Telemarketing is the most popular and cost-effective marketing and communication technique available. It helps your business conserve more time, money, and workforce. It is a method of direct marketing in which an agent proposes to the prospective customer to buy products or services over the phone. It is a great way to promote your products or services, that is why outbound call centers emerged and are widely used by businesses.
Outbound telemarketing is a huge business but it can be annoying to those who receive these calls multiple times a day. It has been reported that households particularly in western countries received billions of calls in a year from faceless telemarketers. They sometimes call your household at the most inopportune time, either early in the morning when you are still fast asleep, at dinner time when everybody is set at the table, or before bedtime when a mother is reading a story to her child. Is it not annoying when you rush out from the bathroom halfway done taking a bath, or get out from under the car covered with grease, just to pick up the phone and only to find out an unknown caller is trying to sell you something you do not need?
Because of the rapid growth of telemarketing call centers, several laws were passed and amended. However, these laws differ from state to state and from country to country. In the face of all the difference, each telemarketing companies have the sole responsibility to become familiar with the laws governing the industry in a specific locale. They are obliged to adhere with all the relevant laws imposed on their industry.
According to the Official Business Link to the U.S. Government, telemarketing is regulated at the federal level by two statutes: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) derives its regulatory authority from TCPA, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for enforcing TSR. The FTC implemented the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994, a federal legislation in the United States, to combat telephone fraud. It helps consumers how to differentiate between fraudulent and legitimate telemarketing.
The law established the FTC's National Do-Not-Call Registry in 2003 in order to facilitate compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). A Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry is managed by the FTC to make it easier and more efficient to prevent telemarketing calls that you do not want. It is a list of phone numbers from consumers who do not wish to be called by telemarketers, otherwise, consumers can file a complaint against the company. The telemarketing laws of the FCC also require that calls made by predictive dialers to wireless telephone numbers be prohibited. It also prohibits sending any unsolicited fax advertisements, the use of automatic dialers, or sending recorded messages.
On the other hand, telemarketing companies are also required to maintain their own internal Do-Not-Call list. If you are contacted by a company that is exempted from the national DNC registry, such as banks, federal credit unions and loans, or telephone and airline companies, you can ask them to put your number in their internal DNC list, otherwise, you can file a complaint against the company as well. You can also take advantage of this strategy even if you do not subscribe to the national DNC registry.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
How to Communicate Effectively When Appointment Setting
Communication is the art of exchanging information and ideas in everything we do. It is a two-way process that needs good listening and presenting skills. It could be spoken through telephones, computers, face-to-face conversations, small or large meetings or discussions. It could be written through cellphones, internet, letters or cards. It could also be viewed through videos, DVDs, or filmed presentations. There are different types of communications, but the most important thing that you need to consider is how to communicate effectively. Even when we are not talking, our gestures and facial expressions exhibit non-verbal communication and sometimes it can be more powerful and real than actual words spoken. You can tell a person's emotion by the look in his eyes, his hand movements and general body posture. You can determine as well the person's emotion on the other line when talking over the telephone.
Establishing an effective conversation over the phone is very important and it plays a crucial role in business particularly in appointment setting. Good communication skills are important in appointment setting, yet, it does not matter how eloquent or good-looking you are if you never get the chance to compose yourself in front of a prospect, either in person or over the phone. An enthusiastic condition of a warm and friendly conversation by the tonal quality of your voice should be initiated when making cold calls. While it is easy to just pick up the phone and make cold calls, but making calls without preparation or strategy will yield poor results.
Make sure when you are telemarketing you know what to say and how to say to keep your message consistent and effective, thus, an effective call script is advised. A simple “hi” or “hello” can take away formalities instead of saying “good morning” or “good evening”, that maybe regarded as austere and cold. It is always proper and polite to introduce yourself after the warm greetings. Do not wait for the prospect to ask for your name. Project positive attitude so that your prospect will respond with affirmation. Otherwise, if you are not confident in everything you say, your prospect may sense it and this might cause them to respond apprehensively.
It is very important to understand how people interpret your message. The person in the other line can immediately conclude if you are worth the time and effort. If you give a good and distinctive information to people, they are better equipped to see your point of view. Exaggerated claims and promises such as “You can be a millionaire by joining us!” or “You can be sexy in five days” should be avoided. You do not have to waste their time and lessen the chance of getting their interest if they have to strain their ears to absorb everything that you are saying. Explain the purpose of your call in a precise and logical manner. Express your openness to captivate your prospect into a productive conversation that will encourage them to participate and maintain their attention and interest level.
