Telesales: still effective in lead generation?
When it comes to marketing, the internet has changed everything. From pay-per-click advertising to sponsored blog posts, there are now hundreds of alternative routes which can be utilised to generate leads for your organisation. However, despite new technologies changing the way we promote our businesses, telesales is still an effective method of lead generation, and in many cases, is often much more effective than the new modern forms which seek to replace it.
Delivers a human touch
Picking up the phone and speaking to a prospective client is a more engaging and intimate method of generating leads than an advertising banner will ever be, as you can tailor your sales pitches to meet the needs of your individual clients. Not only can you use your phone call to sell the benefits of your product or service, but you can find out valuable information about your clients and leverage useful information which can be used for future telesales or marketing communications methods.
Motivated people sell
There is no number of tweets that can share the same level and enthusiasm as an engaged member of your sales team, and telesales marketing is the ultimate platform for such excitement. If your organisation has a large marketing and sales department, then ensuring you use telesales will allow you to keep your workforce productive, engaged and on target, saving you money and allowing you to hit your sales targets more easily and more effectively.
Telesales can be part of a synergy
Although digital marketing techniques can be effective when correctly executed, they often work best when they are paired with pre-millennia sales tactics like telesales. By putting your marketing ingredients together – for example, generating a lead by offering a white paper download, and then calling them to discuss the benefits of your services – you will be able to enjoy increased sales and show that you are passionate about delivering a service that isn’t exclusively delivered behind a screen.
Telesales can be used to nurture
If your business leads aren’t nurtured for significant periods of time, they are likely to suffer as a result. By showing interest in every potential customer with a quick call, and finding out where they are in their decision-making process, you are more likely to maintain a consistent level of engagement and turn them into a client, even if it does take more time than you may like.
Start with well-trained employees
At Frosch Learning, we’re passionate about delivering training services that improve the performance and efficiency of your workforce. Our telesales training programmes were designed to meet the exacting needs and requirements of your organisation, with the key objectives being to increase lead conversions and improve the effectiveness of your business marketing and cold calling operations. If you are interested in finding out more, we recommend perusing our website, where you’ll find a full list of our courses and contact information.
Customer Service: The Ultimate Marketing Tool
When you focus on your business marketing strategy, the chances are that customer service is not on your list. Instead, it’s easy to focus on social media, press releases and advertising campaigns to give our business the attention it deserves. However, good customer service is an essential part of your marketing mix, and when used effectively, can transform the success of your business.
Rely on social media
If you’re running a successful business-to-consumer (B2C) business, then the chances are that you already have a customer service strategy in place. This should, of course, include a presence on social media. After all, 67% of all consumers have used social media to get help from a company.
By removing the need for a telephone customer services department, you can engage with your customers wherever they are using Twitter and Facebook – and do so in the public eye.
Making sure that a member of your team is available to answer questions on social media is vital if you want to implement a successful customer service strategy as part of your digital marketing. The more easily accessible you are, and the more efficient you are at responding to customer queries, the more likely you are to get a positive response and a chance to show that you’re there to help.
Ask for testimonials
Customer testimonials are a powerful tool and can be effectively used as part of your digital marketing strategy. Whether that’s posting them on your website, featuring case studies on your blog or retweeting and sharing positive feedback on social media, you can quickly build a positive, engaging reputation for your customer service – and gain trust in the process.
Make your customer service part of your brand
Customer service can be used as a unique selling point for your business, so highlight the benefits of working with your brand and receiving a personalised experience. If you have unique forms of customer service, for example, a personal account manager or a private email address, then shout about them and make them part of your marketing messages.
Use customer service for retention
The cost of marketing to your existing customers can quickly add up, but retention strategies can be easily executed as part of your customer service. Whether that’s calling a client for a quick catch up, issuing a satisfaction survey to gather feedback, or rewarding your existing customers for their loyalty, there are lots of ways that you can implement customer service into your retention.
Ask for feedback
Feedback is essential for any business, but marketing your business around such feedback can be useful. Mobile operator Three’s advertising campaign is an excellent example of responding to negative customer feedback, putting customers at the forefront and delivering on its promises. Your business can implement a similar strategy, whether that’s asking for feedback on social media or making changes based off of a negative period in your business.
Growth, loyalty and positive word of mouth are all more important than posters and press releases will ever be, so focus on getting your customer service right. If you want to take your customer service to the next level, rely on the customer service training offered by Frosch Learning.
