Inside sales are increasing demand among companies from various fields of business. This is understandable: among the seemingly huge number of ways to reach the client, the phone is still the simplest and most effective channel of communication (especially if you deal with B2C), because it allows you to instantly receive feedback.
There are a number of technologies that increase sales performance. Such products and tools used in contact centers as Power & Predictive dialers, call monitoring, workforce management is very important for successful sales. CRM tools in selling call centers may play an even more important role than in service centers, since they contain a history of communication with a potential customer and, in general, help to make a sale. Voiptime outbound call center solution can provide you with software for outbound call automation, team management, listening to call recordings, quality assessment, and ultimate reporting on all call center activities.
Ultimate reports allow you to get complete data on call center operations and find the bottlenecks. Frequently operators can compare their quality monitoring cards with the results of colleagues in the contact center, which is a strong motivational tool. After all, there is no seller who does not want to be the best.
Talent is needed to sell. As long as this stereotype is alive, it is believed that a successful seller should be independent and self-confident. A contact center operator engaged in sales should combine the qualities of a seller and a call center agent such as knowledge retention, attention to detail, organization, communication skills, creativity, flexibility.
Often, sales are a game with big numbers. The more contacts an operator can make per day, the higher are the daily sales. This is why automation of dialing, displaying of call scripts and knowledge bases are so important. They avert an agent from the routine and allow them to perform the main task – to communicate with potential customers and sell. In such conditions, it is important to find the right balance between the total time spent on servicing a call and direct selling. Call monitoring and management software is your go-to solution for tracking ongoing interactions, training agents and gathering feedback from your customers in real-time.
Operators training should always be the very first step in telephone sales.
The main stages of telephone sales are the following:
- Primary contact
- Active listening
- Product presentation
- Handling objections
- Closing the sale
- Attempted extra sales
- Strengthening relationships
What Are the Key Rules for Telephone Sales?
- Plan your conversation ahead of time. Of course, the client will not answer 100% the way you planned, but if you have a list of questions that need to be addressed, it will be much easier before your eyes. In addition, customers have typical questions and objections, and answers to them can also be prepared in advance. Call scripts and knowledge bases provided to your operators by call center software will help them conduct the conversation with the prospects more effectively.
- Keep a positive attitude throughout the conversation. If possible, it may be helpful to find some connection to your potential customer at the beginning of the call. For example, if you are from the same city or have a co-worker, this might be a good way to get in touch with them early on.
- Introduce yourself and the company on whose behalf you are calling, be extremely clear. An important point: avoid phrases such as “trust me”, “Sorry to bother you”, “just following up”, “buy” and so on, as they subconsciously set up the interlocutor against you.
- Personalize the telephone conversation: more often contact the person you are talking to by name.
- Do not go too far – first clarify whether it is convenient for the client to talk, and only then proceed with the offer. If the other party is busy, set the time for a callback.
- First of all, be a listener. In a telephone conversation, your participation should not exceed 20% of the time, because your goal is to receive information from a client.
- Do not lose control over the conversation: if the client moves away from the main topic, try using the leading questions to return him to the subject of the conversation.
- You should also end the conversation on a positive note, even if you have been refused or ran into overt rudeness. Who knows, maybe in a few months you will have to contact this client again. Do not take any rejection personally.
- Call recording and quality management are integral components of the operator’s work. This will allow you to identify mistakes in the conversation or flaws in the script and adjust the work of telephone sales in the future.
Each call is unique, and from each, you can take your own lesson. Do not be afraid to experiment and try different approaches in interconnection with your clients.
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