Let’s be honest,
when most of us think of telemarketing we think of those annoying phone calls made to someone who hasn’t lived at your house for 15 years or by someone who appears to be trying to sell you pet togo cell phone database insurance for a dog which you don’t own and have absolutely no intention of owning either now or in the future.
Effective B2B telemarketing couldn’t be more different
If you want to improve your results, a top priority is to ensure that your telemarketing team do not view themselves in the same industry as the unsolicited B2C callers mentioned above.
Ensure your team understand their value.
Well-researched and well-planned B2B telemarketing is one of the most effective marketing assets a company can employ, and is widely welcomed by other businesses.
In a recent UK study of 200 business managers, telesales calls at work were voted one of the least annoying forms of advertising (polling just 4%), whilst 90% of marketing managers said that B2B telemarketing was either effective, or very effective, for their business.
Ensure your B2B data lists are spotlessly clean
Never underestimate the value of clean, up-to-date, targeted B2B marketing data, tailored not just to your business, but to the specific campaign (if you’ve just sold a software upgrade to a client, he’s going to be a bit peeved if you try and sell the same product at 25% off).
Develop realistic goals and a clear pipeline
Develop a clear structure for your campaign, and set goals for each call in the sequence, culminating in the ultimate outcome (appointment / sale / renewal etc.).
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither should your telemarketers be expected to broker a killer deal in a single cold-call.
Understand that good B2B telemarketing takes time
An analysis of 29,000 UK B2B telemarketing calls, showed that it took an average of 80 calls to develop a new opportunity. Success rates vary hugely by sector, so it pays to analyse your own team’s call conversion rates to set future goals and manage expectations.