Much like all areas of marketing, telemarketing has had to adapt and change to modern business practices. Both in the way that telemarketing is conducted, language and phraseology, although traditional selling methodologies can be utilised, the language and technology used to deliver the messaging have changed over recent years. As has how the messaging is received by prospects.
Long gone are the days of opening the Yellow Pages and calling through to try and win business.
Effective, modern telemarketing consists of planning, preparation and utilising modern techniques. By modern, we don’t mean the automated “you’ve been in an accident” calls that many of you will have received. But instead by utilising email marketing platforms, LinkedIn, the right CRM system etc.
In this article, we will look at how telemarketing has changed from the boiler room style of sales teams “hammering the phone” to becoming an effective way of generating sales-qualified B2B leads alongside social media platforms.
Lead Generation Through Social Media
LinkedIn on its own can be a powerful tool for building new relationships, along with maintaining those all-important existing relationships. From a telemarketing perspective, it’s a highly effective tool that should be utilised effectively to help enhance your database and solidify opportunities.
As mentioned previously, telemarketing has had to adapt to the way that modern B2B buyers make purchases. Because of the changes in how modern B2B buyers interact with prospective companies, you may need to market your company directly to multiple members of the Decision-Making Unit, DMU, or provide additional supporting literature.
The days of simply referring to your colleague as a great telemarketer and expecting people to take them seriously without any tangible proof are long gone.
The Importance of Data
When sourcing data, you should consider the types of companies you intend to sell to before choosing data that has an identified contact who is likely a DMU member.
Until you call into the business, you’re not going to know if the named contact is responsible for purchasing what you have to offer unless you only sell to business owners.
For example, let’s take telecoms. You’re calling into a business to discuss their phone system and what you can offer them.
The likelihood is that there are going to be multiple Decision Makers involved within the buying process:
IT Director / Managers or Telecommunication Managers
The chances are that, when a business comes to look at a new phone system, the IT Director, or Manager, is going to be responsible for speaking with prospective suppliers. Therefore, you’re most likely going to source data where the name of either the IT Director or Manager is available.
When whittling down the list of potential suppliers though, there are going to be other Decision Makers involved within that process.
Financial Directors
Once the prospective suppliers have been chosen and submitted their reports, at this stage, the Financial Director will likely get involved to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of each potential supplier.
Whilst price may be a contributing factor to the FD’s Decision Making, the FD is also going to be considering the ongoing costs.
If you are marketing to the FD from an early stage in the consideration phase of your sales cycle, then you’re more likely to win the FD over!
Try connecting with the FD on LinkedIn and incorporating them into your email marketing.
Business Owners
The ultimate decision, depending on the business’ size, is going to sit with the business owner(s).
Again, try connecting with them on LinkedIn so that they can see the content that you’re sharing and include them in your email marketing campaigns.
By understanding the personas of those who make up your Decision-Making Unit, you can then begin marketing to each of the members.
You can achieve this without using LinkedIn, but the chances of a Gatekeeper providing you with all the information you need is rather slim!
CRM With Email Marketing Functionality
There is a myriad of CRM systems out there, and this blog is not about which CRM system you should be choosing. However, with modern telemarketing, it’s highly beneficial to have everything in one place, including:
- Data, such as all members of the Decision-Making Unit to compliment your email marketing tools.
- An automated email marketing service with the ability to send templated emails.
- The ability to send email marketing campaigns that update on a contact level on how prospects are engaging.
With the ever-changing technology readily available to marketers, telemarketers are no exception! By having the power to automate certain elements and hone in on those prospects most likely to engage, you’re likely to see an increase in your conversion and click through rates.
Ultimately, the goal is to maximise engagement and customer interaction to keep your product or services fresh in their minds.
Ensuring that you have the right technology in place to support your telemarketing is vitally important if you’re interested in converting as many conversations as possible!
At The Lead Gen Specialists, we understand the power of modern telemarketing, and how it can supercharge your lead generation, and marketing, activity. If you’re looking to engage with prospects, build out an enriched database and ultimate generate new sales leads, contact us today on 03332 400 054 or email enquiries@leadgenspecialists.co.uk
