Five Key Rules of Teleprospecting
As a business development representative, having a few rules to follow can help create better conversations, build a better pipeline, and eventually a higher lead/conversion rate for qualified leads. I’ve chosen five rules that everyone should follow before teleprospecting into any list.
1.Never prospect without doing a little research. There are endless resources on the internet to use in order to become more familiar with a company, industry, or person before having a conversation with them. Jigsaw is a great crowdsourced resource that provides good insight into a company and some fast organizational facts. Check out recent news articles and see if your prospect’s organization has won any awards, expanded into new industries/ areas, or if there has been any re-organization. People are more willing to speak with you if you sound confident and have some background information.
2.Remember the administrator's name. Some of the most valuable information you will learn about a company’s current situation is from an operator/ administrator. They can be your best friend if you are trying to navigate your way through an organization to find the best person to speak with. Remembering their name will give you a connection and they will be more willing to help and talk a little longer. It feels nice when someone remembers your name and says thank you, and it doesn’t take much to be kind to an admin.
3.Always follow up a voicemail with an email. Many prospects don’t have time during the day to listen to their voicemails, or might not write down your phone number to give you a call back. Sending a follow up email after a voicemail will connect your voice to your words and leave more of an impression on a prospect. Referencing a message you left gives you a better chance at getting a call back or email response, interested or not. I even find that it is helpful to send a follow up “thank you” email after conversations, so that everyone has my contact information in case anything comes up in the future, and also it shows that you do appreciate their time.
4.Never talk more than the prospect. It is hard to stop yourself from shooting into a speech about your product or solution, but you don’t want to overwhelm the person you are speaking with; rather, you should try to ask open-ended questions that will get you the important qualifying information you need as well as keep them talking and interested. It is human nature to want to speak more than your conversation-counterpart, but it is good practice to listen and you will find that prospects will be more receptive if you are not product-dumping. Asking questions is one of the best ways to get a prospect to talk, but you don’t want to make it seem like an interrogation!
5. Ditch the script. One of the things that can hurt your team is sounding scripted. No one wants to feel like they are being pushed to buy something from a robot. It is helpful to have notes in front of you, but you want to sound natural and have the conversation flow in a way that you control the direction, but it does not sound as though you are reading, but speaking freely. You want to be informative and relaxed. It takes some practice, but it is doable and you will find yourself much more comfortable without worrying about where you are on a piece of paper.
These are some key rules that your inside sales team should be following to achieve higher response and lead rates. What are some other rules you use when teleprospecting?
