There’s been lots of noise from sales teams over the past couple of years. Much of it hasn’t been happy noise. They’re worried about the impact on their success rates caused by recent changes to the way people work.
They’ve had to –
- Adapt to hybrid working
- Navigate a different marketplace where the people they’re trying to make contact with have also switched to hybrid working
Paula Bates, Managing Director of Toucan Telemarketing, doesn’t believe these factors are valid in terms of telemarketing success – or lack of it. In fact, she thinks hybrid working is conducive for telemarketers to work to optimum levels.
A Better Way to Do a Hard Job
“Telemarketing is a hard job”, Paula explains. “So, hybrid working helps keep team members motivated.
“Motivation is a massive part of successful telemarketing. The feeling of being part of a team, of bouncing things off your colleagues and popping your head around somebody’s door for a quick chat; they’re integral to staying motivated.”
At the other end of the scale, Paula suggests that telemarketers can really get in to the zone without any distractions when they’re working from home. So, hybrid working enables them to have the best of both worlds.
But it also begs the question – If telemarketing professionals are thriving on hybrid working, how are they navigating the reframed marketplace? Aren’t the very people they’re trying to get hold of on the phone doing exactly the same thing?
Is Anybody on the Line?
Paula states with confidence that it’s no longer the case that off-site means off-grid.
“As far as telemarketing is concerned, it’s not too different than it was before the pandemic”, she says. “Businesses had to adapt at pace. Most of them did, really successfully. So, most larger businesses have been using digital telephone systems for quite some time by now.
“This means people are still accessible at the click of a button, whether they’re working from home or any other off-site location.”
Hybrid working also hasn’t changed the fact that being on-site or not isn’t an influencing factor if prospects don’t want to talk.
But expert telemarketers don’t go down easily without a fight. Paula’s team have a variety of tricks up their sleeves to ensure they don’t miss a single conversation on behalf of their clients.
Ask The Right Questions to Get the Conversations
“Effective telemarketing has always revolved around asking the right questions at the right time”, Paula concludes.
“This rule of thumb applies now more than ever. Asking the right questions, such as –
- ‘Are they working from home?’
- ‘What days of the week do they work from home?’
- ‘Do they have a direct line we can try?’
- ‘Do they have a mobile number we can contact them on?’
can make all the difference between getting the conversation with the prospect or not.”
Are you concerned that your team’s telemarketing efforts are being stifled due to hybrid working challenges? Contact Paula Bates from Toucan Telemarketing at paula@toucantelemarketing.co.uk for a chat about enlisting expert telemarketing help.
