Most businesses include Cold Calling as part of their sales strategy. All Tele sales people will face challenges during telemarketing and here are some tips and techniques for you to be successful in your area of telemarketing.

Be Precise and Clear

You must be precise and clear about what you want to convey to the person who is on the other side of the phone. You may want to sell a product or a service, find out some key information, pass on information or conduct a survey. It is important to know what you want to communicate and your outcome of the call, this will make your job focused and easier. Your confidence level increases resulting in achieving your objective of the phone call.

Plan Your Cold Call

Always plan your Cold Call. Prepare the list that you would like to convey beforehand. A planned approach demonstrates professionalism, making the receiver of the call want to listen to what you have to say.

Show Empathy

When you are about to speak to a prospective client you must understand that you are going to interrupt their work. So be empathetic, convey to them that you respect their time and convey the statement to the point. Do not prolong the conversation with irrelevant chats. Be confident and smile (of course the other person cannot see you smile) but it brings in more comfort in you and helps you go through with your conversation over the phone.

Be Energetic and Enthusiastic

The key to any success of your cold call is showing your enthusiasm and energy over the phone. You can use motion oriented languages that transfer all your energy to the prospective client that lead to enthusiastic buyers.

Build Trust

During your telephone conversation you must focus on building rapport and trust, as this will be helpful for forthcoming conversations that will lead to productive business relationships.

Most of us spend time updating our online profile in various social networking websites such as Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. but we may not know that potential employers screen through the information that you have posted across these social networking websites.

Yes, it is true, the fact is, almost 50% of employers use social networking websites to screen potential candidates. Employers were researching job candidates on social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. The study conducted revealed that one third of employers were not interested in giving appointment letters to some candidates based on their content on various social networking websites.

The study also indicated that Facebook was the most popular social networking website where employers carried out research on job candidates. Some followed job candidates on Twitter.

The key factors that employers looked at to decide on whether or not to recruit were photos, references to drinking, drugs and inappropriate posts, as well as negative comments about previous employers, co-workers and bad communication skills.

On the other hand, there is still an opportunity to use your social presence to your advantage and land that job. The study also showed that one fourth of employers decided to recruit candidates based on the contents they found in the social networking sites.

How Can You Guard Your Social Networking Profile?

• Change your privacy settings in your social networking site
• Be selective in the groups that you join online
• Do not write negatively about employers
• Be careful with your choice of words when commenting on others
• Create Separate Personal and Professional profiles
• Remove inappropriate photos

Now, its up to you to maintain your online profile to your advantage!

Despite the desirability of experience as a “wish list item” on any hiring manager’s checklist, job seekers, especially those over forty, often fear losing out to their younger competitors. Notwithstanding protection from anti-discrimination laws, a few creative strategies can transform your resume into a powerful document that not only showcases your hard-earned experience, but also downplays the age factor (“A-Factor”).

As a career coach and professional resume writer, I work with thousands of accomplished professionals and executives, some with over three decades of experience. Though not appropriate in all cases, here are some strategies I have used to de-age resumes without compromising experience:

Take years off your resume

Experience is certainly a prized positioning strategy, especially for senior-level candidates, but that doesn’t mean one should go all the way back to the 60’s. In my opinion, fifteen years of recent employment chronology is sufficient to market a professional’s background.

In unique situations where a job seeker’s background — and the position’s requirements — merits detailing older positions, consider creating an “additional experience” section without dates. Eliminating dates can be very useful for the education summary as well, especially if your bachelor’s degree was obtained in or prior to the 80’s.

Highlight your work with younger markets, technologies, or products

If you recently worked on a marketing campaign targeting Generation Z or contributed toward the development of a cutting-edge product, mention it at the beginning of your resume. A summary section may be the most appropriate place to highlight this experience. For technology workers, start your professional proficiencies section with technologies, systems, processes, and strategies that are truly cutting-edge.

Expertise in state-of-the-art technologies can give you a solid competitive boost, especially if your profession is constantly evolving.

Emphasize your ability to connect with younger peers

Almost no executive can claim to have risen to the ranks without training Ms. Robinson, the intern, or Smith, the entry level professional and yet this information is almost never found on the resume. The ability to connect with younger professionals is an excellent indicator of a senior-level professional’s flexibility.

Stay abreast

Add a “Professional Development” section to your resume to identify your continuing education efforts. The section can send a strong message to recruiters that you are actively upgrading your skills.

Leverage social media

Add Web 2.0 tools, such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, and other social networking strategies to your job search arsenal. The advent of Web 2.0 and social media has impacted the job search landscape significantly. Recruiters and hiring managers often use these tools to find and evaluate candidates and a meaningful presence on the social media circuit can be an important contributor toward your job search success.

(This article published in www.techcareers.com)