Improved Telemarketing Practices to Achieve Better Results

When you hear the word telemarketing, what do you get reminded of? Like most people, you probably associate telemarketing with interrupted dinners and phone calls about product offerings that you think you don’t need. This is why many companies and telemarketing agencies have started to re-examine their telemarketing programs and practices. In many occasions, the challenge lies not with the telemarketing services being employed, but with how telemarketing is practiced and implemented.

Doing sales or marketing in the phone is not easy as it seems to be, nevertheless, one telemarketing strategy does not work for all people or company. The key to gaining success in this marketing medium is a made-to-measure technique. This technique involves making considerations as to how your program will fit your sales goals and how well your customers or prospects will perceive your efforts. Taking a glance at the kind of information you will provide and the techniques you will use to reach your customers or potential clients. A customized telemarketing approach has a greater chance of success than an indeterminate outbound calling campaign.

Business-to-business telemarketing is very distinct from business-to-consumer telemarketing mainly because B2B phone marketing demands focus on satisfying the needs of the business in a manner which will be profitable for them too. Most company leaders and executives rarely have the opportunity to discuss product or service specifics over the phone with every single telemarketer who calls. Top-level decision-makers normally pick and select from a group of providers that they think have the probability to give them what they really need before agreeing to talk to a telemarketer on the telephone. In many situations, an email catalog sent prior to the cold-call helps in reaching out to the prospective client because it gives them a chance to review and acquaint themselves with the product or service offer.

Due to the fact that key decision-makers are normally too busy or pressed for time, many telemarketers these days contact their mobile phones to reach them. Although this can be a better way to get a hold of prospects, cold-calling agents need to be extremely careful and will have to always request for permission to call them or send them product-related SMS. This is because of the federal and state telemarketing laws that have become rigid towards calling mobile phones for telesales. It is crucial to acquire permission from clients or prospective customers before committing in this practice to avoid being complained and worst, be penalized. Text messaging can be effective in reaching your prospective customers and be supplemental to your telemarketing efforts BUT make sure that you adhere to the telemarketing laws accordingly.

In the world of marketing and advertising, there are several instances when there is no easier and better way to reach your customers and prospects but to call them. This is particularly true when building your pipeline. Telemarketing is by far the best method to use for lead generation and appointment setting. The key is to apply variety on your telemarketing activities instead of sticking to the old script reading and canned responses that discourage customers and potential clients. The most important is, teleselling people should conduct themselves as professional telemarketers. The calls must be about the prospective client and not about the company being represented. Representatives should focus on identifying the customers’ needs and demands and demonstrate how the product or service can benefit them because with every telemarketing call they get, the ultimate question is “What’s in it for us?”.

Copyright (c) 2010 Matthew Harman