How do you keep your telemarketing skills and knowledge up to date?

To keep your telemarketing skills and knowledge up to date, you also need to read and listen to relevant and reliable sources of information .

Any skill set must be continuously practiced and refined. Professional athletes practice fundamentals because they are the essential building blocks of success.

Just the word Telemarketing gives me anxiety. I'm 53 and what was deemed 'telemarketing' when I started working was in actuality 100% cold calling with a very large funnel. Hopefully that broad based funnel is very different from the target strategies of today. Maybe the terminology should be updated as well. When you have a clear understanding of who you are calling, why you're calling them and how you can help, it doesn't feel as scary or as 'icky'. It also doesn't feel like telemarketing either. Not sure this is my best contribution ever but I'm feeling it strongly from my nose to my toes.

For anyone considering picking up the phone to tele-market, the first goal is to create the habit. Aside from teams of business development agents who are tasked with creating new prospects, I find making one call a day is manageable. That’s five calls a week or twenty a month. With clearly defined targets the average rate of getting through becomes higher. Once the needle begins to move, momentum starts to build and confidence grows. This simple approach can be increased over time as the results speak for themselves.

Adapt on the go! One thing needs to be constant and that is prospect's availability to listen to your pitch. Adjust your pitch according to customer's interest Ask engaging questions In case of refusal, ask reason for future analysis

Listen to yourself with someone positive. This is a building/learning exercise you should do regularly with someone you like and trust.

For sales, whether it's through telephone or in person, I always prefer the SPANCO process. Before making a call, it's essential to have a clear understanding of what I expect from that conversation. Sometimes, we may need an appointment for a face-to-face meeting, while other times, we are following up on pending dues or making a fresh sales call. Before reaching out to your prospect, a crucial step is suspecting and prospecting. We must gather information about the prospect, such as their business, potential challenges they might be facing, and their current needs. Next is the approach. In the approach, remember that the one who speaks less often wins. So, be sure to cultivate your listening skills.

Expand your Telemarketing (I prefer 'Telesales') skills and knowledge by building on your skills and knowledge of tangential and related expertise. Examples- but not limited to- story telling, negotiation, leadership, persuasion, leadership, client retention, motivation. Strategies, approaches, and pearls of wisdom from these will positively impact your work.

Telemarketing is the process of quantifying your prospects. Telesales is the process of managing customers accounts. As with anything there will always be personal development tools available to you. However, listening to your own conversations will glean the biggest secrets to sharpen your skills. Knowing your product, knowing the benefits it creates and listening for queues to be able to share credible stories of similar experiences with success are your best bet. Trust in yourself. Practice and seek to be proficient. Perfection is elusive.

I know role play can be effective but I don’t feel it is taken seriously enough. By sharing stories of conversations with customers within a team often leads to a wealth of tried and tested solutions. Using call recording and listening back to conversations of all types brings great value in learning. Tweaking phrases and replacing negative sentences or words also builds confidence. Influencing a conversation ought only be sought when a genuine opportunity to help others is identified.

Phone prosecting training should be used on at least an annual basis. There are many sales methods out there. The more you train the more you can learn.