It is important to determine if there is a relationship worth pursuing. To avoid possible arguments, provide only the necessary information that leads to an appointment. Remember that the main reason of your call is to set for an appointment. Have your prospect agree for an appointment right away once you have their interest. Do not delay for it may turn their hot interest into cold and it takes twice the effort to gain their interest back. Inform the prospect that the appointment is free and there is no obligation on their part, thus, making the appointment setting much easier.
Establishing an effective conversation over the phone is very important and it plays a crucial role in business particularly in appointment setting. Good communication skills are important in appointment setting, yet, it does not matter how eloquent or good-looking you are if you never get the chance to compose yourself in front of a prospect, either in person or over the phone. An enthusiastic condition of a warm and friendly conversation by the tonal quality of your voice should be initiated when making cold calls. While it is easy to just pick up the phone and make cold calls, but making calls without preparation or strategy will yield poor results.
Make sure when you are telemarketing you know what to say and how to say to keep your message consistent and effective, thus, an effective call script is advised. A simple “hi” or “hello” can take away formalities instead of saying “good morning” or “good evening”, that maybe regarded as austere and cold. It is always proper and polite to introduce yourself after the warm greetings. Do not wait for the prospect to ask for your name. Project positive attitude so that your prospect will respond with affirmation. Otherwise, if you are not confident in everything you say, your prospect may sense it and this might cause them to respond apprehensively.
It is very important to understand how people interpret your message. The person in the other line can immediately conclude if you are worth the time and effort. If you give a good and distinctive information to people, they are better equipped to see your point of view. Exaggerated claims and promises such as “You can be a millionaire by joining us!” or “You can be sexy in five days” should be avoided. You do not have to waste their time and lessen the chance of getting their interest if they have to strain their ears to absorb everything that you are saying. Explain the purpose of your call in a precise and logical manner. Express your openness to captivate your prospect into a productive conversation that will encourage them to participate and maintain their attention and interest level.
It is important to determine if there is a relationship worth pursuing. To avoid possible arguments, provide only the necessary information that leads to an appointment. Remember that the main reason of your call is to set for an appointment. Have your prospect agree for an appointment right away once you have their interest. Do not delay for it may turn their hot interest into cold and it takes twice the effort to gain their interest back. Inform the prospect that the appointment is free and there is no obligation on their part, thus, making the appointment setting much easier.
How Appointment Setting Services can Generate New Businesses
The emergence of BPO industries in the Philippines have helped a lot not just in the country's employment rate, but it also helped a lot in generating new businesses for every company that outsources their services or products. Many companies invest more than 90% of their marketing budget in outsourcing services particularly in Appointment Setting because it is an extremely effective marketing tool.
Appointment Setting service has been the cornerstone of generating new businesses because there is nothing more effective than a face-to-face meeting. It dramatically increases the likelihood of closing a sale when you meet the prospect client face-to-face rather than selling over the phone. It is beneficial to smaller businesses as well, for they might have no resources to find new prospects such as doctors, mortgage brokers, financial planners, contractors, insurance agents, and other service oriented businesses.
Outsourcing Appointment Setting service helps your business conserve more time, money, and workforce such as hiring people, train them and manage an internal team of telemarketers. It also eliminates expenses for computer hardware, office space, and even furniture that you will need.
Appointment Setting companies free you from those responsibilities without additional expenses of hiring full-time employees. It allows you to focus on your core competencies and goals. However, this type of service requires telemarketers with excellent communication skills and persistence. They should have the detailed knowledge about the product or service that they are about to sell. Thus, make sure when you outsource for this type of service, choose the company that has the best team of agents that can handle a high level of conversation with decision makers.
Appointment Setting companies assist you by cold calling and pre-screening prospective clients, choosing the highly qualified prospects. It helps you see if they are good candidates for your products or services. After the highly qualified prospects are screened, a face-to-face meeting will be arranged so that your representative can focus on presenting the core proposition of the business. In this way, the representative would be able to clear all doubts that the prospective clients may have about the product or service that they are offering. In a period of time, you can have the decision maker's complete attention, and finally closes the deal.
Appointment Setting service has been the cornerstone of generating new businesses because there is nothing more effective than a face-to-face meeting. It dramatically increases the likelihood of closing a sale when you meet the prospect client face-to-face rather than selling over the phone. It is beneficial to smaller businesses as well, for they might have no resources to find new prospects such as doctors, mortgage brokers, financial planners, contractors, insurance agents, and other service oriented businesses.
