If she’s seen it once, she’s seen it a thousand times – sales teams waiting until they are “quiet” to make a push. For Paula Bates, Managing Director of Toucan Telemarketing, it’s a sales trope that affects all industries.
“It’s very frustrating, particularly among smaller companies. Bigger companies have their selling planned in around buying cycles, but smaller companies make a call when they’re quiet and then don’t bother to call back when things pick up.”
Breaking the Habit
Contrary to popular belief, this selling cycle may actually be detrimental to companies. By making sales calls during their quiet periods, they may simply be lining up new contracts to start in their busiest months.
This could lead to cashflow issues or a failure to meet each client’s needs throughout the course of the year.
“We encourage our clients to call when they’re busy. This allows them to allocate a small amount of time each month, which gives them a better spread of client work and irons out peaks and troughs”
Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing
While this is happening, Paula’s teams continue to nurture the data they have in the background. This has proved incredibly successful not only in nurturing existing clients, but acquiring new ones.
Paula cites multiple examples of Toucan Telemarketing acquiring business off firms far larger than her 20-strong team – some with up to 500 staff members.
The Right Frame of Mind
Of course, it is not simply about keeping a steady sales flow throughout the year. It’s also about being in the right frame of mind to make those crucial calls, says Paula.
“I see so many business managers who are great with face-to-face meetings but hate cold calls. As humans, we have an innate fear of rejection”
Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing
So, while every day is great for a sale, telemarketers should be honest with themselves when they’re having an “off-day”.
“This might be your 50th cold call of the day, but for the listener, it’s their first. You need to go into your call with the same enthusiasm you had for the first call of the day,” says Paula.
“Everybody has bad days. If today’s not your day, use this time to work on something else, such as nurturing existing clients.”
The Magic Formula
Paula adds that sometimes companies are too small or simply lack the right staff to make cold calls. That is where Toucan Telemarketing comes in.
“As an extension of the sales team, Toucan Telemarketing’s staff are there to plug data gaps and build relationships”
Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing
So, what would Paula’s advice be for securing appointments?
“People give up too quickly. There’s a fine line between pushy and persuasive – you need to ask open questions, get past the fear of rejection and ask for that appointment.”
“Eight out of 10 prospects might say no, but it’s the ones who say yes that motivate us,” concludes Paula.
If you are ready to improve your appointment setting success, with perserverance, please call Toucan Telemarketing on 01260 294444 or visit toucantelemarketing.co.uk.
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