Get the most from your sales team
If you are passionate about managing your sales team and improving their efficiency, follow our three essential strategies that are sure to deliver results.
Invest in quality training
Most businesses focus on a one-size-fits-all training scheme for their employees in a bid to save money and standardise their procedures, but this is often an unproductive way of managing a team of individuals. By spending too much time on developing a single training scheme and focusing on the numbers, you are likely to miss out on working closely with your employees and therefore miss getting feedback from them directly.
Investing in high-quality sales training, like the solutions we offer at Frosch Learning, is one of the most effective methods of boosting your sales. Tailored development strategies which have been designed to accommodate both the needs of your employees and your business objectives is one of the best ways to boost productivity, engagement and job satisfaction.
Use your sales team effectively
Your skilled, professional sales team should be spending as much of their time as possible selling to prospective clients, but in small businesses without clearly defined departments, roles can be skewed. If you find that you are asking your sales team to stuff envelopes, fill out forms and complete other duties, their levels of motivation and engagement are likely to suffer, so make sure that every member of your team has a defined role to ensure they are working to their best.
When you are working with a larger sales team, you also need to consider the effectiveness of your workforce in relation to your prospective clients. For example, you don’t want to use your highest-performing sales expert in front of a low-value client, nor do you want to put a sales trainee in front of an important new business prospect. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of every member of your workforce, you’ll be able to place individuals to maximise their impact.
Give your sales team accountability
If you want to maximise the effectiveness of your sales team, you need to ensure that every member is accountable for their own work. The reputation of your business is measured in every form of communication – through email, tweets and sales calls – so your salespeople need to understand the power of their roles and take accountability for their actions.
For employees who want to develop their careers, implementing accountability into their roles is essential. Whether that’s allowing them to respond to complaints personally, keep a log of important communications or attend regular meetings to discuss their productivity, you can keep your employees on track by giving them the responsibility they crave. For workers who resist accountability, it is essential that you invest in more training and implement strategies that will deliver regular improvement.
By working on the continual improvement of your sales team, you will be able to hit targets, improve efficiency and boost morale and job satisfaction. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Frosch Learning team today to find out more about what we can do for your business.
How sales training can help your business retain customers
There are many merits of having loyal customers; they purchase more - and more often - than comparatively fleeting customers. Moreover, you don't have to spend as much money to convince them to buy from you. Therefore, they can prove the lifeblood of a thriving business; however, it is not always obvious how a loyal customer base can be built up. Salesmanship can play a big part...
Spread the ethos of customer care throughout your company
It might not surprise you that your customer service is powerfully influential on how loyal your customers are. Thus, many of the hallmarks of good customer service - such as dealing with unhappy customers calmly and keeping in touch with customers - can go some way towards cultivating stronger loyalty in customers. Better still, they could often recommend your company to other people - and, as a result, help your firm not only sustain itself but also grow.
You could even get to know your customers personally, Entrepreneur advises. Most customers react very positively to this. Your efforts here could extend to knowing that a particular customer has a cat and, whenever in contact with this customer, asking how the cat is doing.
What you might not have realised, however, is how far-reaching customer service can be within your business. You shouldn't just leave the responsibility of this service to a specific department labelled "Customer Service"; instead, you should be “organising your entire business to focus on the needs of customers” says Marketing Donut.
Should salespeople really be customer service professionals as well?
The short answer to that question is: of course! All staff who are regularly in touch with customers ought to know how to look after them effectively. Being at your company's front line, this staff must always be professional and efficient in their image.
As staff that often contact customers include salespeople, they should be aware of how to listen to customers and so enable themselves to use intelligence, not aggression, to seal sales. There are simple ways that you can encourage a higher standard of customer care in your sales team. These include leading by example. It is also a good idea to utilise positive reinforcement by giving rewards when customer service is excellent.
However, to inject more customer service nous into your salespeople, the right kind of sales training could help. This could also be useful if you want your customer service personnel to learn sales skills. Thankfully, in either situation, we have training that can help.
Why our training can be very useful
At this point, you might be worried about even putting "customer service" and "sales" in the same sentence. Couldn't customer service teams too easily come across as pushy "sellers" after being put through sales training? This is a common concern among businesses; however, it is possible for your personnel to learn selling techniques that they can use without compromising the quality of their customer service. Rest assured that our training in sales and customer service can encourage this.
