List

• The quality of your telemarketing list is a key determinant in how successful you will be in reaching qualified prospects and convincing them to agree to an appointment. If you sell health insurance to companies, analyze the demographics of your current customer list and obtain a list that matches that profile. For example, if you have a high success in getting appointments with manufacturing companies between 10 and 50 employees, purchase and test a list with those demographics.
  
  

Training

• Develop and deliver an effective training program to your telemarketing staff. The training should teach telemarketers to primarily focus on getting appointments and less on making the sale. The training should cover how to handle prospect objections and how to be politely persistent in securing appointments. Training should also include how to use the computer system to schedule appointments. During training, distribute and hand out material to reinforce what was taught.
  
  

Objectives

• Set a daily appointment goal. Keep statistics on the number of calls made a day, the number of prospects reached and the percent of those prospects who agree to an appointment.
  
  

Communications

• Make sure time spent on the phone is with a decision maker who can agree to an appointment. Call prospects one day before the day of the appointment to confirm it. This will prevent time being wasted by outside sales people who could show up for an appointment with no prospect to meet.
  
  

Role Play and Monitoring

• Use role playing to reinforce training. Create hypothetical situations and have telemarketers play the role of prospect and telemarketer. Observe their interactions. Ask them what they could have done better in each situation and recommend improvements.
  
  Monitor telemarketer phone calls and periodically meet with telemarketing sharing how they can improve their telemarketing skills.