Old dogs can learn new tricks, and should if one wishes to compete in today’s competitive consumer marketplace. But that doesn’t mean that you have to teach Fido to do back-flips or ride around in a leotard on a unicycle. Sometimes old tricks can be re-envisioned and given just enough flair to make them seem new again.
In the communications industry, one of these old tricks is a form of direct marketing that has a definite stigma attached to it: Telemarketing. If done right, however, telemarketing can prove to be a very effective weapon in your arsenal, and I’d argue that it should be a part of any organization’s marketing mix. The problem is, most telemarketers are ill-equipped to deal with todays more savvy and time-crunched consumers, clients, and Association members.
While direct mail formats are constantly being tested and revamped for optimal performance, the same cannot be said about most telemarketing scripts. These scripts have become so universally familiar that both the rep and the prospect go on autopilot when these conversations commence. This often means that the prospect is unwilling to give the rep’s message a fair consideration since the impression is “I’ve heard it all before.”
By utilizing a little good, old-fashioned psychology, however, this problem can be solved. The concept is called neurolinguistic programming, which uses tactics such as embedded messages and vocal mirroring to achieve positive results.
In a nutshell, you need to create a script that strays from the traditional and far too often familiar style most commonly employed by customer service reps and telemarketers in order to adopt an approach that is engineered to be more psychologically persuasive.
An engineered telemarketing script gains its effectiveness by being subtle and, at times, even subliminal. For instance, an engineered script would emphasize the embedded command “talk” to encourage the prospect to talk and allow the rep to continue with the presentation.
An example would be the following:
“I’d like to talk with you about some / products that many customers to whom we talk tell us / they need to provide the most comprehensive and / current coverage in the industry. Do you have just a moment / more to talk with me about these beneficial products?
In the above example, I used the phrase “talk” three times, and implied the “need” to purchase the products. I also inserted breathing marks ( / ) in the above passage. These marks are designed to prevent the Customer Service reps from breathing in expected places.
Why interrupt normal breathing patterns? Because most prospects decide whether they’re willing to consider the telemarketer’s message before they’ve even heard the sales pitch, and if they’re not interested, many of them will attempt to be polite by waiting for the familiar pause to indicate their decision. Since the above script interrupts the pattern the prospect might expect, it enables the telephone rep to deliver the whole message without interruption. Moreover, it increases the likelihood that the prospect will be left alert and in need of closure.
This is essentially the same concept behind a well-written teaser on an envelope. It doesn’t matter how great an offer is if a prospect never learns of it. The greatest challenge is to get a prospective customer to open your envelope or to listen to the whole phone conversation. If successful, the likelihood that he or she will respond favorably to your offer increases tremendously.
The next trick is reserved for those prospects that are still on the fence and are reluctant to accept the offer. It’s called vocal mirroring. The rationale behind this practice is essentially this: when the speech patterns and metaphor use of a prospect is mimicked or “mirrored” by the rep, it positively influences the interaction.
This fundamental principle of human interaction has previously been observed by countless psychologists. For example, in a study by Van Baaren, Holland, Steenaert, and Van Knippenberg (2003), it was found that when waitresses mimicked the speech of their customers, they received higher tips than when they did not mimic their customers’ speech.
Now it should be understood that I’m not endorsing something as extreme as feigning an accent, but rather adopting similar patterns of communication. For instance, if a reluctant prospect responds to your offer with “I just don’t see how this can help me,” the telemarketer can reply with “Give me just a moment more of your time and I’ll show you how it can help.” The emphasis here is on the words “see” and “show”. By adopting the prospect’s “sight” metaphor, the telemarketer increases the likelihood that the prospect will be willing to keep listening.
So is it possible to teach old dogs new tricks? Absolutely. Revitalize your marketing program with some of these psychologically-geared tactics, and take telemarketing out of the proverbial doghouse.
