Newsletter - July 2008

Use Innovation to Prosper

• Know your market, primary customers, customer needs, solution partners and channel alliances.
• Shift your focus from product-driven to customer-driven.
• Creatively segment your customers and prospects.
• Create your segments and value propositions with an industry knowledge foundation.
• Develop a value proposition that places the customer at the center of your strategy.
• Create new markets and needs that address your clients' problems.
• Think about which of the three ways you'd like to compete:
  • marketing advantage, cost advantage or differentiation of your products and services.
• Don't overlook the importance of an integrated marketing plan
  • one that includes your strategic vision, product attributes, customer behavior, industry and product knowledge and knowledge of your channel dynamics.
• Lastly, consider acquisitions for growth.

Solera Enhances the Triple Choice/Dual Option Plan

Telemarketing Tips from the Pros

Telephone sales, or telemarketing, is a widespread, efficient and effective method for making contact with prospects and scheduling appointments. Telemarketing is also an effective method for introducing new or additional products and services to existing customers.

Today's successful telemarketer, however, must break through more "communication clutter" than ever before.  You're not only competing with messages from other telemarketers for prospects' attention, but also with advertising, news broadcasts and a myriad of other marketing communications tactics.

By its very nature, telemarketing creates a unique selling environment. It’s a very effective and efficient methodology for making direct contact with your prospects.  You're solely dependent on the words you use, the enthusiasm you project, and the tone in your voice.

It's important to realize that telemarketing is not an entire sales strategy, however. Instead, it's just one method of generating leads and initiating the sales process.  As is true with other selling methods, success in closing sales over the telephone is dependent on finding qualified prospects to call.

The following telemarketing tips are proven best practices in the telemarketing business. Upon reviewing each of these telemarketing tips, try to identify the top three telemarketing tips that will most benefit your business – then apply them.

Telemarketing Tips from Successful Telemarketers

Consider each of the following telemarketing tips to improve your sales and bottom-line profits.

• You have just a few seconds to make a good initial impression on the phone. Your careful preparation for the call can increase your chances of having a conversation with a prospect rather than an abrupt end of the call.
• Always be courteous and professional.
• Keep your work area neat - it'll keep you focused and organized.
• Dress like a sales professional even if your prospects will never see you.
• Smile during your calls.  Some successful telemarketers keep a mirror handy see if they're smiling during calls.
• Don't practice on prospects with a few warm-up calls when you begin your calls. Role play with someone if you need to, or just talk out loud in an imaginary conversation to warm up.
• Meeting long-term goals requires setting and meeting daily goals. Record call metrics and your progress on a daily basis.
• Keep records of the contacts you make for future reference.  Note dates for follow-up.
• Keep track of your success rate in getting through to the decision maker or meeting your goal.  This will help you identify and correct any weaknesses in your telemarketing campaign.
• Use your prime selling time-the hours your prospects are most easily reached by phone and are the most receptive. (Experience will quickly let you know when your prospects are most receptive!)
• Stay focused!  Conduct homework, research, planning or other administrative activities at other times.
• Use past experiences to help you prepare for and react to current situations. For example, if you continually meet the same objection to you're offering, brainstorm all the different ways you might meet this objection so you'll be prepared the next time it pops up.
• Develop a script for the call to keep you on track, but never read directly from it. Write the script as you talk. That way, when you vary from the script, your words and phrases will be consistent.
• Have a follow-up strategy and materials.  When a prospect wants further action, you’ll be prepared with professional correspondence.
• Use other "communication" tools as necessary to support your telephone sales, including cellular phones, fax machines, hands-free headsets, email, etc.  For example, part of your selling process may be to offer prospects a product information sheet by fax or email.
• End calls quickly, but politely, when it becomes evident that a prospect is either not qualified for your product or the prospect is not going to buy. Your time on the phone is precious. Spend it selling!

In addition to the preceding telemarketing tips, we encourage you to focus your discussion with your prospective client on what they need and what they want.

You should not try to convince them of what they need or want. Instead, ask probing questions and let them tell you.  We learn about our prospects’ needs by listening!  Once you know what they need, they you can suggest an ideal solution.