How Can You Turn Around A Tough Telemarketing Conversation?

Conversational marketing is as much about learning, empathy and listening as it is about the ultimate sale, and this is especially true in specialist markets where the customer base is less numerous but much more likely to have an interest in your product if it meets their needs.

This is why conventional approaches to telemarketing, which involve a rigidly structured approach to conversations and a focus as much on eliminating uninterested people as closing the deal, are not cost-effective approaches within relatively niche markets that focus on business-to-business or business-to-extremely-knowledgeable-customer interactions.

Not only do you miss the important insights that can only come from conversations between experts that provide not only potential sales but also marketing and research insights, but there is also a smaller pool of potential customers.

This makes it much more important to get as positive a resolution to as many interactions and conversations as is realistic, which involves a strong focus on providing constructive and positive outcomes even in more difficult circumstances.

Whilst not all conversations will end in a sale, some can provide insight, a positive relationship and the potential for tangible benefits. Here are some techniques that can help create a more positive outlook.

Focus On Empathy Above All

Much has been said about the importance of an empathy-driven approach to sales and the vital importance of active listening in specialist telemarketing, but one particular advantage empathy has is that it has the innate ability to defuse potentially tense situations.

Many tense, frustrated and terse moments in telemarketing arise because customers do not feel like they are being listened to or heard, but rather being instructed and told what to do and what to think.

Great marketing experts know when to encourage a sale for someone who is clearly considering the benefits of a product or service, but the very best know how to make a customer feel valued, listened to and engaged with even in situations where a sale is unlikely.

Use A Problem-Solving Approach

Conventional telemarketing focuses on selling products and services, but this approach simply does not work for every business nor every marketing sector.

However, a marketing approach that works far more universally is to centre the customer, their problems and their particular pain points, and work towards searching for a solution together rather than pushing for a purchase.

Providing some expert advice, opinions, or even a little moral support can work wonders, as even if they are not in a position to buy (or at least not yet), experts talk to other experts in their field and help generate new leads through word of mouth.

Gauge Their Commitment

Two words that a lot of hyper-aggressive marketing and sales campaigns underappreciate to a significant degree are “not yet”.

Not everyone is in a position to buy from your company yet, but in specialist fields, where a lot of cooperation and parallel research is common, there is a chance that a customer who did not need your instruments or technology when you called could end up calling back six months later, eager to buy.

A very powerful question, one that opens up a lot of chances to see if a company is either a “not yet” or a “no”, is asking, “Are you ready to make a commitment to solving this issue now?”

It adds a very gentle level of time pressure, less to push towards a sale necessarily, but more to provide a gauge as to when they might be ready and thus when it is time to follow up.

See Objections As Opportunities

The only unproductive issue is an unspoken one, as any issues with your product or the field in general is either something you can fix or provides valuable insight on what you need to fix in order to develop sales.

In this regard, it is always best to see objections and pain points as opportunities to develop your product further.

If the problem is cost, it is worth asking what they might be willing to pay or which features would need to be included to make the current asking price more palatable.

If there is a desired feature or part of the service that is missing, that is an opportunity to explore, as if one expert is having this problem, others in a similar field of research or development may have the same exact problem.

Position Without Posturing

A key aspect of telemarketing that is often discussed is “conversational control”, with the idea that a marketer should be in control of the call in order to ensure that it is progressing in a positive direction.

Whilst this is important for telemarketing campaigns where throughput is everything, it often leads to missing the wood for the trees at best, and at worst can lead to a feeling of aggressive posturing that can turn a potential turnaround into a hung-up telephone.

Position yourself as a valuable peer in the sector and rely on the facts and the data to make your case for you.