AIR: An acronym for a technique for overcoming customer objections.
  Agree
  Isolate and
  Rebut.

Abandon Rate: The percentage of total calls that hang-up prior to being answered.

Activation questions help develop the prospect's understanding of the seriousness of a difficulty.

Adaptive selling occurs when a salesperson alters their selling behaviors during a sales call or across sales calls, based on information about the nature of the selling situation.

Advances are sales calls where the salesperson obtains a specific commitment that brings the prospect closer to making a purchasing decision, while Continuations are sales calls where the salesperson fails to obtain any specific commitment that will bring the prospect closer to making a purchasing decision.

Advantages show how a feature can help any purchaser.

Analyticals (Thinkers) are individuals who emphasize facts and logic in making decisions. They are low on assertiveness and low on responsiveness.

Approach refers to the initial contact between a salesperson and a potential buyer. There are many approach methods: introduction, referral, benefit, product, compliment, question, and others.

Assertiveness is a measure of a person's desire to take charge and get things done quickly. Highly assertive people speak out and seek a fast pace.

Assessment questions are used to gather information about the person you are meeting with and their company.

Assumptive Close: Attempting a sales close from the introduction by assuming the person called with the intention to buy.

Average Talk Time: The average per call time TSRs spend on the phone.

Benefits are the answers to Projection questions; they tell us how a solution to a difficulty will make life easier for this particular prospect.

Buying signals are verbal and non-verbal indications that a prospect may be ready to make a purchasing decision.

CPM: A media buying term referring to the number of calls generated per $1000 of media spend.

Catalog Orders: Calls on products that are advertised in our MPDirect catalog.

Check By Phone: A method of payment where the customer reads off check information and it is processed electronically.

Close Rate: The percentage of calls the TSR successfully converts into credit card or check by phone sales.

Closing is a common term for requesting commitment from a prospective customer. It refers to helping them make a purchasing decision.

Coherent conversations are ones where the communication follows a logical order: statements relate to the statements that preceded them.

Complaint objections are statements by prospects that they are dissatisfied with some aspect of a salesperson's product or service, and that they want this dissatisfaction resolved.

Continuations are sales calls where the salesperson fails to obtain any specific commitment that will bring the prospect closer to making a purchasing decision, while Advances are sales calls where the salesperson obtains a specific commitment that brings the prospect closer to making a purchasing decision.

Credibility means that the person is perceived as being believable and reliable.
Cross Sell: Additional items added to the package, enhancing the original purchase.

DNIS: A number assigned for identifying the media use of 800#s. The acronym stands for Dialed Number Identification Service.

Deciders are buying center members who make the final selection of the product to be purchased.

Delayed Billing: An alternate and very beneficial approach where customers are able to try a product before being billed for the product.

Direct Close: Closing approach where because of strong buying signals, the TSR proceeds directly to closing the sale.

Discovery questions are used to learn the specific dissatisfactions that might cause someone to want to make a purchase.

Email Lead: Having secured a customer’s address, MediaPower can present discount product offers via email.

Encouraging is letting prospects know that you want them to communicate any doubts or concerns they may have.

Explicit needs are those difficulties prospects face that they have specifically stated they need to do something about.

Features are facts, data, or information about your product.

Gatekeepers are buying center members who control the flow of information.

Implication questions are the same as Activation questions.

Implied needs are those difficulties prospects face that seem to deserve a solution, but for which they have not yet specifically stated they need a solution.

Inbound: Telemarketing calls where the customer is calling you in response to some form of advertisement.

Indirect Close: Closing technique where the TSR works around the order form, prompting the customer for missing information and eventually asking for a method of payment.

Inserts: Print inserts included with customer purchases to introduce them to new products.

Lead is a person or organization that may have the characteristics of a prospect (someone with a need, the ability to pay, the authority to buy, etc.).

Limitation objections are statements by prospects that they believe a product has some unchangeable characteristics that will limit the use of the product.

Long-Form Infomercials: Advertising in a ½ hour infomercial format on either radio or television.

