One of the most common forms of sales is telesales.  This, by its very nature, is a very different beast to face to face selling.  This means that telesales staff will require very different training than if it was a sales role where they would be meeting and dealing with potential clients face to face.

Areas that should be concentrated on when you are carrying out telesales training include:

1. How to build rapport without any face to face interaction
2. How to deal with Gate Keepers and talk to the decision makers
3. Helping potential clients overcome resistance to telesales
4. Why preparation and research before calls will lead to sales
   

This is a list that could go on and on.  It is important to remember that while telesales and face to face sales do have somethings in common, the things that are different are the ones that are the most important and need to be concentrated on.  For example, with telesales, you have to pay more attention to peoples tone of voice and pauses in conversation, as there is no body language to read.  This alone can cause major issues if people are used to just reading body language to judge how people are reacting and feeling.

Yet again, as with most other areas of training, using roleplays is one of the most effective ways to improve telesales skills.  You do not want to people to be learning the fundamentals while talking to potential clients on the phone.  You want sales staff who know in their head how the scenario should play out, and what are the likely deviations and how they can cope with these, and this is what using roleplay helps with the most.  It allows people to see how other people would deal with situations, but also allows them to understand how people react to what they are saying, and how they can improve upon this.

Related posts:

1. Areas To Cover In Sales Training
2. Body Language and Sales
3. Telesales Tips

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