The importance of telemarketing is it can in create a meaningful two-way conversation with budget holders in businesses, schools, and the public sector

Some businesses avoid telemarketing because they don’t want to appear intrusive.

This viewpoint is outdated, and does not reflect how most businesses run marketing campaigns today. 

More Than Words Marketing has successfully run campaigns to businesses, schools, and the public sector. Our telemarketing service helps clients connect with their customers more effectively.

In this article, let’s talk about telemarketing and how to implement a solid telemarketing strategy.

Understand the importance of telemarketing

What is telemarketing?

Direct marketing over the phone is called telemarketing (or telesales). Telephone marketing calls used to be taboo amongst business circles due to their unsolicited nature.

The industry has developed over time as marketers adapt their tactics and policies to comply with laws and regulations. But telemarketing today has a new image that reflects the benefits and importance of telemarketing – especially when integrated with direct marketing.

Types of telemarketing

The scope of telemarketing is wide and ensures you can achieve whatever your business wants with marketing calls.

Telemarketers can perform activities such as:

• sales,
• setting appointments,
• database cleansing,
• customer service,
• following up on email campaigns, and
• market research.

There are four main categories:

Inbound

Inbound telemarketing is when a business contacts customers who have made inbound enquiries about a product or service. It could also be answering inquiries or orders from potential customers.

Outbound

Outbound telemarketing involves contacting prospective clients and customers. It could be for the purpose of making a sale or generating leads and sales in the future. 

Telemarketers need to be knowledgeable about the process, what they are trying to do, and how to address questions and objections.

Lead generation

Lead generation calls are made by salespeople after they have made the first contact or researched the prospect. 

Often, lead generation occurs after another form of direct marketing, such as email or direct mail.

Sales

The most persuasive type of telemarketing is sales calls. It is usually carried out by trained telesales professionals.

Attributes of telemarketing professionals

Even though businesses with low budgets may choose to handle telemarketing in-house, the skilled nature of the job often requires outsourcing to a telemarketing company.

In most cases, the value of telemarketers with these skills outweighs the cost of the service.

Telemarketing professionals need the following skills:

Consistency

An experienced telemarketing team is invaluable, especially for businesses selling to other businesses, schools, and the public sector. These areas have longer sales cycles, and businesses must convince leaders that they can deliver on their promises.

The ability to listen and learn

There will be challenges to overcome in a business to business relationship. A good telemarketer is able to listen to prospects and take their reservations into account, tailoring their ongoing conversations accordingly.

While telemarketing scripts are great for early contact, the best teams will also be able to work independently as the relationship develops.

An understanding of the company they are working for

Telemarketers who are outsourced must understand the specific business they are representing. This means they need to understand your product or service’s features and benefits in depth in order to sell them to prospects.

The importance of using telemarketing

Statistics for the features and importance of telemarketing are compelling. According to research from The Rain Group , 69% of buyers say that they accepted one or more cold calls in 2019.

The study also found that 82% of buyers have accepted meetings from sales professionals following cold calls. The idea that buyers in B2B or public sectors don’t want to hear from sellers is false.

When offered something of value, they are open to cold calling.

The importance of telemarketing for sales

Telemarketing offers prospects a more personal sale experience. Direct contact can lead to more trust in a company and its product or service than contacting the company online.

A telemarketing call allows a business to:

• open a dialogue and create a rapport with a potential customer,
• ask questions and explain technical issues more clearly,
• reach more customers easily, even those who are geographically far away, and
• achieve measurable results

The importance of telemarketing for generating leads

With telemarketing, you will generate more leads and acquire more customers since the prospect can ask questions. 

A lead generation call warms prospects to the business and provides the business with more in-depth information about a new customer.

In turn, this makes it easier for sales teams to close the sale. Lead generation has been found to increase sales opportunities by 20%

Telemarketing- the advantages

Cost-efficient

Telemarketing provides an excellent return on investment, even if you hire a company to conduct the calls. 

Telemarketing’s effectiveness rate is over 90%, according to a study by the DMA Contact Centers and Telemarketing Council.

A professional telemarketing service is recommended to make the calls, as they are highly trained and skilled.

Helps you to grow your business

Telemarketing is one of the best ways for you to find and connect with new customers. In addition, it keeps existing customers informed about your new offers, products and services. 

Business growth requires a marketing channel that works for both customer acquisition and retention.

Fully measurable

For understanding the success of your marketing campaigns, telemarketing key performance indicators (KPI) are vital. 

A KPI is a measure of success you apply to any campaign to decide how to proceed. 

During telemarketing calls, you can measure your responses against KPIs and report prospects’ individual concerns.

Telemarketing- best practices

The best practices for telemarketing you should follow include:

Multi-channel integration

Multiple contact methods (such as email, social media, digital marketing) are often required to convert customers. Telemarketing calls should always be part of a wider marketing campaign.

Company knowledge and understanding

Telephone marketers must know who they’re calling for, who they’re making calls to and have product knowledge, as well as answering possible questions. 

Additionally, they should be trained in how to handle purchase objections in a polite, friendly way.

Customer information

Telemarketers should also know why they are calling contacts. 

The contact may have made an online enquiry or received a marketing email. They might have clicked through from a sponsored ad to the business’s website.

This information enables marketers to tailor their calls.