Telemarketing Lead Generation Blog

How to Develop a Telemarketing Call Guide (not a script!)

Posted on Nov 9, 2009 by Jon Plant, Senior Program Director

With each cold call that is made, the telemarketer has an ideal conversation in his/her mind, including an opening, probing questions, value messaging and a closing. A key component to every Lead Generation campaign is the calling script. However, a call script does not typically yield results. Rather, those who utilize a call guide are most successful. Keep reading to understand the difference…

A call guide is not a verbatim script that a marketing or sales professional should read like a robotic machine. This approach nearly always strikes out. While having a plan of attack is very important, verbatim scripts cannot start a real conversation. Conversely, not having a clear direction will also fail. Thus, it’s important to create a call guide, including key messages to convey, as well as pertinent open-ended questions to engage the prospect in a back and forth discussion. Remember…not every call is the same, so you also have to plan ahead for variations. Here are a few tips to consider when developing your call guide:

1. Open your call with purpose that gets a prospect thinking and reacting. Develop various opening statements that excite your prospect for different scenarios. It’s best when you can pinpoint something unique in your opening statement – such as relating to their industry, specific job function, installed environment, etc.
2. Be prepared by developing strong information statements that accurately portray your product when responding to your prospect’s questions.
3. Create multiple open-ended questions that engage your prospects in the conversation. No one wants to answer the phone and hear a recited script. Having multiple open-ended questions allows for different pains and challenges to be identified while engaging in a back-and-forth conversation.
4. Your value messaging should convey whatever pain is uncovered. Not everyone will benefit from the same message. Have a few key benefit statements that are tied to specific situations in your arsenal.
5. Make sure your team has a clear understanding of what information should be uncovered. Define a successful discussion.
6. Finally, set clear next steps based on what has transpired during the call. Is an introductory meeting or a face-to-face meeting needed? Does additional information need to be emailed? All of this should be factored into your closing options. Don’t leave your prospect wondering what happens next.

None of this can be achieved with a calling script, as each conversation needs to be unique. Set your Lead Generation team up for success by guiding them with the proper information and conversation talk-tracks.

Tagged: lead generation, lead generation telemarketing, telemarketing script, lead generaiton script, targeted lead generation

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