"Telemarketing Tips: Avoid This Common Mistake"

What's the top of the telemarketing tips for success?

Adjust your talking speed for the phone - a speed that is considerably slower than that of talking face to face.

Resist any temptation to take this lightly. Think about it. The phone keeps us from seeing the whites of our prospects' eyes and reading their body language. For sales professionals who take pride in the ability to quickly assess a prospect, overturn objections, and close a sale on the spot … the loss of visual input is quite frankly, unnerving.

This does not make sense unless you acknowledge that at least half of face-to-face conversation is communicated visually. While conducting in-person sales presentations you "hear" your prospect with your ears AND your eyes—at the quick speed of light.

Make the switch to the phone and both you and your prospect "hear" only with your ears –at the oh-so-slow speed of sound.

You must compensate for the loss of visual cues. How?

Well, do not do what most people do. Do not talk loud and fast as though the person can not hear you! The issue is they can not see you.

Prospects that get fast, loud talking callers become frustrated and irritated by the words that seemingly assault them through the phone, in rapid-fire succession. These prospects report never really hearing the caller and opting to hang-up or say "thanks, but no thanks" rather than spend time and energy trying to make sense of what the caller is saying.

The mother of telemarketing tips is this, the common mistake that you want to avoid is all about talking way to fast. Most callers want to cram in as many words as possible while they have the prospect on the phone. Unfortunately, they unwittingly shut down the prospect’s ability to really hear you.

To connect with the prospect and greatly improve your odds of getting an appointment, sale, or any other desired outcome ... you are going to have to speak slowly … even painfully slowly, so your prospect can actually register and process your words.

If you are a speed talker, as most cold callers are, you’ll feel awkward and uncomfortable slowing down your talking speed. However, if successful cold call prospecting is your goal, you must make this adjustment.

Here is an easy way to conduct a self-assessment of your phone presentation. Call your voice mail. Use your normal phone voice as you leave your name, your call back number, and of course the reason you are calling. When you can listen to yourself objectively, listen to your message and pose this important question, based on the message you left, would you be likely to do business with you?

Recommended Resources

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