Have you checked out Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 yet? If not, go catch up before continuing with this article!

The team members at Dunlap Marketing are telemarketing gurus. Did you know that on average, our staff has 12 years of experience making business calls? Generating leads and scheduling appointments inside various business sectors is how we spend our time – and we don’t want to brag, but we’re pretty darn good at it.

We have reached the finale of the Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros series. To wrap up, our team will share tips on closing out a cold call conversation, along with some miscellaneous BONUS TIPS!

Closing Out a Cold Call

Regardless of the outcome of your call, these are tips you can utilize during your cold calling journey. Keep in mind that your prospect was not waiting at their desk for you to call – this mentality should stay at the front of your mind all the way to “goodbye”.

• If you’ve agreed upon the next steps with the prospect, such as scheduling an appointment, be sure to verify the date, time, and address (if applicable).
• Always be professional and polite. A call should end as pleasantly as it started – thank the prospect for their time, even if you didn’t schedule an appointment.

BONUS TIPS

• Keep a positive attitude and don’t allow yourself to get discouraged by “no” – each “no” is one call closer to your next “yes”!
• Set daily goals for yourself. If you don’t reach your goal, remember that everyone has bad days sometimes.
• Only schedule quality appointments – two quality appointments are better than five mediocre appointments.
• Be alert and speak with confidence. Be prepared to quickly get to the point of your call and to answer potential questions.

Have you checked out Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros – Part 1 and Part 2 yet? If not, go catch up before continuing with this article!

With 23 years of business under our belt, the Dunlap Marketing team has a great deal of telemarketing experience. Part 1 of this series reviewed tips on call preparation; Part 2 reviewed tips to utilize during your calls. Moving on to Part 3, we will discuss tips related to the million-dollar question: How to reach the decision maker.

Reaching the Decision Maker

One of the biggest struggles during cold calling is getting past the gatekeeper. At Dunlap Marketing, this is a challenge we encounter daily. Check out the following tips from the Dunlap pros about getting through the gatekeeper and to the decision-maker.

• Be friendly with receptionists and try to get as much information out of them as possible. It will make it easier to get through to the decision maker the next time you call.
• If you encounter a difficult gatekeeper, try calling early in the morning or in the evening. There’s a chance the gatekeeper won’t be there and you can get straight to the decision maker.
• Do your best to build trust with the gatekeeper. If they ask you to call back at a certain time, be timely with your call back. If they request an email, send the email promptly, then follow up with a call in a few days.
• If you ask for the decision maker and they’re not available, that doesn’t have to mean the call is finished. You should always ask, “Who else is there that can handle this matter?”

Part 4 will wrap up our Telemarketing Tips, From The Pros series. Stay tuned for the grand finale, going live in November.

Have you checked out Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros – Part 1 yet? If not, go catch up before continuing with this article!

It’s common for us to hear “does your team have any tips?”. As a matter of fact, we do! In Part 1 of our series, we reviewed tips on call preparation. As a continuation, Part 2 carries on the discussion and hits on tips you can use during your call sessions.

During your Calls

Congratulations, your call campaign has launched! Now you have a prospect on the phone – what do you do now?!? The Dunlap team is here to help you make the most of your phone conversations with prospects!

• In the same vein as re-reading your script before you start a calling session (as mentioned in Part 1), keep your script in front of you while making your calls so if needed, it’s easy to reference.
• Avoid overloading the prospect with too much information early on in your call – quickly get to the point and let them know the reason you are calling.
• When asking for an appointment, be upfront. Try by suggesting a date and time as a starting point.
• Be a good listener – remember we have two ears and one mouth; sometimes it’s appropriate to speak half as much as you listen!
• While on the phone, speak to the person on the other end as if they were seated right next to you. This will help you come across as more approachable.
• If a prospect asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, that’s okay! Use it as a way to get your foot in the door by saying, “That’s a great question and I actually don’t have the answer right now. Can I schedule a time to have John come to meet you next Tuesday so he can answer it for you? He’s the expert!”
• If the decision-maker says they already have a solution set in place, say, “That’s okay! Most people already have something set in place. We’re just calling to let you know what we have to offer so you can compare it to what you have now, or maybe even add us to your current solution.”

Stay tuned for part three of our “Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros” series, where we’ll discuss tips you can use while trying to reach the decision-maker.

The team at Dunlap Marketing has an average of 12 years of experience working in business-to-business prospecting. Working with customers to help grow their sales through appointment setting and lead generation is something that not only drives our team, but also keeps us dialing!

It’s common for us to hear “does your team have any tips?”. As a matter of fact, we do! If you’re on a cold calling journey, check out our four-part series outlining various tips from the Dunlap Marketing gurus.

Call Preparation

To kick off our series, we’re starting at the beginning. Before a call campaign goes live, you need to prepare for it. Here are some tips from the Dunlap team specific to call preparation:

• Trim the fat and avoid using fluff words when preparing your message – stick to the details that are relevant during an early stage call. Remember that you’re not trying to close a deal on an appointment setting call.
• Be prepared to answer questions the prospect might have before agreeing to an appointment. This might mean doing additional research on your product/service or preliminary research on the company you’re calling into.
• Before you launch a call, know who you need to speak with. This could be knowing which department, a specific title, or even the decision maker’s name.
• It’s common for a prospect to tell you “no” before they understand the purpose of your call. To be prepared for this, practice using rebuttals that will help get your call back on track.
• Re-read your message each time you start a calling session. This will help get your brain “in the zone” and remind yourself of key details.

Stay tuned for part two of our “Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros” series, where we’ll discuss tips you can use during your cold calls.

Update: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4