by business marketers for generating leads. However, most people do not see telesales calls in a good light as they are perceived as intrusive, badgering, and often, inconveniently timed. This attitude has developed because of the poor professionalism exhibited by some telesellers and inept management that pressurizes its executives to get results without considering long-term consequences.

The attitude of the people towards your telesales calls can be changed by imbibing a level of professionalism that sets them apart from the vanilla variety thronging the market. Whether you have your own telesales department or outsource the services, professionalism is key to winning customer's goodwill.

How can you bring professionalism into telesales? Here are a few guidelines:

1. Start the conversation with your name and the company's name
If you receive a call about a product, and the caller launches into promises and guarantees without identifying herself or the company selling the product, you're likely to think it's a sham. The same goes for all customers. Identifying yourself and the company you work for makes the call credible. Giving a first and last name works even better for business-to-business calls and high-end consumers.

2. Ask if it is a convenient time
The second step is to ask the consumer if it is convenient to talk now. The customer will appreciate your respecting their time and will be more open to the conversation when you call again. Ask for a time when it would be convenient to call and make sure you stick to it. The go-ahead to call again is in itself an encouraging sign of a possible sales lead.

3. Precede telesales with other marketing efforts
Telesales becomes more effective if it is supplemented with other marketing strategies such as a direct mail, television or radio advertisement. You can lead the conversation by referring to the "ad in the paper" or "the mailer you received from our company". This makes the call more genuine and the consumer can immediately relate to the product or service you are promoting. If they're interested, they will hear you out attentively.

4. Do not mess with Do-Not-Call regulations
The Do-Not-Call registry came up for a reason and messing with it can get your company into serious legal trouble. Do-Not-Call regulations change regularly and vary at state and national levels. It is very important that telesellers conform to regulations to avoid litigations and damages. This is half the reason many companies prefer to outsource telesales services to third party professional agencies.

5. Record information in a prospect database
Consumers are often annoyed by calls from the same company asking the same thing after a gap of just a day or so. This happens in companies where telesellers do not track and record information in a common database. Information gathered in a call is crucial data for future sale prospects. In addition, if a teleseller can refer to a previous conversation with the customer, the customer will feel valued. Value your customer, goodwill to you.

6. Never compromise on quality
In a telesales sales campaign, customers come in direct contact with people who are representing your brand. The quality of this contact will have a defining impact on the customer's perception of your company. Though costs are important, they should not override quality in telesales. Whether you interview telesellers directly or hire a third party telesales agency, quality should be the chief criterion in your hiring decision.

Professional telesales services can improve the rate of lead generations and build a good image of your company. Even if consumers do not make a purchase today, they will be amenable to buying from your brand tomorrow.

Source: Daljeet Sidhu