Have you checked out Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros – Part 1 and Part 2 yet? If not, go catch up before continuing with this article!

With 23 years of business under our belt, the Dunlap Marketing team has a great deal of telemarketing experience. Part 1 of this series reviewed tips on call preparation; Part 2 reviewed tips to utilize during your calls. Moving on to Part 3, we will discuss tips related to the million-dollar question: How to reach the decision maker.

Reaching the Decision Maker

One of the biggest struggles during cold calling is getting past the gatekeeper. At Dunlap Marketing, this is a challenge we encounter daily. Check out the following tips from the Dunlap pros about getting through the gatekeeper and to the decision-maker.

• Be friendly with receptionists and try to get as much information out of them as possible. It will make it easier to get through to the decision maker the next time you call.
• If you encounter a difficult gatekeeper, try calling early in the morning or in the evening. There’s a chance the gatekeeper won’t be there and you can get straight to the decision maker.
• Do your best to build trust with the gatekeeper. If they ask you to call back at a certain time, be timely with your call back. If they request an email, send the email promptly, then follow up with a call in a few days.
• If you ask for the decision maker and they’re not available, that doesn’t have to mean the call is finished. You should always ask, “Who else is there that can handle this matter?”

Part 4 will wrap up our Telemarketing Tips, From The Pros series. Stay tuned for the grand finale, going live in November.

Have you checked out Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros – Part 1 yet? If not, go catch up before continuing with this article!

It’s common for us to hear “does your team have any tips?”. As a matter of fact, we do! In Part 1 of our series, we reviewed tips on call preparation. As a continuation, Part 2 carries on the discussion and hits on tips you can use during your call sessions.

During your Calls

Congratulations, your call campaign has launched! Now you have a prospect on the phone – what do you do now?!? The Dunlap team is here to help you make the most of your phone conversations with prospects!

• In the same vein as re-reading your script before you start a calling session (as mentioned in Part 1), keep your script in front of you while making your calls so if needed, it’s easy to reference.
• Avoid overloading the prospect with too much information early on in your call – quickly get to the point and let them know the reason you are calling.
• When asking for an appointment, be upfront. Try by suggesting a date and time as a starting point.
• Be a good listener – remember we have two ears and one mouth; sometimes it’s appropriate to speak half as much as you listen!
• While on the phone, speak to the person on the other end as if they were seated right next to you. This will help you come across as more approachable.
• If a prospect asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, that’s okay! Use it as a way to get your foot in the door by saying, “That’s a great question and I actually don’t have the answer right now. Can I schedule a time to have John come to meet you next Tuesday so he can answer it for you? He’s the expert!”
• If the decision-maker says they already have a solution set in place, say, “That’s okay! Most people already have something set in place. We’re just calling to let you know what we have to offer so you can compare it to what you have now, or maybe even add us to your current solution.”

Stay tuned for part three of our “Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros” series, where we’ll discuss tips you can use while trying to reach the decision-maker.

The team at Dunlap Marketing has an average of 12 years of experience working in business-to-business prospecting. Working with customers to help grow their sales through appointment setting and lead generation is something that not only drives our team, but also keeps us dialing!

It’s common for us to hear “does your team have any tips?”. As a matter of fact, we do! If you’re on a cold calling journey, check out our four-part series outlining various tips from the Dunlap Marketing gurus.

Call Preparation

To kick off our series, we’re starting at the beginning. Before a call campaign goes live, you need to prepare for it. Here are some tips from the Dunlap team specific to call preparation:

• Trim the fat and avoid using fluff words when preparing your message – stick to the details that are relevant during an early stage call. Remember that you’re not trying to close a deal on an appointment setting call.
• Be prepared to answer questions the prospect might have before agreeing to an appointment. This might mean doing additional research on your product/service or preliminary research on the company you’re calling into.
• Before you launch a call, know who you need to speak with. This could be knowing which department, a specific title, or even the decision maker’s name.
• It’s common for a prospect to tell you “no” before they understand the purpose of your call. To be prepared for this, practice using rebuttals that will help get your call back on track.
• Re-read your message each time you start a calling session. This will help get your brain “in the zone” and remind yourself of key details.

Stay tuned for part two of our “Telemarketing Tips, From the Pros” series, where we’ll discuss tips you can use during your cold calls.

Update: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

With robocalls being in the news so much lately, we want to share these tips to protect you from illegal calls and scams. The tips below come from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) website, and they serve as very good advice to follow.  Robocalling is far more reaching than unreputable companies in the United States, as this type of unethical calling often originates in other countries around the world.  In general, the American population seems to be a prime target internationally. 

Consumer Tips to Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Avoid Phone Scams:

• Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
• You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
• If you answer the phone and the caller – or a recording – asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
• Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
• If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
• Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
• If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
• Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.
• If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
• To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List. Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list.