TeleSales Pro

Effective Selling Over The Phone

Selling Tips

Telemarketing Tips – Telesales Tips

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Here is my list of Telemarketing Tips and Telesales Tips.

They will help you focus on getting better at what it is you do!
Sell your products and services over the phone.

These Telemarketing Tips are general to any business and if you incorporate them into your selling approach, your sales will improve.

This list of sales tips can be your roadmap.
It can provide you with the essential ingredients to improve your personal sales performance and hopefully put more money in your pocket.

If you are a sales manager, this is also a great list of Telemarketing Tips and Telesales Tips. You can use them to help guide the activities of your sales associates.

These tips can also help in your telemarketing training or telesales training for new hires.

If you’ve been selling for a long time, these telemarketing and telesales tips can be very useful for reminding yourself of the basics. The fundamentals rarely change.

However, don’t just read these directives. Absorb, understand and incorporate the selling tips into your daily phone calls.

Even though these sales tips are numbered, they are not rated. They are equally important and work best in concert.

Telemarketing Tips | Telesales Tips


  1. Set Goals

    You’re in sales! You must have goals.

    You know what you want your life to be like. How does your job help you get the life you desire?

    Have a clear roadmap that leads to accomplishing those goals.

    Be able to measure your progress.

  2. Be Prepared

    Yes! Just like a boy scout, be prepared!

    Know your position and where you want to go.

    Understand what you need to do to reach the goals you have set.

    Do the diligence!

    Make a daily plan and put it into action.

    Like the old saying goes “If you fail to plan, plan to fail!”

    Be ready for every day and every call you make.

  3. Know Your Products and/or Services

    Understand your products and services.

    Know the benefits they bring to a customer.

    Sell the benefits. Sell the sizzle!

  4. Know Your Unique Value Proposition

    You must be able to state simply what makes your product so great for the customer.

    Why you’re unique. Define what sets you apart.

    Clearly define the benefits you can deliver to your prospect when they buy from you, benefits they cannot get elsewhere.

  5. Know Your Presentation

    Know your pitch, verbatim!

    You must follow your script and be able to deliver it with unbridled enthusiasm.

    The moment your prospect answers the phone, you are on script.

  6. Sell to The Decision Maker

    Always pitch to the person that can buy! Know who that person is before you call.

    The person that has the authority to make a purchase is the person you need to pitch.

    Many salespeople waste their time presenting a product or service to a person that cannot make a buying decision.

    You must confirm that the person you have on the line is the decision maker.

    Ask them – “I understand that you are the ____________?”

  7. Be Confident

    Your Voice

    Speaking to someone over the phone is an intimate act.

    Your voice is touching a persons ear!

    The unique frequency of your voice and the vibe you transmit establishes who you are in a visceral way. This happens incredibly fast.

    Be confident.

    If you do not convey an air of confidence immediately, your call could be over quickly.

  8. Be Enthusiastic

    Your smile and demeanour will translate over the telephone line.

    Have fun and be enthusiastic.

    It often helps if you are standing while speaking.

  9. Be Direct

    Don’t beat around the bush – get right to the point!

    It is really easy for someone to hang up! No Thanks… Poof! Gone!

    The faster you get to your pitch, the better.

    Be assertive. Don’t be pushy or aggressive. Be professional, courteous and speak clearly.

    You have only seconds to convince a person to continue a conversation with you.

  10. Engage Your Prospect

    Involve your potential customer in the conversation.

    Ask questions.

    Get your prospects attention. Establish Interest. Ask for a Decision!

    Get your Prospect to Act Now!

  11. Control The Call Agenda

    It is up to you to control the flow of the sales call.

    You are the seller.

    Lead the dance and take the conversation where you need it to go.

  12. Create Urgency

    You must give your prospective client a reason to act now! Immediately!

    An offer where the client receives a benefit to commit immediately is commonly used.

    An offer where the benefit will go away after your meeting or a limited time offer that specifies an end date.

    There are many ways to inject urgency into a sales call, but that is a story for another time.

    Remember, buyers will do whatever they want to do. Give them a good reason to buy now, and they will!

