Technology breakthroughs like robotics, virtual reality, self-driving cars, and drones are expanding skills, getting smarter and seem to gradually moving up the corporate ladder.

And telemarketing is no exception.

In fact, in 2013, Time has featured a robot telemarketer named Samantha West, who conversed like a real human.

Telemarketer Samantha sounded so real but for experts who were keen enough to know, it’s surreal. Why? Let’s find out. To give us the benefit of the doubt, we had her calls calibrated by Callbox’s Quality Assurance specialist Jireh T., based on the standard telemarketing quality metrics.

Below are the feedback, followed by some tips:

1.) Delivery sounded robotic, like reading a script. The caller should have used a more friendly tone.

Tip: Follow proper pauses and avoid the dreaded monotone. Raise or lower your voice when necessary.

2.) (on the 1st call) The caller didn’t use appropriate responses.

The prospect asked, “How are you?”, caller should have responded, “I’m good, thank you for asking. “How about you?”, but instead directly proceeded to stating the purpose of the call.

(on the 2nd call) Prospect said, “I’m gonna hang up now”, but the caller just simply responded, “Okay”.

Tip: Sound conversational and genuine by building rapport before pitching sales.

3.) Caller should have acknowledged the prospect’s query and addressed his concerns before asking another question. Prospects are likely to get irate when the caller doesn’t pay attention to their queries, and concerns are not properly addressed.

Tip: Listen to what the prospect has to say/ask in order to respond properly.

4.) The caller did not seem sincere enough. Answers seemed patterned. It could have been helpful if the caller provided a complete, better answer instead of just replying “Yes”, “I’m not a robot”, and “No, I’m not”.

Tip: There’s nothing wrong to being honest if that would mean gaining your prospect’s trust and confidence.

The company employer said Samantha is not a robot, but a computer-program operated by real humans. However, if Samantha were a live telemarketer, she would need to work out some OFIs (opportunities for improvement) that will better her calling skills. Take on below.

The the 3 Cs of Telemarketing:

Courtesy

Use Power words and phrases like ‘Thank you,’ ‘Please,’ ‘If you/I may,’ ‘You’re welcome’ and ‘I’d be glad to do so,’ ‘Great,’ ‘Excellent,’ ‘Yes’, to express respect and consideration to the person you speak with.

Adjust your tone and pace with that of the prospect’s to induce clarity of conversation from both ends.

Actively listen to better understand your prospect’s concern and avoid overlapping.

Address the prospect by his first name or depending on how he prefers to be called.

Empathize with the prospect upon learning his challenges.

Related: It’s not the end of World nor ‘Telemarketing’ in Singapore

Confidence

Mentally rehearse your spiel to master the rebuttals in order to sound knowledgeable.

Acknowledge your prospects questions and commendations through verbal and nonverbal responses.

Do away with fillers like “umm”, “ahh”, and self-doubting phrases like “i think…”, “I mean…”, and “I’ll try…”

Smile when you speak, and laugh when necessary; keep a lively pitch but just enough to keep the prospect held on to the conversation.

Speak with authority, like you own the business, but not like a pushy braggart.

Related: Why Use Telemarketing to get Leads for an ISP in Australia?

Consistency

Use scripts as guidelines to keep a steady flow of methods in your spiel, but be creative in your delivery to avoid monotony

Focus and highlight each part of the call to avoid a roller coaster discussion.

Never promise what you cannot deliver.

Give the most accurate information and avoid assumptions

Be in control of the call by keeping track both of yours and the prospect’s time.

It’s true that evolution in technology is leading to a greater efficiency in various industries, but the fact remains that it is us humans who father technology. And so we remain superior and far more intellectual than any invention on earth.

Take Samantha West, for example, she may sound like a real person but her surreal portrayal can never outdo a courteous, confident and consistent telemarketer.

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