SalesQ's telemarketing specialists support companies in their lead generation, increase sales, increase customer satisfaction and more. How? By approaching every assignment as a team of top athletes. And that requires training and the right tips and tricks. We spoke to sales expert and team lead William Wolf about his experience in the telemarketing industry.

William has been active in the telemarketing industry since he was 17 years old. He started as an agent at SalesQ, after which he soon had the opportunity to take on the role of team lead. And he does so with great enthusiasm: “My position has become a lot more challenging. Among other things, I ensure that the knowledge of our agents remains up-to-date, so that SalesQ is able to answer all questions from its customers.”

William's school

In all the years William has been working in sales, the industry has taught him many lessons. But certain sales qualities are part of William's nature. “You need a lot of perseverance and guts in this industry. Showing guts, I still had to learn in the beginning, but perseverance was in it from an early age," says William.

“It is also useful to have the necessary people knowledge. You need this to be able to "level" with the person on the other end of the phone. It is important that you are on the same page with your conversation partner in order to create the right atmosphere in a conversation. During the training of agents, three points are treated that must always be perfect: asking open questions, dealing with resistance and creating atmosphere."

The do's in a sales conversation

A good conversation depends on many elements. This way you have the preparation that is very important, for example. Does the agent know who the customer is? Is he or she sufficiently aware of current developments in the industry in which the customer is active and is there sufficient knowledge about the product in question?

In addition to the practicalities, the psychological aspect of a conversation is just as important. “Take the time to make it a fun conversation. I did this, among other things, by reaching the same level of conversation as my conversation partner. Is that person very amicable or businesslike? I adapted to that. Along with empathy for the person on the other end of the line, these are two hugely important components in a conversation with the prospect.”

In addition, William indicates that it is important that an agent is genuinely curious. “Ultimately your goal is to find out the needs of the prospect and that can only be done by showing genuine interest. By asking good questions and asking open questions, you will get the best answers. And dare to let go of the script: a standard conversation does not really work.”

...And don'ts

William himself sometimes missed the point: “I once got a call from a prospect who, quite coincidentally, knew the owner of the company I was calling for. He mentioned his name, which I was obviously not familiar with. Then I fell through the basket for a while.” It is therefore a sales conversation-don't: "Never enter a conversation unprepared."

In addition, closed questions are real clinchers for a conversation: "If you ask closed questions, the whole conversation can come to a halt."

A final, absolute don't is making assumptions. “The budget question is a question that we often have to ask within SalesQ to schedule a visit. But of course it is exciting to talk about money with strangers. You quickly make assumptions, such as "they must be busy" or "they probably don't have space right now". Just ask the question and dare to let it fall silent for a while. This way you give the prospect the opportunity to contribute something themselves.”

One last tip

The more natural a conversation, the better. Going into a conversation prepared is important, but don't desperately stick to the script. “I do use icebreakers myself. For example, by joking or by asking how the prospect is doing. It is of course important to feel when this is appropriate and when it is not. But in principle I always stick to this rule: I call someone else, just as I would like to be called myself.”

The success factor(s) of SalesQ

SalesQ does everything it can to train their agents and team leads. “We spend a lot of time on training. In this way we help agents in their personal development”, says William. “And that does not only apply to the agents, but also to the team leads. Within SalesQ we all have the drive to become better and more successful. That is why we regularly give each other feedback.”

Not only is professionalization important within SalesQ, but also the personal aspect. “We are a very close-knit team. It sometimes feels like a second family and that's important too. If you don't feel good, you also include that in conversations with prospects and you have less of a need to develop. The relaxed atmosphere that prevails at SalesQ is essential.”

Working at SalesQ? View our vacancies on the website. Can we do something else for you? Contact us on 023 7113200 or send an email to info@salesQ.nl.