21 Telemarketing Interview Questions and Answers - Freshers, Experienced

What do you understand by b2b, b2c and b2g?

B2B stands for business to business which describes commercial transactions between businesses such as between a web development firm and a reseller. Such transactions are big in volume and thus b2b is flourishing today the most.

B2C stands for business to consumer and describes transaction between business and consumer. It can be best explained by defining retail in which tangible goods are sold from stores or fixed location directly to the consumer.

B2G stands for business to government and is a derivative of B2B and is described as transaction between business and government in which a business entity supplies services or goods to a government sector or firm and can be stated as public sector marketing.

How do you think telemarketing can be made more effective?

To make telemarketing more efficient every call should be planned with an objective in mind. The opening statements made by the telecaller should be made interesting to grab interest. It is the contribution of each tele-caller that makes telemarketing successful and thus each tele-caller should be motivated enough to make a deal and be clear with his objective. The objection for tele callers in the sector are easy to crack and thus a response to each should be prepared in advance to cross the hurdle and make sale.

How would you make a cold call to generate a lead?

Turning a cold call into lead is not easy but it is not impossible either. If handled with the right motivation and skill a cold call can be changed into a lead. It can actually be put down as the way that cold calls are perceived by the person making the call and the fear of failure. The key should be to back track for a moment and then offer what you have when you have completely understood what is the landscape of the situation. Always step in with a positive attitude as for this situation it is very important.

Do you think unwanted marketing should be a crime?

Unwanted marketing is a crime by the law but one can opt out of it by filing a petition or a request in court. Only some firms are exempted from this law. To avoid unwanted marketing one can file a request in the court to be in the list of numbers which are not to be called by telemarketing firms. I personally think that one should not barge into somebody’s private space causing any form of inconvenience to the end user. Telemarketing should be handled more responsibly to avoid such situations and maintain standards of marketing and not degrade them.

What should be the priority in telemarketing according to you?

According to me customers should be the priority, if they do not buy we can not sell and thus they should be the foremost priority. The whole marketing sector runs due to end consumer so it should be our responsibility to make sure we have our customers satisfied and deliver what they expect from us. This can be only achieved if every individual from a telecaller to the ceo takes up the responsibility of delivering to the customer and works on their part the right way. If this little bit is done then telemarketing can be made more effective, easy and set to the right perspective.

What are the factors that contribute to projecting a positive image of yourself to the customer?

In the telemarketing industry it is critical that you know how to use your voice and choose your words to project a positive image while placing or taking a call. Factors that impact image over the telephone are:

- Vocal quality
- Vocal tone
- Rate of speech
- Pitch of the tone
- Attitude
- Body language
- Use of appropriate words

What are the techniques that help build the trust of the caller?

The following techniques help you build the trust of the customer on the other end of the telephone.

- Speak confidently
- Take control of the situation
- Show genuine interest
- Go above and beyond the call of duty

What are the disclosures required in telemarketing?

There are a few disclosures which are must before a person engages in telemarketing. Listed below are a list of things that need to be disclosed.

1. Disclosure of identity on behalf of which the call is made at the starting of the call in a polite and fair manner.
2. There should be a proper description of the product or business being put forward.
3. The price and terms and conditions related to the product should be made very clear.
4. Any other information related to the product prescribed should be conveyed.

What is deceptive telemarketing and how can it be avoided?

Telemarketing is termed deceptive when misleading information of product is conveyed to attract customers. Deceptive telemarketing can be avoided by taking the following measures :

1. No telemarketer should represent a product with false or misleading information.
2. Lottery, chance and skill based offers should not be offered where :
? Delivery of prize is conditional and is not conveyed at begining.
? Information about the prize is incorrect.
3. Offering products at no cost or less price when based on terms and conditions not specified before purchase should not be carried out.
4. Selling products at a very high rate.

What are good telephone etiquettes?

When attending a client or customer on phone some basic telephone etiquettes should be followed. Following are telephone etiquettes that should be followed by a tele caller :

1. Be quick in answering the phone.
2. Always make sure that the customer is greeted well.
3. When putting a line on hold take permission prior to it from the customer on the other end.
4. When transferring a call make sure you do it the right way and make it polite.
5. At the end of a call make sure that the customer is satisfied and does not have any query or doubt in mind.

What will you do when a customer needs to be put on hold but is not agreeing to it?

Many times the customer on the end line objects to be put on hold as he fears to be kept long on hold, in such situations following tips can be helpful :

1. Request the customer that it is important that he is put on hold. Make sure this is conveyed in a very polite way.
2. Clear out the objective due to which the line needs to be put on hold.
3. If the customer is very persistent on being on line as a co employee to retrieve the information that requires you to put the line on hold. During this be on line and keep the customer attended.
4. You can also ask the customer to disconnect the line for now and that you will give him a call back.

You just called a customer. What are the steps you will follow during the call?

When making a call to a customer the call should be directed in the following way:

1. Greet customer politely.
2. Introduce yourself to the customer.
3. Make clear the objective of the call
- Who are you calling?
- What are you calling for?
4. Give complete information of the product or business you are promoting.
5. Make the customer understand how the objective of the call can be beneficial for him/her.
6. Close the call with a warm end note.

How can a call be made successful?