Strengthening your business with business development training
Creating a business that is well-positioned for long-term growth is a taxing process. There's a lot to think about. It's more than just looking for new clients and concentrating on the external factors. In fact, there's a lot you can do in-house to enhance your business' development. Obviously, finding the time to review all of your procedures can be difficult - especially with the amount of work it takes to perfect your external processes - but this is where business development training from Frosch Learning can come in useful.
Grow existing relationships
With so much emphasis placed on winning new contracts and attracting new clients to your business, it can be easy to neglect the clients that you're already dealing with. Existing clients should be taken care of; they're the ones who have already trusted you with their projects. If you're struggling to grow and maintain your client accounts, then perhaps you should take a look at the Key Account Management Course offered by Frosch Learning. This course will teach you how to manage your accounts in a way that's profitable for you and your customers and how to create an internal support structure that will allow your accounts to flourish.
Win those important contracts
Business development is a broad line of work, and so our comprehensive range of courses cover numerous bases. If you need advice and guidance on how to secure more lucrative contracts, then our course in negotiating skills could be just what you're looking for. This course focuses on how to analyse body language during the negotiation process and adapt your stance accordingly. We will also provide you with all the tools needed to secure the best deal for your business and expose you to the decision-making process that clients usually go through when negotiating. Great negotiation skills are essential if your business is to remain ahead of the pack.
Give your business procedures added efficiency
Time management might seem like a simple thing to master, but you may be surprised at just how many employees struggle to cope with a demanding schedule. Poor time management could mean that deadlines are not met and this could paint an unprofessional picture of your company. Our expert team will help your staff members create a personalised schedule, teach them how to prioritise workloads and offer assistance on how to cope when placed under pressure. It's always a good idea to learn new time management techniques, and you should see some instant results upon completion of the course.
Create a driven workforce
Over time, it's only natural that some employees may start to lose motivation in what they do. If an employee lacks motivation, it could mean that their work does not live up to the required standards. If you decide to take part in a motivational course from Frosch Learning, then your employees will learn how to inspire other people around them, how to overcome any weaknesses they may have and gain access to a world of unique techniques that will raise their motivational levels again.
A quick guide to developing your business
The question of how to grow your business can initially seem complex. After all, different companies can still thrive even while greatly varying in their business models. However, there are certain corporate practices which, it could be said, remain crucial if you want to create the right conditions for business growth - no matter what sector your firm is in. Here are some such practices.
Put together a business plan
This is where, in writing, you describe your firm and touch upon various aspects of it. These include what you want the company to achieve, how you hope to get it there, how many sales you want to clock up, how you will get the word out about your company, and how you expect it to fare financially over particular periods.
This plan can bring clarity to what you want to do with your business. It can meet the practical ends of helping you to identify potential issues and keep track of progress. However, the UK Government’s official website notes possible reasons to deem this plan strictly necessary. For instance, you will require this plan should you seek to secure investment or a bank loan.
Establish your identity
Every business has a core identity but in order to develop you need to establish how you are different from others. Perhaps you are happy with a business that is based on your lifestyle or maybe your plan is to grow your business as fast as possible by working with investors and other owners. Either way, you need to ensure that your business is unique, establish your strengths and weaknesses, increase your focus and recognise your target market.
Enable the correct technology
Whether your business is a start-up or if you’ve been established for some time, social media platforms and other sites can be powerful marketing tools. Advertising your services this way is achievable and gives you a chance to reach your target audience affordably. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram are all used to build and market successful businesses whether you sell artisan goods or want to offer your skills in graphic design. Social media will also allow you to establish a support network, share your advice and build your knowledge of the industry so that you know the steps you need to take to grow.
Invest in appropriate training when it seems necessary
Regularly winning new business can assist your company in moving from one level to another. However, writing corporate proposals in a way that brings new work does not necessarily come naturally to everyone. If your staff lack expertise in this area, you could put them on some of our business development courses - more specifically, our in-house training courses in tender writing, writing business proposals and winning business. They could help give your firm a vital edge
6 ways to manage stress in the workplace
Stress can be seriously problematic in workplaces; the UK loses nearly 10 million working days to stress every year, according to The Guardian. The good news is that there are various ways of managing stress - some of which you might not even have previously been aware of. Try using or recommending the following techniques and see what effects they have in your own workplace.
Consider what is causing stress
You might be tempted to take a sick day to avoid taking on a workplace responsibility that you fear could too easily defeat you. However, imagine if a work colleague admitted the same to you. Would you have as little faith in their ability to triumph in this responsibility as you have in yourself? You could reason that what you are fearing is not such a big issue after all.
