Telesales: how do you focus on the right stuff?
There has been much written
over the years with regard to the most effective methodology to use on
the phone in the context of marketing and/or selling.
“It’s all a numbers game”
“It’s all about closing”
“You’ve either got it or you haven’t”
It is worth considering that in reality it is not an all or nothing thing.
In simple terms it is unlikely to all about 1 thing and similarly not
about 100 things. Telemarketing/telesales is a skill that by its nature
can be trained and therefore improved over time.
The prime issue is control of attention.
In simple language nothing affects performance of complex tasks more than where your attention is placed. For example when serving a tennis ball you must focus on the position of your feet, your body position, the throw of the ball, racquet trajectory etc, similarly during a sales telephone interaction you must pay attention to your initial concept to the customer, understanding their real needs, how your solution differs from the competition and what (if any) anxieties they may have about you as a supplier/partner.
When you add to this skill
the dimension of pressure, i.e. targets, competition, marketplace changes,
increased buyer sophistication, internal company change it is no wonder
that people find it very difficult to stay focused on the job in hand.
Customers looking at driving improvement in the effectiveness of their
Telesales/Telemarketing have to focus on improving interpersonal skills
for their agents, as just increasing number of calls will not help if
an individual’s interactive skills and processes are flawed.
The solution to these pressures is having a high quality structure or
framework or more accurately a “MAP” guiding thought and action
that acts as a fall back when times get tough. If you think about the
top performers in any domain they seem to have an ability to think clearly
under pressure, they make deliberate choices around what to do and then
execute. They appear to have strong structures underpinning their actions
and this is exactly what Gazing create for their customers to enable them
to improve their performance over time.
As one of our recent delegates wrote after attending a programme: -
“Just thought I'd drop you a quick email to let you know how I'm getting on post training. I found the course so helpful to get my focus back on the task at hand. You explained everything at a good pace so that everyone could keep track throughout. On my office day last Thursday I came in with a new confidence and structure and managed to book 15 meetings, nearly all with decision makers!
Since using the new structure in all my calls over the last few days the results have been amazing! Not only am I getting quicker decisions on new equipment but I'm getting so much more feedback from the customer throughout the process. Thanks so much for taking the time to do the training with us and I look forward to seeing you again during the follow up sessions.”
One of the main factors underpinning
the effectiveness of this approach is that the structure or Map that is
created for delegates is designed onto 1 page, making it simple and therefore
memorable. It is based on words, shapes, colour and meaning which stimulates
key areas of the brain when most needed. This results in delegates being
able to translate training into practical day-to-day actions that provide
measurable improvements over time.
For more information about Gazing Maps, case studies or testimonials from
any of growing customer base please contact ian.cochrane@gazing.com
telephone 020 8948 4148.
Or visit our website at www.gazing.com
