Would you say you were a good actor? No?? Good! 

Many people are poor actors. So imagine how most people will feel and respond when presented with the script for a telephone call. You guessed it: Un-natural, un-comfortable, un-convincing and ill at ease. Would you consider any of these as apt descriptions for the way that you want to sound and be perceived on the telephone? We thought not.

Just like the saying "How long is a piece of string" nobody can say with any degree of certainty how many calls it will take to any individual or organisation in order to make a calling campaign successful. 

We all have to start somewhere. The good news and the bad news is this: The greater the number of calls you make, the more effectively you separate yourself from the crowd. The "crowd" in this case will be anyone and everyone that has given up on ever speaking to someone after one, two or three calls.

Whatever happens during any calling activity, one thing is certain: You will generate results. While it's great that you're using the phone as part of your marketing communications and to stimulate the sales process, a lot of hard work could be going to waste if you have no clearly defined way of recording your results, sorting them into working groups and taking action on them.

If you're using a spreadsheet package for example, you'll want to ensure that the data is sorted in such a way you can take the appropriate actions in the future and avoid data becoming obsolete.

Our very own Andy Dickens was interviewed a couple of years ago by Mike Southon of Beermat Radio. In the interview he talks about:

• Outsourcing your sales funtion
• Effective sales management
• Gaining more business from your current clients

You can listen to the interview by clicking on the link below.

Andy Dickens on Beermat Radio

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this has something to do with attending job interviews. Well, recruitment and HR services aren't our core business so no danger there. Today's post is about wording questions effectively and asking those questions at relevant moments.

If knowledge is power then the more you know about your current customers and clients as well as potential customers and clients can go a very long way to building profitable relationships. Generally, people are more open to answering some questions they feel capable and qualified to respond to than being put on the spot in a cold call situation. Greater numbers of people will answer a quiz or a survey than take a cold call; still a cold call comes in handy when you've already been in touch about the quiz or questionnaire and gotten no response.

This blog is to inform you that Mr Simon Loveley no longer has any association with Virtual Sales Limited.

Under the terms of our agreement Simon Loveley was allowed to VSL branding, invoice look and feel, contracts etc in return for a  per cent of his revenue which enabled him to get off to a quick start and establish himself in Australia with all our years of experience behind him. He quickly established himself by utilising the VSL brand and acquired telemarketing clients.