In my experience, when sales managers imposed one method upon their whole team, it was by and large met with resistance or derision. I even saw marks being awarded for how many times a telemarketer’s voice rose in pitch during the opening moments of the call! Apparently 3 was the magic number.

In truth, I have always been ‘on the side’ of the telemarketer.

I’ve seen how staff have been made to fit into SPIN, SPEND, AIDA and every other ghastly sales model. It never seemed to work then, and I have no reason to believe it works now. Furthermore those companies that adopted such methodologies seemed to spend more time policing the changes rather than enjoying the rewards of staff training.

Of course, there are a million business coaches out there who’ll induce a deep sleep in even the most hardened of insomniacs with tales of change management, but the key to this is to start with the people first, not the system you think will be your “magic wand”.

Good telesales people are not a single type of person. So surely the methods employed need to reflect these differences, and if anything, amplify them.

When I’ve had to implement training, the first thing I did was to make sure I knew how sales were currently being made. This led to the startling epiphany that the sales people not performing well were the ones who stuck rigidly to scripts and proscribed methods.

I’ve always attempted to foster the right environment for each person in the team, using 4 basic principles:

• Knowledge. An understanding of the product/service’s value to the extent that it may be applied to the prospect’s circumstances during the call;
  
• Integrity. No traps, no ‘tricks’, no manipulation;
• Freedom of expression. Engender flexibility, remember, the aim is to have a meaningful conversation;
• Recognition. Implement a reward system tailored to each individual team member.

Surely it’s more real, less “salesy”, less script-bound, to react naturally rather than as the character you are playing? If you have a good grasp of the main benefits of what you are selling, you can answer any questions thrown at you. With a real conversation, you can win real business. A team member who is recognised on an individual basis is more likely to feel motivated.

If you work within a heavily-regulated industry, then certain parts of the call will be tightly structured, however, this doesn’t mean it has to sound scripted.

Foster the right environment for your callers and there should be no reason why your telesales people should sound uninterested, bored or lifeless.