Telemarketing system

So there's a controversy about records of phone calls being stored in a database, and now a fear
that calls might be recorded and listened to.

And I'm all for it.

Calls MUST be recorded and listened to. Your sales and prospecting calls, of course.

I've long advocated taping calls. Without a doubt it's one of the best activities you can engage in to improve, and make more money. Let's look at the benefits.

Improving the way you sound. You might have a great product or service with extraordinary
value, and perhaps you have stellar sales skills. But, if you sound like the AFLAC duck you won't be effective. Listening to yourself usually elicits dissatisfaction with some aspect of your voice, which is good if it translates into action.

Perhaps you're too slow, too fast, monotone, too loud, too soft, nasal, whiney, or maybe you
possess one of the other common speaking problems. Your recordings can help you "look" like the person you want to be.


Getting rid of annoying, uh, filler sounds.
Because they can't see you, their picture of you is painted by what they hear. Therefore, uhs, ahs, and ums are AMPLIFIED over the phone. The first step in eliminating them is being aware of them. Your tapes are brutally honest. Being embarrassed into realizing what you, like, say repeatedly, know what I mean? Think of that person you know who uses a word or phrases, over and over and over, like, you know what I mean? It's like, annoying, you know what I'm saying? Do you own any of these?

The recordings tell you, since your friends or customers probably won't. Hearing valuable information you missed the first time. There's a lot going on in your mind on a call. You miss some things when you're experiencing it live. Reviewing a tape of an important call can help you with information you might have missed the first time. It's like seeing a movie a second time.

Improving your sales skills. Similar to the previous point, you'll pick up on missed buying signals, questions you should have asked, answers you should have given, and other areas you can improve on when you review your performance. Every successful performer in entertainment and sports reviews their tapes.

You should too.

Others listening to your tapes. We don't know what we don't know. Meaning, we might not even realize what we're doing is wrong, or that there might be a better way. I know of reps who get together during lunch sessions weekly and they take turns bringing their recordings for review.

For managers: Let's face it managers, monitoring a call live wastes time because of how long it
takes to actually get a decision maker on a call. However, you DO need to hear calls in order to
coach. Listening to recordings is the best option.

If you're wondering about the legalities of taping your calls, twelve states require that you let the other person know. Which really ruins the mood at the beginning of a sales call. The remaining states require that only your end knows the call is being recorded, which would be you. Here's a site that explains the rules and lists the states:
http://www.rcfp.org/taping/