Outsourcing Appointment Setting service helps your business conserve more time, money, and workforce such as hiring people, train them and manage an internal team of telemarketers. It also eliminates expenses for computer hardware, office space, and even furniture that you will need.
Appointment Setting companies free you from those responsibilities without additional expenses of hiring full-time employees. It allows you to focus on your core competencies and goals. However, this type of service requires telemarketers with excellent communication skills and persistence. They should have the detailed knowledge about the product or service that they are about to sell. Thus, make sure when you outsource for this type of service, choose the company that has the best team of agents that can handle a high level of conversation with decision makers.
Appointment Setting companies assist you by cold calling and pre-screening prospective clients, choosing the highly qualified prospects. It helps you see if they are good candidates for your products or services. After the highly qualified prospects are screened, a face-to-face meeting will be arranged so that your representative can focus on presenting the core proposition of the business. In this way, the representative would be able to clear all doubts that the prospective clients may have about the product or service that they are offering. In a period of time, you can have the decision maker's complete attention, and finally closes the deal.
Conducting a Quality Market Research Survey
A survey is a systematic method of collecting data from a population of interest. The purpose of a survey is to collect quantitative information, usually through the use of a structured and standardized questionnaire. A good-structured questionnaire is the foundation of a quality market research survey. It is the basic tool to gather data that are specific and crucial to the success of your business. A carefully designed questionnaire can generate vast amount of revenue or it can dramatically change strategies.
Through market research survey, you can determine the likely performance of a product or service, the buying behavior of consumers, consumers' awareness of a product or service, and the consumers' attitude toward existing or proposed products and services. The effectiveness of the questions would depend on the way they are structured such that your results will be relevant, accurate, and even conclusive.
There are different methods of market research surveys and they are categorized depending upon your target market or population of interest. There are so many factors to be considered as well in conducting a quality research surveys, but the most important thing is how to construct a survey questionnaire that would help you convince your respondents to answer it accurately.
Composing your Survey Questionnaire
In order to have a quality survey, try to make your questionnaire as short as possible. Use only those questions that will provide the information you need. Do not make it too broad and you will need to ask too many questions, or do not make it too narrow and you will not be able to research the topic thoroughly enough.
Professionally conducted surveys can definitely help you improve results. There are Business Process Outsourcing or BPO industries nowadays that specialize market research survey and you can be assured of a valuable result. With the emergence of offshore BPO, outsourcing market surveys have helped a lot of businesses in assessing opinions, trends and competitors.
Through market research survey, you can determine the likely performance of a product or service, the buying behavior of consumers, consumers' awareness of a product or service, and the consumers' attitude toward existing or proposed products and services. The effectiveness of the questions would depend on the way they are structured such that your results will be relevant, accurate, and even conclusive.
There are different methods of market research surveys and they are categorized depending upon your target market or population of interest. There are so many factors to be considered as well in conducting a quality research surveys, but the most important thing is how to construct a survey questionnaire that would help you convince your respondents to answer it accurately.
Composing your Survey Questionnaire
In order to have a quality survey, try to make your questionnaire as short as possible. Use only those questions that will provide the information you need. Do not make it too broad and you will need to ask too many questions, or do not make it too narrow and you will not be able to research the topic thoroughly enough.
- Determine your target market. This is the first thing you need to consider in composing your questionnaire.
- Structure the survey in such a way that the questions will follow a logical order and educe from general to specific.
- Use multiple-choice type of questions whenever possible. This helps the respondent understand better the purpose of your question and save time in completing the questionnaire.
- Avoid leading questions that might generate false positive response. E.G. “How satisfied are you by the service provided by our excellent waiters?” Instead, “How satisfied are you by the service provided by our waiters?”
- For questions requiring the respondent to rate the items, use the same rating scale all throughout your survey. If you use numerical rating from 0 to 5 or from 1 to 10, keep the same scale for all of the questions that require rating scale.
- Try to test the survey for at least 10 to 15 people before you produce it for mass distribution. After completing the survey, conduct an interview with these people to determine if your questions were easily understood and easy to answer.
Professionally conducted surveys can definitely help you improve results. There are Business Process Outsourcing or BPO industries nowadays that specialize market research survey and you can be assured of a valuable result. With the emergence of offshore BPO, outsourcing market surveys have helped a lot of businesses in assessing opinions, trends and competitors.
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