howtotelemarketing more tips July 23

For some people in business, the word telemarketing causes fear and anxiety, preventing them from utilizing a tool that can increase leads, sales, revenue, referrals and brand awareness. Many goals can be achieved with telemarketing, even in a down economy. In some cases, right now, during a recession, is an excellent time to start telemarketing.

Telemarketing can benefit any business, from a one person operation, to a fortune 500 company. But for many, the fear of rejection gets in the way of using this effective marketing tool.

Here are 3 tips you can use to overcome your fear of telemarketing.

1. Start small and simple. Start a small telemarketing campaign by putting a list of your existing clients or customers together. Craft a special promotion and just call them with a message like-

"Hi, this is ___________ from__________, I just wanted to touch base with you real quick and let you know that we have a special promotion for our good customers, we are offering__________________, If you are interested, just give us a call here at______________. Thanks".

This brief message keeps your name in front of your customers or clients, while keeping the message quick and to the point. Also, the close is open ended, which eliminates the rejection for you the caller, while keeping good will with your customer or client since you are not putting them on the spot.

2. Try a 2 step. Get a list of prospects you would like to do business with- (at least 200 names). Send a one page letter with your business card or brochure, highlighting the benefits of your company and a special offer, with the line at the end of the letter, "I will get in touch with you in a few days to see what you think".

Now, just do a simple follow up call. "Hi, this is___________ from______________. I just wanted to follow up with you real quick and see if you got a chance to read my letter...."

From here, you have a real good chance to interact with your prospect and the call is very non-threatening. This eliminates the pressure for you and puts your prospect at ease.

3. Keep it free. Everyone likes free stuff, and if your business offers the opportunity to offer a free gift, promotional product, coupon, gift certificate, gift card etc., these are wonderful opportunities to call prospects with very low rejection rates. This makes your call easy to make, and gives you the ability to follow up in a variety of ways. Perhaps you can get their email address in exchange for your freebie. Simply put an email campaign together to follow up with your new prospects. This also works with direct mail follow-up or subsequent phone call follow ups.