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Telemarketing is a strategy that is almost as old as the telephone. And despite all the technology that has evolved through time, telemarketing is still considered an effective way to make sales and close deals. However, through many years and many instances of bad telemarketing, this marketing strategy has also raised the ire of a significant number of would-be consumers.

After all, who wants to be called in the middle of a busy or relaxing day only to be heckled by a complete stranger into buying a product or service that you probably wouldn't need in a hundred years Telemarketing is what inspired the Do Not Call lists, and registries all over have grown to impressive lengths. This is also why there are new reforms to telemarketing practices that are now being implemented today.

Don't Sell Directly Over the Phone

Now, this may not make sense - telemarketing is selling your product over the phone, right Not necessarily. The first reform to telemarketing is to not sell you product. The first thing that will irritate a potential customer is finding out that the person on the other end of the line is trying to sell them something. So, don't sell.

What do you do, then You look for leads. Instead of trying to sell them the product, announce your intention of only asking a few questions, if the customer has the time. You introduce the product to the potential customer, asking questions such as whether they've heard of the product before, what product do they use instead, why they like the product. This, of course, depends on what your product or service is all about and what information they need. The trick here is to keep the potential customer interested.

Don't Push

As soon as the potential customer shows no interest, or more to the point, objects to the call or gives you a flat out rejection, the best thing to do is back off. Don't push your customer or try to convince them otherwise. Don't call them at a future date, either. Aside from disturbing the customer further, perhaps enough to elicit a lawsuit, it is only a waste of your telemarketing time. There are, after all, many other numbers you can still call.

Keeping a record of these non-interest numbers will also save you a lot of time in the future. What's more productive is keeping a record of all the interested parties who are willing to speak to you at a future date and whom you will eventually convince to meet with your sales representatives to close a deal or sale.

Don't Go For Quantity

Whilst it may seem like sound business sense to get as many sales as possible, with the amount of numbers in your prospective list, it is actually impossible to expect sales from even 75% of the list. The important thing is to find the numbers that will generate business for your company and with the reforms to telemarketing, this can be achieved with care and consideration for the people you call.

You should also try to know more about your product or service, when you make these calls. Interested customers will want to know more about the product and will want to ask questions. Keep them interested by giving them what they want and need. Follow these reforms and you'll find a raise in your sales, without irate customers slamming the phone on your ear.