  13. Ask for the Sale

    Close! Always Ask For The Sale!

    It’s called closing. It is asking the prospect to commit, to decide.

    A B C – Always Be Closing!

    A sales call should evolve through a series of agreements in a conversation between a seller and potential buyer. A well crafted sales presentation should engage your prospects by asking questions.

    Answers to your questions will either affirm your assumptions, lead to an agreement or present conditions that can be met or not.

  14. Know How To Handle Objections

    Knowing how to overcome common objections is essential.

    Empathize with your prospects concerns! Then inform your prospect exactly how your offer neutralizes their concern.

    Resell the sizzle – the direct benefits!

    Then Ask for the Sale!

  15. Record All Sales Calls

    I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of recording all of your sales calls. Equally important is to analyze these calls.

    I am amazed when companies don’t record all sales calls. I am also amazed when companies that do record sales calls don’t use them systematically to improve sales performance.

  16. Analyze All Sales Calls

    Review and analyze the recordings of all your sales calls.

    You will be able to identify areas where you are weak or lose control of the call.

    What you will learn by reviewing and analyzing every call you make will astound you. You can implement immediate changes and constantly improve.

    This activity will automatically improve your closing ratio – it’s inevitable!

    This is an essential tool for managers and if is not part of your process,
    you need to get with the program.


It is absolutely necessary to understand the fundamental process of selling if you are to be a successful sales professional. It doesn’t matter whether you sell face to face or over the telephone, learn the basics and build on them.

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How To Close A Sale

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Do you know how to close a sale?

Photo by Berkeley Communications on Unsplash.

How To Close A Sale.

Sales is Closing.

Closing is getting a decision.

It’s a yes or no moment!

How would you like to pay?

You already instinctually know how to get someone to do what you want them to do.

Without being able to systematically close a sale, you’ll make a career change, I guarantee it!

Know this: People make decisions and ask other people to make decisions.

What is Closing?

Closing skills are continually being exercised in your life every day, by you and on you.

Can you pick up the groceries? Yes? No?

Think about that!

Closing is asking for a decision. What’s so difficult about it?

Question: Would you like to pay by credit card or debit?

Answer: Oh. Let me think about it.

Is that a decision? No it is not, and your work is not finished.

Closing is getting the decision! Successful closing is getting the yes decision. And if it’s no, you need to clearly know why! You need to identify the real objection to your earlier closing question! Will it be mastercard or visa?

Question: What do you have to think about?

Yesterday I received this email:

I have just started selling cell phone contracts over the phone. I can’t seem to continue aft they say no, I’m not interested, I have a contract already. I jusr say ok thank yu. And also once I have explained the benefits of the contract I don’t know whether I shud ask, Do u wanna take the offer? Or what

Please help, I need to master this.

Ask for the Sale

You should always ask for the sale – short, sweet and to the point.

Once you have explained the benefits of the contract, your question should be – Can I sign you up? Do not speak until the person answers.

How you close a sale, will depend on incorporating many other closing moments.

As you engage with your prospective customer, as a good salesperson, you will get decisions on every aspect of the product or service.

Understanding what is necessary for the customer to buy is critical.

How do you find out what it will take for the prospect to buy if you don’t ask? Be direct! If they say no, ask why? Find out the reason? Is there anything you can do to neutralize their concern?

Success here comes down to how well you handle objections.

You must have reasons for a customer to make a purchase or they won’t. There must be unique features and benefits to your product or service. It’s your job to highlight them and find out if they are important to the prospect.

How To Close A Sale

Always be closing… on something. Get decisions throughout your sales presentations.

The art of closing is knowing the questions to ask, when to ask and how to ask.

The science of closing is the knowledge that you must ask questions!

You have to close on every incremental item that a customer must agree-to if they are going to buy.

If you don’t ask the prospect to own it, why on earth will they buy?

Be proactive, ask them how you can get them to buy!

The prospect will always tell you.

Sales Tips | Are You Selling With Integrity

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Are You Selling With Integrity?

There are situations in life that require people to take drastic steps.

Salespeople, like everyone else, must ensure there is enough money to pay the bills and provide for themselves and their families.

Can desperate situations mitigate certain values?

