Are your telemarketers achieving the goals you set for them?
For B2B company owners and directors it can be a worry when a marketing campaign isn’t achieving the results they want.
They may attribute the lack of success to their telemarketers who may not be experienced or skilled enough to achieve a successful outcome.
However, when planned well and executed by skilled and experiences staff it is still the case that B2B telemarketing can open new doors for a business.
Use it for market research, as part of an account based marketing strategy or to collect accurate information for deploying other B2B marketing methods.
Because B2B telemarketing involves talking to a range of professionals at various levels, there are certain characteristics required of telemarketers.
The most effective telemarketers understand the psychology of the sales process alongside having an in-depth knowledge of the products and services they are promoting.
Training and coaching can help your existing telemarketing team to develop these traits.
What else do we know about successful telemarketers?
1. They plan ahead.
An effective telemarketer prepares before contacting a new prospect or following up with them.
Performance always improves with planning, and the way B2B telemarketing companies prepare is what makes them successful.
Prior to a phone call with prospects, most telemarketers prepare what to say to them, so they are prepared to answer impromptu questions confidently.
2. Their B2B contact data lists are always spotless
It is imperative to have clean, accurate, up-to-date data lists tailored, not just to your organisation, but also to the specific campaign.
You cannot build a successful campaign without solid, reliable data.
Any professional telemarketing agency providing B2B telemarketing services will attest that they frequently spend most of their time cleaning data at the start of an outsourced campaign.
Remember, data changes all the time, so make sure yours is up to date before starting to use it.
3. They are extremely accurate, and excellent problem solvers
The best telemarketers have a thorough understanding of the company’s products and services.
Communication is critical to solving problems for customers and maintaining long-term B2B buyer relationships.
4. They build relationships with your prospects
Building relationships with prospects is essential.
Your direct marketing campaign will allow you to monitor how prospects interact with your messaging.
This helps you to gain a deeper understanding of your leads and develop a more effective strategy for contacting them.
Send them an email marketing message before you call, and then send a personalised follow-up email to recap and elaborate on your offering.
5. They have a call brief prepared…
A marketer never speaks to a potential customer without a call brief to guide them through the call.
However, this should be a guide only.
A telemarketer’s job is to make conversations with prospects and get them to give you the information you need.
Sticking rigidly to a script makes it difficult to build rapport with a lead.
6. …but they are flexible
Telemarketing is a great alternative if other marketing routes haven’t proved successful.
However, not every campaign is successful, and an effective telemarketer needs to know when to change course, and when to stop.
In order to achieve this flexible approach, appropriate KPIs and measures need to be in place.
A B2B telemarketing campaign manager must be aware when to make changes and when to be patient when results don’t appear right away.
There are several possible reasons why a campaign may fail. Poor data is one possibility. There may be a particular objection that the telemarketer struggles to overcome, or they may not understand the proposition altogether.
In a high cost and long-contract environment, the industry you are targeting could just be too difficult to enter.
Flexible and transparent B2B telemarketing campaigns combine persistence and pragmatism with flexibility to produce successful results.
7. Each call teaches them something.
You should provide your B2B telemarketers with the freedom to use their initiative.
They are there to assist you in gathering additional information and details about your potential clients to improve your future marketing campaigns.
By asking simple questions, they can learn who your competitors are, what their buying habits are, and the extent of your company reach.
All of this will be valuable for future direct and digital marketing campaigns.
8. They call at the right time
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of timing.
Make sure to research the best time to contact prospects. Many key decision-makers don’t work 9 to 5 – so consider the regular working hours of each prospect.
Additionally, if you send a marketing email, call them right away – while they’re still thinking about your company and offering.
9. They listen actively
When you’ve mastered active listening, you will have more control over conversations and sales calls.
Listening is often neglected during sales or introductory calls since we’re so intent on getting our own message across.
By actively listening to your prospect, you will learn more about their goals and how to approach a B2B sale by tailoring your call to your prospect’s needs.
10. They are eager to follow up and take action as soon as possible
B2B lead generation specialists never use the same approach to follow up on a conversation with a qualified lead – although they may well refer to the notes from the previous conversation.
Telemarketers should also remember to provide any marketing materials they have promised to their sales leads.
Don’t wait until the end of the day to send it, send it right there and then. If you leave it any longer, you could lose your lead – they could forget your conversation or believe that your business is unreliable.
More Than Words Marketing is an outbound telemarketing UK based company specialising in providing campaigns to B2B, schools and the public sector.
Get in touch to ask us about our B2B telemarketing service, and how it could help your business with market research, B2B appointment setting, lead generation and brand awareness.
We are available on 0330 010 8300 or you can email info@morethanwordsuk.co.uk