Relationship Building Through Telesales

By Gerry Bogatz © MarketingWorks, Inc.

There is a kind of telemarketing, or "telesales," in which the goal is to sell products by building relationships. The success of educational marketing, in particular, is in the building of strong, long-lasting relationships with prospects and customers. Through this method, potential purchasers view sales representatives as consultants and friends, and they grow to trust and depend on them and their products. As a result, relationship-based telesales help establish a solid, loyal customer base that will continue to grow and flourish over time.

Special needs of the education market:

1. Understanding school buying cycles and how they impact school purchase decisions. The best offer will not be acted upon if there's no money to be had, so be sure to plan your telesales campaigns when you know educators are planning their purchases.

2. Knowing who the decision makers are and what messages will attract them. Understand the challenges that face educators today and offer them solutions. Knowing how to segment your target audience and tailor your message specifically to the needs of each group of educators will greatly increase your chances for success.

3. Understanding the current trends in the marketplace and how they impact the success of your product or service. Analyze trends to understand what dollars are available in a particular state or district; how standards are being implemented in that state; who in the school or district is empowered to make the buying decision; and what the competition is doing to meet the needs of educators.

Establishing a Relationship

The hardest part of building a relationship with a customer is getting that relationship off the ground. Our first inclination when we pick up the phone and realize that there is a salesperson on the other end is to hang up. The key to keeping people on the phone is starting a conversation with them, building a rapport from the first moment, and keeping it going throughout the phone call and into the future.

Do

• Be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the product or service you are providing.
• Understand the educational environment as a whole.
• Know what questions to ask educators to draw them into a conversation and make the link between their needs and the products being sold.
• Have excellent oral communication skills.
• Have the ability to handle rejection well.
• Have the ability to project their excitement and friendliness over the phone.

Maintaining the Relationship

Once a relationship has been established, either in the form of an interested prospect or a committed customer, the goal is to maintain it and use it to generate future sales. One of the most important aspects of any relationship is continuity.

Do

• Stay loyal to the client. A prospect who has a meaningful exchange with a salesperson one week, but receives a call from a different person the next week, is likely to feel confused and even betrayed. The sense of familiarity and developing loyalty that the prospect felt toward the initial salesperson (and, by extension, the product) is diminished.
• Have continuity. This is essential to cultivate the solid relationships with your customers that will keep them coming back again and again.
• Take notes and keep records. For example, a salesperson who makes notes after a conversation about the school reforms taking place in a particular educator's district knows right where to pick up with the next phone call. The salesperson can inquire about progress with reform efforts and add value to the conversation by continuing the discussion about how the product can meet the educator's specific needs. Good information and a record of relationship history allow the salesperson to create a rapport with the customer much as two people who work together on a daily basis create a working relationship.