What about normal circumstances?

When does integrity come into play in relation to sales?

Do you have a personal code of conduct or a concise set of rules to follow?

Do you have a compelling reason to sell something to someone other than making money for yourself?

I would like to believe that every salesperson has the integrity to be truthful about the products and/or services they sell.

But face it, it just ain’t so!

These can be difficult questions to answer for many professional salespeople.

I strongly believe this type of behavior greatly contributes to a general skepticism about selling and salespeople as I explained in my previous post, if you are Sold on Selling, you must also commit to Selling With Integrity.

We all know many products and services can only be described as trash and the market will, over time, gravitate toward the best and cause the worst to fade away.

However, there are often less than ethical methods employed to sell great products and services along with the other trash.

What about the salespeople who employ these methods? Is it only about the money and how much of it you can get?

Where do you draw the line between ethical selling and unethical selling?

Selling With Integrity

I remember one of my first sales jobs

I had taken a summer job selling vacuum cleaners to help make money for school.

This vacuum was the best vacuum cleaner I had ever seen. I was looking forward to learning everything there was to know about the product and how to sell it.

There was in-class training designed to educate the sales force about everything the vacuum cleaner could do, why it was better that others, and how easy it would be for anyone to own because of the accessible financing options.




I was sold on the vacuum and was eager to hit the road. It was a fine product, solved a common problem – cleaned carpets and more, and was competitively priced. What more could a salesperson want! I was going to have more than enough money for school.

After the in-class training was finished, I was taken into the field by a sales trainer to be shown the ropes. All the appointments had been pre-arranged by telemarketers offering free gifts which is a common practice – Door Openers.

The first sales call was to a lady with a huge house filled with wall-to-wall carpet. It was a breeze. The trainer went through his presentation and didn’t miss a beat. When the guy demonstrated how the vacuum could suck stuff from the carpet that her machine left behind, he didn’t even have to ask her for the sale, out came the cheque. I couldn’t wait for the next call.

The next house we went to was very small and as we approached it I was wondering how anyone inside could possibly afford an expensive vacuum cleaner.

But out of the car we got with the gift in hand. A young lady with a baby in her arms answered and agreed to let us demonstrate our cleaner. In we went with the $1500 vacuum cleaner.

While the sales trainer was getting into his pitch and asking the girl questions, I couldn’t help but notice there were no carpets anywhere in the little house, only a rug under the kitchen table. It was obvious, to me, we were wasting our time here.

The fact that there were no carpets and only the small rug didn’t deter the sales trainer one tiny bit and he was soon trying to close the sale.

When asked if she would like to pay for the vacuum with cash, credit card, or our convenient financing, the girl said she loved the vacuum but really had no use for it as she only had a small rug.

The objection was an easy one to overcome and again the sales trainer tried to close the deal.




When asked again to buy, the young lady said she was on social assistance and couldn’t possible afford it, even if she could qualify for the financing. The trainer assured her she would qualify, he would make sure of it!

The back and forth went on as the salesman tried to convince the young mother that she shouldn’t live without our vacuum cleaner until finally, he took the machine apart, dumped the contents of the dust chamber onto a white sheet he had set on the floor and said:

What kind of Mother would let her baby crawl around in that dirt?

The girl was in tears and agreed to fill out the form.

In a matter of moments, we were done and gone! The trainer turned to me in the car and said he had just made another $600 and that was $1200 so far that day. He said I was going to do the next sale.

I was about to burst! Instead of getting into a big argument, I said the job wasn’t for me and could he drop me off at the office. End of story!

Do you think the sales trainer was Selling with Integrity?

Don’t get me wrong, the vacuum cleaner was a very fine product, but I did not want to be that salesman or trained by him! His tactics may have gotten him the sale, but at what cost, not one I was willing to pay.

I believe a salesperson must have integrity. Of course, I try to overcome objections and try to close the sale. I will not insult or take advantage of people to get a sale. That’s Selling With Integrity!

Tactics like the one in my story will rarely work on a confident strong individual and I can think of many young women that would have tossed the guy out the house. The fact he would use such a tactic on that vulnerable young girl says more about him than her.

