Telesales Management Course: Conversion Targets, Offer Design and Fair Selling Conduct

Programme Summary

Telesales management is the subject of this one-week training course for heads of inbound and outbound telephone sales and commercial managers at managerial level, ending in a telesales operating plan for one sales team. Many telephone teams chase volume while offers, scripts and add-on rules go untested, and customers notice pressure rather than value. The programme moves from the sales funnel to diagnosis of lost conversion, then to design of offers, targets and conduct rules, and finally to a plan a sponsor can approve. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on telesales management to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Telephone sales results depend on choices made well before a call: which customers are called, which offer is made and how success is measured. Targets that reward volume alone push agents towards pressure and complaints. Tested offers, sound conduct rules and steady coaching let a manager raise conversion while keeping customer trust and explain the result to a finance sponsor.

• Conversion Rate: Rises as offers, call openings and objection handling are tested and refined.
• Average Basket Value: Grows as upselling and cross-selling rules match add-ons to the customer need.
• Cancellations and Complaints: Fall as selling conduct rules are written, monitored and coached.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 18295-1 Customer Contact Centres: Supplies the service requirements against which selling conduct rules and call monitoring are reviewed in Sessions 3 and 4.
• Conversion Funnel Analysis: Structures the measurement of lists, contacts, offers and closed sales used in Sessions 1 and 2.
• Controlled A/B Testing: Governs the comparison of two offers or call openings designed in Session 3.
• Pareto Analysis: Directs diagnosis towards the few causes of lost sales and cancellations, applied in Session 2.

Intended Participants

• Heads of telephone sales who answer for revenue from inbound and outbound calls.
• Commercial managers who set offers, targets and incentive rules.
• Contact centre managers who add selling to a service operation.
• Quality and coaching leaders who monitor calls and develop team leaders.

Typical settings include telecommunications, insurance, retail banking, subscription services and utilities.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to diagnose where a telephone sales funnel loses prospects, using call and outcome data.
2. Participants will be able to construct offers and add-on rules that match customer need.
3. Participants will be able to evaluate two competing offers through a controlled test.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise conversion targets and incentives that avoid pressure selling.
5. Participants will be able to design a coaching routine from call review findings.
6. Participants will be able to justify a telesales operating plan to a commercial sponsor.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Telesales Management and the Sales Funnel

Where does revenue come from in a telephone sales operation, and how is it measured?

• Conversion Funnel Map
• Inbound and Outbound Call Models
• Lead and List Quality Check
• Revenue Metric Tree
• Results Baseline Sheet

Day 2: Diagnosing Lost Sales and Cancellations

Why do prospects drop out, and which causes matter most?

• Call Outcome Coding Frame
• Lost Sale Pareto Chart
• Objection Log Analysis
• Cancellation and Return Review
• Call Sample Scoring Exercise

Day 3: Designing Offers, Upselling Rules and Tests

Which offers and add-ons suit the customer, and how is that proved?

• Offer Fit Matrix
• Upselling and Cross-Selling Rule Sheet
• Script Opening Redesign
• A/B Test Plan for Two Offers
• Selling Conduct Rules against ISO 18295-1

Day 4: Targets, Incentives and Coaching

How are targets and coaching set so that sales rise without pressure?

• Target Cascade Worksheet
• Incentive Risk Review
• Call Monitoring Form
• Coaching Conversation Guide
• Management Dashboard Layout

Day 5: Operating Plan for One Sales Team

Do the earlier tools form one plan that a sponsor can approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Funnel Map
• Testing the Session 2 Lost Sale Findings
• Checking the Session 3 Offer Rules
• Rehearsing the Session 4 Target Cascade
• Completing the Operating Plan and Sponsor Note

Methodology

The programme uses a data workshop built on a prepared file for two telephone sales teams, one in insurance and one in telecommunications, with call outcomes, offer variants, cancellation records and recorded call extracts. Participants work in small groups, analyse results, redesign offers and defend decisions to peers.

• Suggested activity: Reading a supplied funnel and ranking the causes of lost sales.
• Suggested activity: Writing add-on rules and testing them against sample customer profiles.
• Suggested activity: Scoring call extracts and agreeing coaching points in pairs.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a telesales operating plan for one sales team. It holds a funnel baseline, a ranked list of causes of lost sales, offer and add-on rules, a test plan, a target and incentive design and a coaching routine. The plan is used at work to brief a commercial sponsor and the team leaders who run the calls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a telesales management course suitable for managers who have not led a sales team before?

Yes. Telesales management is taught through a prepared case file, templates and worked examples. It assumes experience in sales, customer service or contact centre management, but no earlier training in testing or statistics.

Which standards does telesales management rest on?

Telesales management rests on ISO 18295-1 for customer contact centres, together with conversion funnel analysis, controlled A/B testing and Pareto analysis.

How is the plan from telesales management used at work?

You use the operating plan to brief your sponsor, agree targets and offer rules with team leaders and set the review routine for conversion, complaints and coaching.

How does telesales management differ from a sales skills programme for agents?

Telesales management concentrates on offers, targets, conduct rules and coaching decisions taken by managers, while a sales skills programme concentrates on how an agent handles each call.