How Can You Manage Complex Telemarketing Questions & Queries

Everyone has had that moment where they are asked a question that completely catches them off guard. 

It happens in client meetings, in job interviews, in product demonstrations, in press conferences, in customer service inquiries, and anywhere where there is an opportunity to be asked questions.

Nobody likes to be caught by surprise by a query they did not expect, but it is perhaps in specialist telemarketing where your response to a query matters most.

Your telemarketing, sales and customer service teams are the first point of contact, and if they do not answer to the satisfaction of your customer, it could potentially be the last interaction a prospective customer has with your company.

Why is this the case? What are the most difficult questions for a telemarketing team to answer? And how can you prepare to provide expert advice and assistance in even unexpected situations?

Why Does Complex Query Management Matter?

• They often slow down the customer journey and require multiple stages of internal inquiry.
• They can lead to hesitant responses, which in turn lead to hesitancy from a customer to finalise a sale.
• They can expose gaps in your service, product or business plan.
• They are optimal opportunities to stand out amongst your competitors and peers by providing customers with a confident direction towards an answer or solution.

What Are The Most Complex Types Of Questions To Answer In Telemarketing?

Whilst it can be difficult to know exactly where these complex queries will come from or what they will involve, there are certain categories where curveball questions tend to be far more common than others, especially in specialist markets such as life sciences, biotechnology and healthcare.

Technical/Specific Queries

Whether it is comparing the specifics of a product to a competitor or asking whether it would be suitable for a specific research or healthcare process, a marketing team needs to have industry-specific knowledge and be able to compare very similar products.

Ideally, this is information that the marketing team will have, but if not, then an operator needs to empathetically escalate the query to a technical expert and keep the customer updated to avoid losing them to competitors.

The worst step you can take is to try to overdeliver with an answer, as a customer will base their purchasing decision on what they say, and it could lead to serious consequences if they promise a feature that the product does not have.

Policy Or Contract Terms

Customers need absolute clarity on the expectations of the product and what recourse they have if they are not happy with it.

Paradoxically, being clear, concise and straightforward with your refund policies and making sure there are no misunderstandings makes customers more confident about your product, because you come across as customer-first and not trying to hide anything.

Pricing, Deals And Competition

Customers in specialist fields are more than aware of the going rate of the market. In some cases, your customers are also selling products in that same field.

Because of this, marketing teams may be asked to justify their pricing model, particularly if it is noticeably higher or lower than others on the market.

Ultimately, it is better to focus on what you have to offer that other businesses do not, rather than directly competing on price. 

Questions About Support Following The Sale

Problems with a product or issues with a service should be as rare as possible, but they can happen as a result of miscommunication, issues with the data provided by customers or problems with a third-party service.

Your marketing team will be asked by customers what their recourse is if there is an issue, and they must be able to provide a clear answer for post-sale support and the reality of how that looks.

Payment Options

If you offer financing or payment in instalments, make sure that the marketing team knows about these so they can steer the customer journey in the right direction.

The Best Strategies For Managing Complex Queries

• Prioritising Continuous Training And Professional Development: Your marketing team needs to be up to date on all of your products so they have the knowledge to answer expert queries.
• Giving Agency To Your Telemarketing Team: A rigid marketing script is often a double-edged sword. Instead, make it clear what is available and allow your team’s conversational marketing skills to bring customers to you.
• Easily Accessible, Up-To-Date Resources: Having a clear, easily-accessible internal database with product guides, technical sheets and other vital information can help marketing teams answer questions now without escalating to technical experts or directors.
• Active Listening: The key to effective marketing is knowing how to listen. Our expert marketing teams can drill down into the concerns of a customer and assure them that they have the answer or that they can get it promptly.