Telemarketing is a powerful tool for generating and qualifying business-to-business leads, as well as setting appointments, but only if you do it right. So how do you get the most out of your B2B telemarketing program? Follow these 7 tips and you’ll be well on your way to success.
Jeff Kalter is CEO of 3D2B, a global business-to-business telemarketing company that bridges the divide between marketing and sales. He leads customer acquisition programs for Fortune 500 companies, and is passionate about building strong business relationships through professional phone conversations.
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- Do it with Dedicated Agents
Many companies outsource their telemarketing to a teleservices company; however, they may not be aware of how the telemarketing agents work. In many teleservices companies, telemarketing agents are expected to work for several clients at the same time.
The company may believe this maximizes output, but it doesn’t lead to the best quality calls. While we might think that multitasking works, in reality the brain can only store five to nine things in short term memory. And you need at least that many nuggets of information just to handle one campaign for one client. - Leap Over the Language Barrier
Business-to-business telemarketers are often working with complex products that have a lingo of their own. So you don’t want to add any more language barriers. The best way to do this is to assure that agents’ native language is that of their target audience. Also, you’ll want to get them up to speed on the buzz words that relate to the product or solution they are calling about. - Train Your Telemarketers
Hire well-educated telemarketers who are rimed to soak up training on new products and industries. Then train them on product selling points, frequently asked questions, customer pain points, competition, target industries, and your company’s value proposition.
Also, teach them about the power of your CRM system, how to use it best and the value of capturing all critical information. - Go Unscripted
Consumer marketers work tirelessly to hone their scripts and capture every nuance for a persuasive sale. But a script doesn’t work in business-to-business telemarketing. That’s because conversations need to focus on the prospect and solving their problems. You want agents to have free-flowing conversations and this cannot happen if they are supposed to read a script word for word. Instead, give them some talking points, and, as I said before, train them well. - Listen Actively
Let your telemarketers know that their prime goal is to ask questions and listen. It’s not until they truly understand the prospect’s problems and goals that they can craft a solution and explain how it will help. - All Telemarketers Act as Part of Your Company
It doesn’t matter whether you’re using outsourced telemarketing agents or your own internal staff; anyone who makes calls for you has to represent him or herself as part of your company. - Respond in Real Time
If your company is receiving inbound Web leads, set up your processes and systems to pre-qualify those leads online and respond to those with a high level of interest within 5 minutes. This will multiply your opportunities.