In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, an excellent book about success, Eric Barker mentions some interesting research into insurance sales. The project concluded that sales people could actually be hired on their level of optimism alone. Apparently, agents who scored in the top 10% of optimism, sold 88% more than the most pessimistic tenth.
Reading this made me think about telesales consultants and how their job must require the biggest reserves of optimism compared with any other sales job. Considering what I sometimes say to some of them when they ask me yet again if I want to sell my business…. You must be very resilient, optimistic or desperate to be able to pick up the phone and do it all again.
Thinking back to that piece of research, I wonder if optimistic telesales consultants sell 88% more than their cynical colleagues. Moreover, considering the negativity that surrounds telephone sales I wonder if they sell anything at all. I don’t mean to be rude to telesales consultants, some of whom are very good at their job. At Your Business Development Team, we use telemarketing as an important tool in our operation. I also spend a lot of time talking to clients about the importance of picking up the phone and not hiding behind their computer screens.
What is the problem then you might ask, and what is the difference between telesales and telemarketing anyway? The best way to explain It, is to liken it to the difference between cold calling and warm calling. I believe cold calling is just another way to try and achieve a quick sale through cutting corners. It is often connected with a poor strategy and hasty action to try and pull quick results; now I am all for results and quick ones where possible but if you are looking for real results they often take time to achieve.
Consider your buying preferences; would you rather:
- Get some relevant information first, allowing you to engage with the company and consider its product then get a phone call following up to get your feedback and build a better picture of your needs?
- Have someone call you out of the blue asking you how you are today or telling you they are just conducting a survey…
No strategy is perfect or offers guaranteed results but I know which one I would prefer to be the receiver of.
As a business owner, a marketing manager or a sales director, it is important to consider this, particularly in the light of GDPR which is bound to bring about a surge in cold calling. I would hesitate a guess that many companies who used to spam you with loads of sales e-mails because it was easy will migrate to cold calls instead. So, even if it sounds really tempting, don’t go down this route, consider your target markets and how to contact them appropriately. Take the time to build an intelligent lead generation strategy and you will get real results much quicker.
As always, I will be happy to discuss your requirements in person. Click here for more information on setting up a telemarketing operation.