Toucan Telemarketing Conquers the Fear of Call Rejections

Toucan Telemarketing Conquers the Fear of Call Rejections

According to psychologists, the fear of rejection is one of the deepest human fears. It boils down to our primitive instincts – we are social beings by nature, and we are biologically wired to stop ourselves getting hurt.

Just why, then, would anybody want to get into telemarketing?

Paula Bates, Managing Director of Toucan Telemarketing, is keen to crush telemarketing stereotypes. “If you’re passionate about your business and your product, then it’s the people who say yes that will really motivate you.”

“People think of telemarketers as forceful and backing people into a corner. That’s not a telemarketer, that’s just a rude salesperson.”

Never Give Up

Having worked in sales since 2001, Paula has heard just about every rejection there is.

This has helped her and her 20-strong team to develop their techniques, their data and their timing to achieve the best sales calls as possible.

“Nobody would say they’ve had a good telemarketing call, they would say they’ve had a good sales call”

Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing

The first step to this, she adds, is to never give up – without harassing the client.

“Most people will give up after three calls. However, most of the time people are just too busy to take your call.”

“If they’re not interested, they’ll tell us. We’ll log this and use it to fine-tune our data.”

“Be ready to have a decent conversation”

It might be useful to embody the spirit of a rockstar when making a cold call.

A sell-out tour might see a performer playing the same set, day in, day out, but for the audience, it’s their first time. Telemarketers should take this approach to their calls – to bring that enthusiasm to every individual call.

“You have to be ready to have a decent conversation. There’s a difference between being pushy and persuasive”

Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing

“Our clients know their product, so we encourage them keep going, and to always ask for an appointment. We know how to pipeline nurture.”

Get the Timing Right

Another key factor, Paula says, is to spread sales calls out throughout the year.

“Rather than simply making calls when you are quiet, you need to keep a steady stream of prospects so that you can adequately nurture your clients all year round”

“63% of prospects will not enquire until three months after the initial contact. The last thing you want is to be so busy that you cannot answer their calls,” says Paula.

Move on From a “No”

If a prospect says no, do not take it personally. Use it as a case study for your next call:

  • Was your prospect a decision-maker?
  • Did you call at the wrong time in their buying cycle?
  • Is your product not the right thing for them right now?

“We won’t not take no for an answer,” says Paula. “You could be making 100 calls a day and only speak to three decision-makers.”

“While we can use these tried-and-tested methods to avoid rejection,” Paula concludes, “we need to accept that rejection is part of the process.”

To discover how Toucan Telemarketing can improve your prospecting, with perserverance, please call 01260 294444, or visit toucantelemarketing.co.uk.

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Katie heads up the M3 Publishing content team, interviews key stakeholders, researches trends and produces articles covering industries’ core issues. Katie honed her skills with the National Council for the Training of Journalists, where she trained in reporting, media law and Teeline shorthand. She has a background in magazine journalism and extensive experience writing for online publications, from niche titles to nationals such as the Huffington Post.


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