The CPR Method

CPR to most people means Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and we hear of paramedics administering this technique to unfortunate victims of heart attacks. It’s a means of reviving someone.

I advise telemarketers to breathe life into customer relationships by practicing CPR. It’s a simple foundation on which all buying relationships are built. Notice that I say "buying" rather than "selling." Successful outbound telemarketers are those whose customers want to buy from them, not those who force a sale. The method works like this:

C: CONSULT

The starting point is to ask questions. One of my telemarketing projects involved an outbound program marketing "Custom Calling Features" for customers of New York Telephone. They were offering Call Forwarding, Call Waiting and Speed Dialing features to subscribers in exchange areas that had been converted to electronic switching equipment. The telemarketers weren’t having much good luck when they called residents and attempted to explain the features. For example, they’d call someone in a suburban area and essentially say, "We’re offering subscribers in your area Call Waiting and Call Forwarding. This means that if you’re on the phone and someone else tries to reach you, you will hear a tone in your ear and you can switch to the second call. Call Forwarding means that you can designate a number anywhere in the world where you’d like your calls forwarded, and they’ll automatically be switched to that number. Would you like to sign up?"

Would you? Who cares to have a tone in his ear? And very few people are interested in being able to shunt their calls to someone else’s phone. The telemarketers were talking about features. Nobody’s interested in features. We’re all selfishly interested in ourselves. We care about benefits.

The starting point in restructuring New York Tel’s outbound program was coming up with questions that would help reveal customers’ needs that the features would satisfy.

"Mr. Schweizer, when people say they have a hard time reaching you, do they usually say your line’s often busy, or that you’re never around to answer the phone? When you’re away for the weekend, or working long hours, are you more concerned about the danger of burglaries in your home, or are you more concerned about missing important calls?"

The starting point in effective outbound telemarketing is to find out about your prospect’s needs – not what you have to offer, but what your customer needs. If Mr. Schweizer says that people can’t ever reach him because he’s always on the phone, and that rising crime in his neighborhood is a concern, we know something about what his needs are and what benefits may appeal to him.

P: PERSONALIZE

The next step, after consulting with the customer to find out what his needs are, is to personalize the benefits you offer to the needs he has expressed.

"Mr. Hopkins, I know what you mean about crime being a concern. My neighborhood’s been getting worse, too. One benefit of the call-forwarding feature is that you can always answer your home phone, even when you’re not there. Burglars usually call before their break in. When there’s no answer, they know the coast is clear. Some of my customers go into the office on weekends and have their calls forwarded there. That way, even if someone suspects you’re not at home, they hear your voice when they call to check and you’ve prevented a problem.

"You also mentioned that people have trouble reaching you because you use the phone a lot. The thing heavy phone users like you most appreciate about call waiting is that people can always reach them, even while they’re talking to somebody else. Rather than reach a busy signal, they reach you. You can switch back and forth between the two calls easily and either take a message, or call one party back later. It’s very convenient. "

R: RECOMMEND

The key to succeeding in telemarketing is meeting needs. Consulting lets you find out what they are. Personalizing lets you show the prospect how he will personally benefit by having his needs met. Rather than forcing a sale, truly effective telemarketers make sure they’re in a position to recommend that prospects take advantage of solutions to their needs.

"Mr. Schweizer, based on what you’ve told me about your concerns for security and the problem of people not being able to get through on your line, I recommend that you take advantage of both of these new services. I can save you 15 percent on the monthly charges by ordering both at once. Of course, the call forwarding will also help you cut down on missed calls when you’re working late or visiting friends. Would you like me to expedite these services for you, or just have them added at the start of next month?"

Inbound or outbound, professional telemarketers adopt the goal of meeting as many customer needs as possible. Doing so creates short-term and long-term customer satisfaction – and profits.

For scripts or for outbound pro-active telemarketing people, I think the CPR Method is most valuable. In thinking about and practicing CPR, remember these four proven lessons:

CPR + 4

FIRST…

People do business with people.

SECOND…

Think Benefits, BENEFITS, BENEFITS! Then support the benefits with the features.

THIRD…

Announcements don’t work!! Never have worked and will never work!!

FOURTH…

People buy what is offered to them! They don’t make the order up themselves.

Phone Power by George Walther may be purchased at most bookstores, or contact
Speaking From Experience, Inc. 6947 Coal Creek #100, Newcastle, WA 98059, 425-255-2900, George@GeorgeWalther.com. The cost of the 192-page hard-bound book is $15.95.