Following tips can help in make a call successful :

1. Make sure the first impression of the call is good as it is very important for the rest of the call.
2. Be professional yet courteous.
3. It is very important to be a dedicated to a call, the opposite can be sensed very easily on a call.
4. Clear the objective of the call before you make one.
5. At times it is important not to sell over the phone instead connect with the customer and make the deal in the business place.

List some of the effective listening strategies that would be helpful in the telemarketing industry.

For survival in the telemarketing industry it is extremely essential that one possesses or acquires the ability to effectively listen and comprehend. Some of the effective listening strategies are as follows:

- Understanding yourself
- Being yourself
- Never losing the personal touch
- Your attitude
- Be willing to listen
- Setting personal goals
- Being motivated
- Listening actively
- Paying attention
- Asking questions
- Sending appropriate feedback

What are the different categories and sub-categories of telemarketing.

Marketing can be broadly classified into two categories :
1. B2B - business to business
2. B2C - business to customer

The categories can be further classified into four categories based on the process carried out which are :

Generating lead - Process of identifying a potential customer to make sale.
Sales - Selling out products
Outbound - Calls are made to the customers.
Inbound - Calls are received from the customer.

What are the characteristics that distinguish direct marketing?

Following are the characteristics that distinguish direct marketing :

1. The customers are pre targeted.
2. Customers are addressed directly.
3. The response of direct marketing is scalable.
4. The whole process is action driven.
5. Independent of business size.

Explain the following terms :

1. Cold Calling
2. Spamming.
3. Automatic dialer

1. Cold calling : Cold calling is the process in which customers are called for business interaction who have not been expecting so.

2. Spamming : Random bulk messages used for telemarketing purposes are called spam and the process is termed as spamming

3. Auto dialer : Telemarketing industries generally use an electronic device or a software to automatically dial phone numbers. These devices and softwares are called autodialers.

What issues can rise from paying per appointment?

Here are a list of problems which are associated with paying per appointment :

1. Poor quality.
2. Rate of conversion is low.
3. Requirements for more meetings is not solved.
4. High competition.
5. Suppliers face a lot of problems.
6. Quality is deteriorated by quantity.

What are the common telemarketing fraud?

Following are the common telemarketing fraud :

1. Charity purpose.
2. Asking for advance payment or fee.
3. Fraud by over capturing increased payments.
4. Bank related frauds.
5. Lottery
6. False representation of office supplies.
7. False verification calls.

When can you join?

If you are currently working, let the interviewer know and inform him that you will be resigning from there which may need you to serve the notice period.

- If you promise to inform them the next day, do so. Do not delay.

- Do not commit to join the next working day just to leave an impression when you have some chores left to be attended which will delay the process.

- Be honest and straight as most of the firms are familiar with the procedure of resignation and will grant the time to join them when you have been relieved from your duty from your last working place.

More questions for practice

1. What is the best way to sell a product?
2. What is done in business-to-business telemarketing?
3. How can you increase the customers to buy your products more?
4. What is the difference between direct mail and cold calling?
5. Why is it necessary to send announcements to the customers before calling them?
6. How can you define a good prospect?
7. Where can a list of good prospects be generated from?
8. What are the sources through which communication can be done?
9. What is the appropriate information required before contacting the customers?
10. What are the sources of motivation in this field?
11. What are the ways in which one can keep focus in telemarketing?
12. What are the precautions that have to be taken when being a representative?
13. What are the questions that have to be asked prior to dealing with them?
14. What are the strategies adopted to call the customers?
15. How essential is to call the customer after explaining about your product?
16. What do you understand by do not call registry?
17. What are the different methods through which a user can register for do not call registry?
18. How to check the status of it?
19. What does the term “Robocalling” implies?
20. What are the different methods to file a complaint on receiving the call from telemarketing people after being listed on do not call registry?
21. What does FCC mean? How does it help in handling the complaints done by user?
22. What are the rules and regulations made by which telemarketers are limited to use the services?
23. What are the laws that are present regarding recorded messages calls?
24. What are the different methods to monitor the telemarketing?
25. What will be the output of telemarketing in terms of the company’s gains?
26. What is ASA? What does it offer to companies?
27. What are market connections?
28. How are market connections used to establish their status in market?
29. How to find out the client type with which the company is working?
30. How to check about the calling status and dependency of the company on consumers?
31. What is the purpose of auto dialer?
32. When to use auto dialer?
33. What are the methods through which the customers are charged to avail the services?
34. What is the difference between commission and pay per appointment?
35. What are the differences between tele-sales and telemarketing?
36. What are the tools available to compare the telemarketing result with mail shots?
37. What are the provisions does ASA provide for delivering the project on behalf of clients?
38. What are the rules and regulations ASA follows for their projects?
39. How can one manage sales for a company?
40. How does a company become aware of the requirements of the customers?
41. What are the two major categories that are used with telemarketing?
42. What is the difference between outbound and inbound?
43. What are the negative impacts associated with telemarketing?
44. What are the regulations that are being formed on the use of telemarketing?
45. What does one understand by outsourcing the telemarketing activities?
46. What are the optimizations methods used for telemarketers?
47. What are the different types of scripts used in telemarketing?
48. How to persuade customers to take up the product even if they are not interested?
49. Why telemarketers should know about the process of catalog creation?
50. Why is telemarketing associated with various types of scams and frauds?