Relational Leadership and the Telephone Solicitor

There are lots of jobs where rejection is a regular part of the work process. One that pops out is telephone solicitors. This is a stressful job that doesn't pay much money to compensate for the stress. Turnover is high. However there are some things that can be done that will help lower the stress and achieve better results.

At Junior Achievement we conducted a telemarketing campaign to raise needed funds from small and medium size business in the Delaware area. We used volunteers from local companies as the solicitors. This campaign was very successful.

The volunteers received comprehensive training before starting out with their calls and they had on sight support virtually all the time they were at the phones. We had contests, took frequent breaks and stayed on top of the mood in the room. Our objective was to maintain an upbeat atmosphere and be very supportive of the volunteer's needs.

So what did this look like in practice. The training involved communicating the value of Junior Achievement for the youngsters who were involved, presenting information about the facts surrounding the organization, highlighting the achievements of JA Delaware, rehearsing a typical call, identifying objections and how to counter them, setting goals, and drilling home what the volunteer could reasonably expect to achieve from their effort. We brought people in to thank them for their support including students or other volunteers who could testify to the results of JA for kids. Training was ongoing throughout the time (usually a week) they spent with us.

The most important part of orientation was communicating the value of JA and the results we were achieving with the dollars that were being raised. This was followed by what to expect from their calls. Therefore we made it OK to get a "NO" because that was part of the process. Finally being with them, supporting them, and being their cheerleader was vital.

What it amounts to is being relational. Have fun, pay attention, be purposeful, and reward performance - these were our keys to success. You can apply these principles to any form of telephone solicitation.