I like to feel that I have made a positive contribution when I sell my product or service. I also want to be viewed as a trusted advisor. It’s the only way to gain repeat customers, clients that truly appreciate the value you bring to their lives.

If you think about it, To Sell with Integrity is not the only way to make money selling, but the more honest and ethical you are, the better you will feel about yourself and that will help you be a more successful salesperson!

All The Best
JD

Selling Tips | How do you feel about Selling

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I guess at one time or another we’ve all had a go at selling something.

I’ve been selling for over 30 years and have sold many different products and services. I have Sold to all kinds of individuals, organizations, and businesses and enjoyed mostly every minute.

I can say with full confidence I love helping my customers solve problems, and I view the Act of Selling as helping clients solve problems.

I have watched Salespeople come and go over the years and I have marvelled at the different way people approach Selling. Some people take to Sales like a duck takes to water and others never seem to get anywhere.

I like to think I have a very positive outlook and I try to see the good in any situation. I can also be a very analytical person, so I have tried to figure out why some people succeed in Sales and why some people fail.

Why is it some people Sell Well and others struggle? Why do some people Love Selling and others hate it? What is the determinant factor for An Aptitude In Sales?

After all this time, I think there is a common thread.


Perception of Sales Determines Sales Aptitude

Whether a person will succeed or fail in a Sales Job obviously relies on a multitude of factors and one thing alone will not determine their fate when it come to successful selling.

One of the main indicators is a persons’ Perception of Selling and Salespeople. Their attitude about the occupation seems to make a huge difference right from the start.

If you view Salespeople and Selling in a positive light or even not a negative light, you’ll be much more mentally equipped to Excel as a Seller.

Face it, there are a lot of Negative Stereotypes of Sales as a profession and Salespeople in general. Considering all the derogatory images, is it any wonder many have a negative perception of the job.

Ask a little child what they want to be when they grow up. Yup! Selling has an Image problem!

If you Sell for a Living, I’m positive you’ve heard you’ll be viewed in the same light as the last Salesperson with whom your prospect or client had dealings! This situation illustrates a problem which goes much deeper than a previous meeting or interaction. It’s a symptom of a widespread negative view of Salespeople and Selling.

Have you ever heard a friend say they can’t Sell anything? I’ll bet you have. They’re just no good at it! Right! I do not believe anyone can’t Sell. I think they mean – I don’t want to Sell or – I don’t see myself as a Salesperson. Anyone can be taught Sales Skills.

As a matter of fact, I believe some people have such a negative view of Selling and Salespeople in general, they don’t ever want to be associated with it as an occupation.

Make no mistake about it, the negative view which is held about the Sales Profession is a huge problem to overcome. Why? Because – In every aspect of daily life you’ll encounter someone trying to Sell something to someone.

As a result of this inherent aversion to the Act of Selling, most people are constantly on guard.

The crazy thing is – People love to buy, but most hate to be Sold!
Now talk about a conundrum. You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t!

So how do you overcome the negative stereotype? How can you push through to Sales Nirvana, where everyone loves to see you coming and can’t wait to buy from you? You’ll need to analyze how you feel about Selling.

Ask yourself how you perceive salespeople. What they could do to make you respond better? Maybe the answers will give you insight on how You can Be A Better Salesperson and help you to understand some of the issues.

It has been said Nothing Happens Until Something is Sold.

If You’re in Sales, You will need to be Sold on Selling, it’s Your first step.

Jim

Telesales-pro.com is primarily concerned with B2B Telesales. Selling over the Phone to business is a highly specialized activity and depends on many Sales Techniques specific to Telesales.

Whether you are looking for Sales Jobs or Sales Leads, TeleSales-Pro exists to provide you with valuable Sales Tips and Resources.

If you are trying to build your Sales Skills, improving your Telephone Sales Skills will give you a great foundation in Sales. After all, as salespeople, we all want to be Selling more.

Learning to Sell over the Phone will help you understand the Sales Process and will enable you to improve your overall Sales Negotiation Skills.

If you have any comments, feel free to comment about anything you read on telesales-pro.com. If you want to contact me you can email me: jim@telesales-pro.com