Major sales are those that involve a long selling cycle, a large customer commitment, an ongoing relationship, and/or large risks for the purchaser if a poor decision is made.

Media Buying: The purchasing of advertising space. Through negotiating lower rates and analyzing the ad effectiveness, good media buying can dramatically improve your campaign’s profits.

Media Ratio: A prime metric of campaign success, this is the ratio of revenue generated per dollar of media spending.

Minor Agreement Question: A sales technique where the TSR asks a small question leading to asking a final closing question. Ex., Which do you prefer, vanilla or chocolate?

MOP: Method Of Payment, typically credit or debit cards, check by phone, check or money order.

Need payoff questions are a combination of a summary and a Transition question.

Objections are statements from prospects that they need more information before they can make a decision to purchase a product.

Open-ended questions are questions that require the person answering to go beyond a simple yes/no type response.

Option Close: Closing technique where the customer is presented with a number of different package options.

Outbound: Telemarketing where calls are placed out, contacting potential customers.

Paid Close Rate: Close rate for MediaPower on long form advertising.

Phone Time: Total time that TSRs spend logged into the phone system.

Post-purchase dissonance is the insecurity a purchaser feels about whether the choice was a wise one; also called buyer's remorse.

Preferred Customer Program: Program for the automatic shipment of future orders at a discounted price. Also known as continuity, autoship or a club.

Preliminaries are the first few things a salesperson does at the start of the face-to-face portion of the first sales call.

Print Advertising: Product advertising that appears in newspapers and magazines.

Probing Questions: Questions during the Discovery phase of call, typically open-ended.

Problem questions are the same as Discovery questions.

Projection questions ask the prospect to "project" what life could be like if the difficulties uncovered through Discovery and Activation questions could be solved.

Qualified prospects are eligible to buy, can be approached favorably, have a need, and have the ability and authority to purchase.

Quantifying a Solution involves explaining to a prospect how much a proposed solution will cost. Often, salespeople will present a comparative cost-benefit analysis, the expected return on investment, the payback period, or the net present value as a way of making the investment look more reasonable.

Rapport occurs when a close, harmonious relationship is founded on mutual trust.

Recovery: An attempt to recover non-sale customers who called initially with an alternate sales offer.

Referral approach consists of using the name of a satisfied customer or friend of the prospect at the beginning of a sales call.

Re-Orders: Previous customers who call back to order again.

Responsiveness indicates whether people try to control their emotions. Highly responsive people readily express their emotions, and are more people-oriented than task-oriented.

Revenue: Total processed sales revenue.

RPC: Revenue Per Call

RPO: Revenue Per Order

The “Rule”: The Telemarketing Sales Rule, originally adopted in 1995, revised in 2001 and 2003 to include “Do Not Call” provisions.

Rush: A much quicker shipping option for customers.

Scripts: The telemarketing sales script that agents follow when speaking with customers.

Service Calls: Calls where MediaPower is only handling the call itself, not the media buying, creative or customer service.

Skepticism objections are statements by prospects that they are not convinced your product will do what you have claimed.

Social styles are patterns of communication behaviors that people use when interacting with one another.

Socratic Openers are open-ended questions that ask prospects what is important to them about the topic of a meeting, and that explain that it will be to their benefit to answer the question.

SPIFF: Special Performance Incentive For Fun. Cash bonuses for agents for adding Cross Sells, Rushes and Autoships to orders.

Spot advertising: Advertising in 30 or 60 second radio and TV spots as opposed to long form infomercials.

Talk Time: The total talk time for TSRs.

Telemarketing Sales Representatives (TSR): The sales agents who handle your phone calls.

Tie-Down Question: A sales question that ties the customer’s need into the sale. Ex., It seems Healthiest Heart would help your cholesterol problem, wouldn’t it?

Transition questions tell us whether the prospect feels they need to take action. If the prospect says yes, s/he has stated an explicit need.

Trial closes are questions the salesperson asks during a sales call to find out whether the prospect is getting close to making a purchasing decision.

Upsell: Moving a customer to a larger package than they had previously been interested in.

Word pictures are stories designed to help someone visualize a situation.