Telesales has a bad reputation – it conjures up images of pushy salespeople selling low-quality products.
This negativity has permeated into the minds of many B2B sales managers who often look for sexier ways to generate sales.
However, study after study shows that in many industries outbound telemarketing still delivers exceptional results – if done well.
Telesales is often implemented poorly and there are four key reasons for this: poor recruitment, poor training, poor planning and poor data.
Most people feel uncomfortable picking up the phone to a potential customer and pitching a product or service. Subsequently, the turnover of staff in telesales is very high.
A great telemarketing team creates an environment where salespeople don’t feel uncomfortable – instead, they feel motivated, prepared and purposeful.
Let’s take a look at how you build a potent telesales team with these five tips.
Get in the Right Mindset
Any telesales campaign is a constant barrage of rejection – even the most robust telemarketers can feel down after a bad run of calls. The best telesales managers help their team think positively about sales.
- A good sales rep will trust the process, rather than worry about one sales call, or a bad day or a week. A good rep will know that if they keep doing the right thing, results will come.
- A good sales rep will focus on controlling the controllable; they’ll focus on what they can do to maximise results, rather than worry about the myriad factors that can negatively impact them.
- The good sales rep is always looking for ways to improve, constantly reviewing their performance and sales skills to look for areas of potential improvement.
- The good sales rep takes responsibility; they won’t be found blaming other members of the telesales team or circumstances for poor results – they’ll look first at themselves.
- A good sales rep needs to have a positive attitude – as the inevitable failures and rejections accumulate, they always believe success is just over the horizon.
When you are recruiting for new telesales reps, look for these traits first. Look for methodical, positive and robust people who are willing to learn and adapt their sales methodology.
‘Growth mindset’ is a popular phrase right now; it means that believing success is possible will increase the chances of achieving it – this sums up a good mindset for a telesales agent.