Have a dauntingly large task? Break it down
With a huge challenge on your hands, you could easily feel overwhelmed and unsure where exactly to start with it. However, by breaking that task down into smaller stages, you will give yourself a succession of jobs, each of which you could be confident about handling. Completing just one step could seem like a victory in itself and get your brain started on processing all of those stages.
Swap coffee for lemon balm
No doubt many of us can be tempted by coffee when we have a lot to do but are strapped for time. However, quoted in a Press Association article published by BT is A.Vogel nutritionist Emma Ross, who warns that caffeine "triggers adrenaline production, which leaves us feeling on edge". She urges drinking lemon balm instead, as it is "extremely good at calming agitating nerves."
Endeavour to be more mindful
Mindfulness is about focusing on happenings in the current moment rather than "mind-wandering". This is where your mind drifts to a subject unrelated to what you are actually doing at the time - and research hints that we spend an average of up to 45% of a day in this mental state. There are several ways of tapping into mindfulness - including focusing on each of your senses in turn.
Take time off as necessary
Through keeping your work/life balance in check by taking breaks when they are available, you can help ward off stress. HR magazine says that managers can promote this - by encouraging employees to have lunch breaks and all of the holidays to which they are entitled. Don't stress yourself trying to meet unrealistic demands - and, if someone else is making those demands, be willing to tell them so.
Make use of stress management training
At Frosch Learning, we offer a training programme on which you and your workers can learn various methods for handling stress. Techniques taught on the course include visualising success, resolving conflict, and thinking like a winner instead of a loser. People whose work is starting - or likely - to be adversely affected by stress can benefit from taking this stress management training.
5 important qualities you need in a customer service team
Good customer service is something that employees of your company can learn how to deliver. However, these people can pick up the habits of effective customer service more easily when they have traits that can be readily lent to such service. Here are some qualities that you should be especially diligent to look for when seeking to recruit new people for your customer service team.
Willingness to take responsibility
The attitude of "that's not my job" is not endemic with companies like Apple and Starbucks which are particularly eager and effective in providing customer service. Basically, your team members should help out wherever necessary and whatever their job descriptions may be.
This can manifest itself in little ways, such as how Disney Park “cast members” will occasionally pick up stray rubbish, as noted on the Forbes website. On a larger scale, your executive team could, during hectic times, help the dedicated contact centre team - as has happened with clothes retailer Zappos.
Empathy
You shouldn't overlook the need for your customer service personnel to show warmth. However, empathy can go further by enabling your staff to sense customers' requirements or desires. Some customers might not even yet realise that they have particular wants that your team could sense.
That's how far empathy can go - and you could build upon it further by adding sales skills to your firm's customer service repertoire. This is possible with our expert training in customer service.
Conscientiousness
This trait can give your team a springboard from what is provided by warmth and empathy. This is because, while smiling to and emphasising with a customer can certainly take someone far, they aren't always enough to seal the deal.
Once a member of your customer service team has made a promise to a customer, they need to act on it. Otherwise, this employee will blight your firm's image. Conscientiousness might not routinely be found in a “people person” Forbes explains. This is a pity, as such a person could otherwise make a desirable addition to your customer service ranks.
Self-restraint
There may be occasions when a customer is clearly upset, perhaps even angry. In that situation, the customer service staff member handling them needs to endeavour to stay calm and cool. Otherwise, they could themselves become upset and blurt out something inappropriate.
They should particularly remember not to deem a customer's disgruntlement as a slight on them personally. This employee should work to tone down their exchanges with the customer.
Assertiveness
Despite what we have just advised about self-control, there still needs to be a degree of assertiveness on the staff member's part when handling a customer. Meekness and passivity could send the message to that customer that the employee is unable to deal with the situation.
Nonetheless, that member of customer service must resist talking in a demanding or aggressive manner. They can show confidence without offending the customer by instead simply speaking strongly and steadily and putting forward direct questions. They should also maintain track of what they must do, advises The Balance
How to get over your fear of public speaking
Are you afraid of public speaking? You certainly aren't alone; this fear is called glossophobia, which has been estimated to affect roughly 75% of people, as stated on the British Council website. Glossophobia symptoms include stomach knots, throat tightness and shaky legs. Before delivering a speech, we often worry about other people's opinions or the possibility of us losing track of what we are supposed to say. However, the following techniques can help you overcome the fear.
