Aqua Career

Follow these simple rules, and you can make inbound or outbound telemarketing work more effectively for your business:

1. Think creatively about what your telemarketing can achieve. For example telemarketing can be used to generate leads, screen leads before follow up, arrange appointments for field sales staff, provide support, motivate resellers, research markets, test new offers, and of course gain sales.

2. Make sure the person making the call is properly briefed, knows all about your business and knows exactly what you are aiming to achieve. This is equally important whether your telemarketing is being handled by your receptionist, as by a professional call centre or telemarketing agency.

3. Try and match your telemarketing staff to the people they will be calling. For example many colleges and universities often employ and train current or recent students to call alumni to ask for their help in fundraising, because they are more likely to have something in common. If necessary, train your telemarketing staff to identify the type of person they are speaking to and adjust their tone and manner accordingly. Bouncy, jokey and over-familiar telesales staff are unlikely to make much headway with chartered accountants or financial directors.

4. Make sure the right technology is in place so that your telemarketing campaign can be adjusted quickly if it needs to be, and that results of calls can be logged effectively. All users need proper training in your technology system, and you need to have a back up in place in case the technology fails mid sales call.

5. If you are operating inbound telemarketing through a call centre, make sure that staff are trained and motivated to make the most of every opportunity, such as turning complaints into happy customers. An existing customer saved can often be far more valuable than a new customer gained.

6. Don’t waste time and resources in calling prospects who are not likely to buy from you – this just smacks of desperation. You may think that if you call enough of them someone will buy, but this can do more damage than good amongst the larger numbers who really don’t want to receive your call. Try and target to your telemarketing to people who may already know of your brand, and who are likely to have some interest in what you are selling.

7. Following on from the last point, train your staff to ask a few initial questions to identify if the prospect is actually a potential customer or not. Qualifying leads early on can save a lot of wasted time and frustration trying to convert someone who is simply never going to buy.

8. Make sure your administration and fulfilment operations are also of the same standard as your telemarketing – there’s not point in a well trained caller convincing a prospect to have a sales rep call, if the appointment never reaches the rep’s diary, or they forget to make the visit.

9. Test your outbound telemarketing results. After all telemarketing is a direct marketing activity with all the benefits that brings for testing, adapting and measuring results. If a script or approach is not working, don’t be afraid to change the approach and try again.

10. Most importantly of all, always check if the telephone numbers you are about to call is already registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for consumers, or the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) for businesses. Call a registered number by mistake and your business could be reported, face legal action and even receive a fine.

About the Author: Steve Sellwood is from www.selectabase.co.uk, a UK provider of telemarketing b2b and b2c lists and data for use in your telemarketing campaigns. Selectabase also provide simple and affordable tools for checking TPS registered telephone numbers before you call, including 1check and Easycheck.

There’s an old Japanese proverb that counsels: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” But how do you get back up when you’ve fallen flat on your face? Below you’ll find 5 tips to help you gather the pieces and pull yourself back together after you’ve failed.

1. Always expect success. However, you need to get rid of the notion of the “overnight success” or the “get-rich-quick-scheme”. People who appear to be overnight successes have actually spent a lot of time before-hand honing their skill. Success requires a lot of preparation and a prolonged effort. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who feel like failures when something doesn’t work immediately and they just give up. If you don’t succeed right away this doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. Recognize that setbacks are simply part of the process, and that hard work and perseverance are two of the most important ingredients of success. If you’ve failed in the short run it simply means you need to take a longer term view of success.

2. Do not identify yourself with your failures. You are not your actions. To say that you have failed many times is not the same thing as saying that you are a failure. Whatever happens, keep referring to yourself, in your conversations with others and in your self-talk, as someone who has the full capacity to succeed.

3. Create a “fame wall”. Hang your diplomas or certificates on this wall. You can also add framed photographs of yourself with your friends and family having fun or sharing a close moment. Anything that gives you a sense of accomplishment can go up on the wall. In times of failure, refer to your wall. It will serve to remind you that you have succeeded in the past and that you will succeed again in the future

4. Collect stories of failure about people who have gone on to become successful so that you can use them as inspiration when you’re down. For example, consider the following life story.

This person:

At age 22 – Failed in business;

At age 23 – Was defeated for the State Legislature:

At age 24 – Again failed in business;

At age 25 – Was elected to the State Legislature;

At age 26 – His sweetheart died;

At age 27 – He suffered a nervous breakdown;

At age 29 – Was defeated for speaker;

At age 31 – Was defeated for elector;

At age 34 – Was defeated for Congress;

At age 37 – Was elected to Congress;

At age 39 – Was defeated for Congress;

At age 46 – Was defeated for the Senate;

At age 47 – Was defeated for Vice-President;

At age 49 – Was defeated for the Senate;

At age 51 – Was elected President of the United States.

This person was Abraham Lincoln.

5. Keep things in perspective; do not over-generalize. The fact that you’ve failed at something does not mean that your life is over. It does not mean that your reputation is forever ruined and that you’ll never get another chance. Don’t make the situation bigger or more pervasive than it really is. Instead, remember the famous line:

“And this too shall pass . . .”

In today’s hectic world it is easy to lose track of things if you do not have some kind of time management strategy in place. So, here are some quick tips to help you to get the most out of the precious hours in your day.

1. You cannot manage your time – This may sound a strange way to begin a time management tips article, but it’s true. You cannot manage time. You have so many hours in your day and you can not change that. You can, however, manage how effectively YOU can use this time and your energy. Using your time well is about managing you, not about managing time.

2. Be effective, not efficient – Learn to discern between effective use of your time and efficient use of time, the latter being the better of the two. Folding and sealing 200 letters in one hour is efficient use of your time. Buying a machine to do it in five minutes is effective use of your time.

3. Know what you want – How can you spend your time the way you would like to if you don’t know what you want? Before embarking on any time management plan sit down and get a clear idea of exactly how you want to spend your time. This will give you something specific to work towards.

4. Get organized – Keep a time log to find out how you are really spending your time. Also, keep a daily time plan for each day so you know exactly what you want to achieve in each day, and work towards your longer-term goals.

5. Avoid time wasters – Time wasters are the arch-enemies of good time management. Worst of all, they are often so subtle that you won’t even notice them. Common time wasters include television, clutter, meetings and interruptions at work.

About the Author: Discover how to get more done in less time, the top 7 “time management” truths uncovered in this free report by clicking here – http://www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com

Wendy works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time using time management tips