How do you train a new person to make outbound sales calls?
Train in four steps: teach the purpose of the call, practise it aloud, listen to real calls, then review the new person's own calls each week. Most of the time goes on practice and review, and little goes on slides.
Pete Kazanjy, in his handbook Founding Sales, argues that sales teams underinvest in practice. He describes pairing reps so that one plays the prospect and the other the caller, using the real phone rather than a conversation across a desk. He also prefers recorded calls as pre-work over listening in on live ones.
A workable plan for a small team is five working days of preparation before the first real call, then a supervised first week of calling. The lengths are our suggestion, so adjust them to how complex your offer is.
What should a new caller learn first?
Start with three things: who you are calling, why you are calling, and what you want at the end of the call. For an appointment call, the last point is a meeting date and time, and nothing more.
Write the opening as two or three sentences. It should give the caller's name, the company, and one specific reason the prospect might care. Fix this wording with the new person rather than leaving it to improvisation, because it is the part that is most often repeated.
Then list the five or six replies a caller will hear most often, such as "send me an email", "we already have someone" or "I am busy now". Agree a short, honest answer to each. Include the point at which the caller thanks the person and ends the call, because a new caller needs to know when to stop.
How do you practise before real calls?
Practise in pairs, with roles swapped, using the same phone and call notes the caller will use on the day. Playing the prospect teaches a new person as much as playing the caller, since they hear how an interruption feels.
As a suggestion, run the opening aloud many times in the first two days, then move to full calls with a trainer or colleague who raises the common replies. Record these practice calls if everyone in them agrees, and play one back so the caller hears their own pace and tone.
Give the trainee a one-page outline on their desk: the opening, the ask, the common replies, and the booking steps. Kazanjy describes reps keeping a printed outline of the main sections beside them for this reason.
How do you review calls once they start?
Review a handful of each person's calls every week, and choose one thing to change. Listening to a recorded call shows more than a summary written afterwards, and it lets you hear what happened before and after the problem.
Kazanjy describes recording calls, having reps share standout and difficult calls with the team, and keeping strong recordings as examples for new starters. Do the same: keep two or three good calls from your own business and play them to every new hire.
Track a few numbers from the first day: calls made, people reached and meetings booked. These give you something concrete to discuss in a weekly one-to-one.
What rules apply to outbound sales calls in Singapore?
Singapore has rules on marketing calls, and the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) publishes guidance on them. Its page Do Not Call Registry & Your Business covers what counts as a marketing message and the dos and don'ts of sending one, so it is a good first read for whoever trains your callers.
The rules depend on details such as who you are calling and whether the call is about their organisation's purposes or their own needs. Have the person who owns your list read the PDPC guidance and agree a process for checking numbers before anyone dials. Also agree what a caller does when someone asks not to be called again.
This is general information. For your own list and your own offer, check with a lawyer.
When does it make sense to pay a service instead?
If you would rather not spend several weeks training and supervising a caller, a service is one option. The trade-off is that you give up some day-to-day control, so ask to hear the calls.
Greetsby is an appointment-setting service in Singapore. It calls the people on your own list and books meetings into your calendar, with up to 4 attempts per person on different days between 9.30am and 6.00pm. You approve the opening and the reason for the call before calls start, every call is recorded and you can play any of them, and a named Greetsby caller is responsible for your campaign.
Pricing is one flat price per batch of numbers: S$1,800 for 1,000 numbers, S$3,600 for 2,000 and S$5,400 for 3,000, which is S$1.80 a number. You pay before calls start, with no contract and no monthly fee. Greetsby does not guarantee a number of meetings, and the first batch shows what your own list produces. You check your list against the Registry before you send it. Questions can go to hello@greetsby.com.
Questions
How long does it take to train a new outbound caller?
Plan on about five working days of preparation and a supervised first week of calling. This is a suggested schedule, so lengthen it if your product needs more explanation.
Should a new caller use a word-for-word script?
Fix the opening and the ask word for word, and give the rest as an outline with agreed answers to common replies. A caller who reads a whole script tends to sound as if they are reading.
Do I need to check the Do Not Call Registry before calling businesses?
It depends on who you are calling and why. Read the PDPC's guidance on the Registry and ask a lawyer about your specific case.
Can an individual insurance agent hire Greetsby?
No. For financial advisory, the firm must sign up, because under MAS Notice FAA-N02 only the financial adviser firm may appoint an introducer.
Sources
- Holloway: Founding Sales, Drilling, Repetitions, and Shadowing (Pete Kazanjy)
- PDPC: Do Not Call Registry & Your Business
General information for businesses in Singapore, not legal advice.