Old dogs can learn new tricks, and should if one wishes to compete in today’s competitive consumer marketplace. But that doesn’t mean that you have to teach Fido to do back-flips or ride around in a leotard on a unicycle. Sometimes old tricks can be re-envisioned and given just enough flair to make them seem new again.
In the communications industry, one of these old tricks is a form of direct marketing that has a definite stigma attached to it: Telemarketing. If done right, however, telemarketing can prove to be a very effective weapon in your arsenal, and I’d argue that it should be a part of any organization’s marketing mix. The problem is, most telemarketers are ill-equipped to deal with todays more savvy and time-crunched consumers, clients, and Association members.
While direct mail formats are constantly being tested and revamped for optimal performance, the same cannot be said about most telemarketing scripts. These scripts have become so universally familiar that both the rep and the prospect go on autopilot when these conversations commence. This often means that the prospect is unwilling to give the rep’s message a fair consideration since the impression is “I’ve heard it all before.”
By utilizing a little good, old-fashioned psychology, however, this problem can be solved. The concept is called neurolinguistic programming, which uses tactics such as embedded messages and vocal mirroring to achieve positive results.
In a nutshell, you need to create a script that strays from the traditional and far too often familiar style most commonly employed by customer service reps and telemarketers in order to adopt an approach that is engineered to be more psychologically persuasive.
An engineered telemarketing script gains its effectiveness by being subtle and, at times, even subliminal. For instance, an engineered script would emphasize the embedded command “talk” to encourage the prospect to talk and allow the rep to continue with the presentation.
An example would be the following:
“I’d like to talk with you about some / products that many customers to whom we talk tell us / they need to provide the most comprehensive and / current coverage in the industry. Do you have just a moment / more to talk with me about these beneficial products?
In the above example, I used the phrase “talk” three times, and implied the “need” to purchase the products. I also inserted breathing marks ( / ) in the above passage. These marks are designed to prevent the Customer Service reps from breathing in expected places.
Why interrupt normal breathing patterns? Because most prospects decide whether they’re willing to consider the telemarketer’s message before they’ve even heard the sales pitch, and if they’re not interested, many of them will attempt to be polite by waiting for the familiar pause to indicate their decision. Since the above script interrupts the pattern the prospect might expect, it enables the telephone rep to deliver the whole message without interruption. Moreover, it increases the likelihood that the prospect will be left alert and in need of closure.
This is essentially the same concept behind a well-written teaser on an envelope. It doesn’t matter how great an offer is if a prospect never learns of it. The greatest challenge is to get a prospective customer to open your envelope or to listen to the whole phone conversation. If successful, the likelihood that he or she will respond favorably to your offer increases tremendously.
The next trick is reserved for those prospects that are still on the fence and are reluctant to accept the offer. It’s called vocal mirroring. The rationale behind this practice is essentially this: when the speech patterns and metaphor use of a prospect is mimicked or “mirrored” by the rep, it positively influences the interaction.
This fundamental principle of human interaction has previously been observed by countless psychologists. For example, in a study by Van Baaren, Holland, Steenaert, and Van Knippenberg (2003), it was found that when waitresses mimicked the speech of their customers, they received higher tips than when they did not mimic their customers’ speech.
Now it should be understood that I’m not endorsing something as extreme as feigning an accent, but rather adopting similar patterns of communication. For instance, if a reluctant prospect responds to your offer with “I just don’t see how this can help me,” the telemarketer can reply with “Give me just a moment more of your time and I’ll show you how it can help.” The emphasis here is on the words “see” and “show”. By adopting the prospect’s “sight” metaphor, the telemarketer increases the likelihood that the prospect will be willing to keep listening.
So is it possible to teach old dogs new tricks? Absolutely. Revitalize your marketing program with some of these psychologically-geared tactics, and take telemarketing out of the proverbial doghouse.
William Stone is a Publishing and Marketing Consultant operating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
© William Stone, 2008. This content may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy and recording, so long as the author is notified via e-mail at wstone@WilliamStoneMarketing.com, and it is reproduced in whole, including this notice and the author’s biographic information above.
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