Increasing Sales at Your Business

Telemarketing is big business, with more than 500,000 people employed as telemarketers in the United States alone. The opportunity to get your foot in the door and earn an impressive salary is there – but you'll have to rely on your sales and communication skills to earn commission, which may make up at least part of your income. Here's how to excel in your new telemarketing jobs and maximize your opportunities to earn top dollar:

Work on Voice Control

Voice control is one of the most important skills to master as a telemarketer. If you inflect your voice upward when talking about the benefits of a product or trying to make a sale, you will quickly lose credibility with your customer because you'll sound unsure of yourself and the stuff you are selling.

It's important to maintain a strong and even voice throughout your conversations. Ask questions as if you're making statements, and ensure that you inflect your voice downward in tone while asking for the sale as if you're sure your customer wants to take advantage of your offer.

Gain Some Confidence

If you aren't confident in yourself and the products or services you're selling over the phone, you can't expect your customers to be confident in their choice to take you up on your offers. Take the time to get to know the products and services you're selling – use them yourself if possible. At the very least, you should know the features and benefits of everything you're selling inside and out. Practicing your scripts with co-workers will give you the confidence you need to accurately and convincingly communicate with your customers.

Paste a Smile on Your Face

Believe it or not, people can hear a smile through the phone. Smiling not only eases any tension that might be present during a call, but it helps to keep you in a positive frame of mind when dealing with particularly difficult calls. Smiling throughout your conversations can even rub off on customers, relaxing them so they can more easily see the benefits of your offers. Keep a smile on your face when asking questions, replying to objections, and even when you have to say no. 

Always Repeat Objections

So that your customers know you clearly hear and understand their concerns, always repeat their objections back to them before replying to those objections. Repeating customer concerns ensures that you aren't misunderstanding their points of view and that you're both on the same page.

But it's important to overcome any objections you get as soon as you repeat their concerns back to them so that you can maintain control of the call. For example, if a customer expresses a concern about the cost of a product, you can begin your response by saying "It makes sense that you're concerned about such an investment, but before making a decision let's break down how the benefits may outweigh the cost for you." 

Keep Asking for the Sale

If you don't ask for the sale after each and every time you reply to a concern or objection, you are leaving the door wide open for more objections to be made. Suggesting a purchase after overcoming an objection is a great way to keep your customer in a buying frame of mind, and it greatly increases your chances of walking away from the call with a sale. Use actionable wording when you ask for the sale such as:

• "What address would you like your new product mailed to?"
• "Let me know which styles you'd like sent to you."
• "How many will we be shipping out to you today?"

The idea is to avoid asking for the sale in a way that gives the customer an opportunity to say no. Asking for a mailing address or to choose a specific style or color doesn't give them an option to say no, so they're more likely to agree to buy in the end.

Practice your sales techniques and customer service skills in your spare time at home, and you'll be prepared to overcome customer objections and close the deal no matter what situations happen to arise.