Learn from the professionals
You would expect the thoroughly experienced actress Emma Watson not to have nerves when performing in front of an audience. However, when giving a speech at the United Nations on 20 September 2016, she actually came across as nervous to begin with; her confidence increasingly grew as the speech went on. Her techniques included slowing the pace of her speaking and taking pauses - and these tactics could help you in your public speaking endeavours, too.
"Fake it 'til you make it"
You might already be familiar with this idiom, which is basically suggesting that by making yourself look like you know what you are doing, you can make a positive impact for real. HuffPost says that “many signs of nerves are not visible to the audience, even though they feel overwhelming to you". So, for example, if you forget a section of the speech, you could improvise until you remember what you were actually meant to be saying.
Visualise success
It can be too easy to, just before speech time arrives, imagine scenarios where things go off the rails to humiliating effect. No wonder your pre-speech nerves could run rampant! However, you could turn all of that on its head by imagining a successful situation instead. Picture the audience showing appreciation - such as through clapping or laughing - of what you are uttering. Still, you can also plan what you will do if a particular much-dreaded scenario indeed happens.
Be yourself on stage
Your audience can better connect with you when they discern that you aren't simply putting on an act. To help illustrate this point, Forbes contributor Brian Scudamore recalls an occasion when he spoke to one of the planet's biggest Orthodox Jewish business groups.
Though this group's members adhered to formality, including in their attire, Scudamore wore a T-shirt and sneakers at his presentation - for which he received a standing ovation. Also consider the example of Steve Jobs, who often used words like "cool" and "awesome" seemingly spontaneously.
Take relevant training to help calm the nerves
If you work in sales, then learning to overcome a public speaking phobia can be especially beneficial, as delivering presentations could help you secure sales. At Frosch Learning, we offer various sales courses that could help you hone your sales skills.
These options include open sales courses, where you can meet like-minded professionals from your industry. Meanwhile, our in-house training includes two courses focusing on presentation skills: one course is called Selling to a Group, the other is named Team Selling.
The do’s and don’ts of becoming a better leader at work
We all remember a time when we have worked under someone we have regarded as a great leader. And, the chances are that there’ll be a time in your life when you’re asked to lead a team or take the reigns on a new project. While this excites some, the prospect scares others, so here are some tips for being the best leader you can.
Do
Recognise your limits
All good leaders are aware that they cannot be good at everything and that they don’t know everything. It is important to focus on what you are good at, but you also should not pretend you can do things you can’t. Recognise your limits and learn to delegate where you can.
Control your emotions
You need to remember that you are setting an example for the rest of your team and learn to control certain emotions. Forbes has published a useful article on how to manage your emotions at work, exploring when to embrace them and when to control them. It is important that you are passionate about what you do, but if you raise your voice and get angry, your team will not respond well.
Know the difference between confidence and arrogance
A good leader should be decisive and strong, but should not have a sense of entitlement. You need to earn respect and not just expect it.
Be optimistic
You try to stay positive, have a good attitude and look for silver linings when things aren’t going to plan. This way you can always encourage your team and set the example of having a good mental attitude. Don’t dwell on situations but work out how you can improve them, not prevent them in the first place.
Set a clear vision
Always make sure your whole team is on the same page and understand how they are contributing towards achieving a common goal. Set regular goals to provide focus and motivation, and be encouraging when they are met. Make sure to update your goals regularly to keep everyone on target and to make sure your team are all pushing themselves.
Be selfless
It is important that a leader understands how to work for the greater good. This means being selfless and doing things that benefit everyone, rather than prioritising your agenda.
Don’t
Ignore other people’s opinions
A leader should not assume they know everything and despite having to make the final decision, they should always take everyone’s opinion into account. Valuing others, being empathetic and being a good listener is the key to successful leadership.
Blame people
If something has not quite gone to plan, don’t immediately look for someone to blame but plan how you can rectify it, move forward and learn from it. It is you who oversees the whole team so anything that has gone wrong, you are responsible for. Don’t hold grudges or blame others, but acknowledge that we all make mistakes.
Don’t avoid conflict
With that being said, while you shouldn’t be looking for someone to blame, it is important to find out what went wrong and why. You can’t always be a people pleaser, but should provide constructive criticism. Ignoring things in the hope that problems will disappear with time is not the solution, as things will soon get out of hand.
The most important thing is to trust your instincts and to trust that you have what it takes to be a good leader. For personal guidance, you can learn great leadership skills on one of our Leadership and Management Training Programmes here at Frosch Learning.