Telemarketing Software Featured Article

One of the worst nightmares for any sales representative is spending months communicating with a prospect, putting in time and energy to cultivate a relationship, only to be told “no” to the sale or deal at the end of the day. Time and money is wasted for both parties involved, and both ends walk away with nothing to show for their efforts.

“Buddies” are great for achieving lots of measurable goals, but closing a sale isn’t necessarily one of them. Sales reps may cultivate and regularly nurture a relationship with a prospect through regular calls and correspondence, but unless they are adding measurable value to the equation, all that calling could amount to nothing at the end of the day.

The key to avoiding that dreaded “no” at the end of a long sales cycle is to maintain structure throughout the process. Telemarketing software can certainly help on this end, enabling representatives to have clear goals and implementation plans that they can keep sight of throughout the process. Even the best representatives sometimes need a nudge in the right direction to keep them on track, and technology and software provide accountability and close alignment with goals and metrics.

Qualifying any potential sale, and doing it well, is the greatest asset when closing a deal. Technology can help here as well, in the form of asking some set questions to determine the viability of the sale. Representatives need to ask why a prospect needs a product or service, who will be involved in providing input or ultimately closing the deal and how the product or service will be used by the customer. “When” is another important question, setting constraints and deadlines for the entire deal.

But these questions need to be asked repeatedly of different contacts at the prospect’s organization, to get a fuller picture of what the real answers are. Telemarketing software can play a major role here, as a way to gather notes and information for comparison and sharing and collaboration with other sales staff.

Ultimately, the key to avoiding the dreaded “no” at the end of a long and tedious sales cycle is to maintain a coordinated sales process throughout the cycle. By using technology, benchmarks and asking the right questions at the right time, representatives can glean valuable information from prospects while keeping a handle on the big picture and the end prize of closing the deal.