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Business Building – Smiling and Dialing for Dollars
04/13/2008 - By Charles Di Bartolo

Business Building – Smiling and Dialing for Dollars

Business Building – Smiling and Dialing for Dollars

Business Building – Smiling and Dialing for Dollars

This article is a primer for using telemarketing to build your business. Most businesses have tried expensive marketing plans like print advertising, radio, local cable television. but how many of

Business Building – Smiling and Dialing for Dollars

This article is a primer for using telemarketing to build your business. Most businesses have tried expensive marketing plans like print advertising, radio, local cable television. but how many of you have tried hiring a telemarketer, or making some cold calls yourself? You can put together a script that has the potential to bring you new business by dialing for dollars? If you haven't this article is for you. I have had numerous businesses from retail to wholesale and the best marketing, pound for pound is to call potential customers, make appointments to see them and explain why your product or service is the best for them.

I have an extensive background in building successful telemarketing programs for fortune 500 companies, right down to mom and pop owned businesses. The telephone techniques in this article has been successful for my industry and quite a few others. It is so simple that it’s laughable. The best and most effective things in life are simple. This is one of them. If you put all of your doubts and fears aside and try it, and if your selling a worthwhile morally correct product to the right list of prospects this can work well for you. You must also hone your sales skills which we will talk about in later articles.

Start with a good qualified lead list. This list could be an industry list, potential prospects you would like to have as customers, a criss cross or reverse directory of your area, or whatever you would consider a good lead list. Look into the local “do not call” laws in your area. If there is a “Do Not Call” list, check your leads against the list and remove any conflicts. If you can't afford to hire a telemarketer do it yourself. It's worth it.

Set up a telemarketing script. I will give an example from one of the businesses I have currently. My business, National e-Pay Services, LLC provides businesses with the ability to accept credit cards. For more information on this company visit http://www.nationalepay.com

The telemarketing script should go something like this:

Hi Mr. _____________ This is ______________ from _______. The reason for the call is _________ has saved businesses hundreds of dollars and more per year while improving their service. I will be in your area Monday and Wednesday and I would like to stop by to see you. Which is better Monday or Wednesday? ______ Morning or Afternoon?____ Great! When I see you, could you have _______________ ready to look at so I can show you what we can save you, and how I could improve your service? Great, I'll see you on _______ at _____.

I know this is a simple script. You have to adapt it to your business. If you change the script remember to keep it simple. Try not to sound rhythmic. Practice the script until it flows. Write down the objections you get and form effective rebuttals for them. Nine out of ten people will say they’re not interested, but remember this isn't a popularity contest. If you make 40 dials per hour and speak to ten people per hour and your horrible, you will get an appointment per hour. As you get better you can make 2 or 3 appointments per hour. If you cold call two hours per day imagine what 4 to 6 solid appointments can do for you. If you can hire a full time telemarketer, using this script you can get you solid appointments all day, every day. Many people have built successful businesses with this type of cold calling approach. Give it a try.

I have found that using criss-cross directory or reverse directory can be a very effective use of your time. By using one of these directories you can work geographically by street or by neighborhood. These directories have residences & businesses. They offer quite a bit of information like longevity, income, ownership and more. Working a tight geographic area is more efficient if you’re going to see the customer. You can ask for referrals in the area and work those leads also.

Unfortunately this is a generic approach and it might have to be tweaked for your industry, but with a little ingenuity you can tailor it for most businesses.

To wrap up I feel dollar for dollar, telemarketing is an effective and efficient way to get a small business up and running with new accounts. Feel free to post questions or concerns.

Regards,

Charles Di Bartolo
http://www.BetterBizList.com




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