b2b Telemarketing

It is a fact of life as a salesperson that you need someone to talk to so here we look at b2b telemarketing.

Telemarketing has taken a bit of a hit with the scammers crowding the market with rubbish calls.

This means however that you just need to be a bit smarter. I cover some of this under cold calling which is basically the same thing.

Warm calling

I believe warm calling is always preferable. Send an introductory email and tell them what to expect.

Then when you call you have a far greater chance of acceptance.

When this is not possible you can take a direct course of action.

You can do one of two things here; Outsource or in-house.

Outsourcing is an expensive option but when volume is the need you may not have an option.

The important functions

Your success will depend on several important functions.

The list. Is it current and is it targeted?
Your script does it have a relevant call to action
The follow-up.

I would always suggest a trial run so you can compute forecast results. I had a mate just this week invested $5k in a plan and got 4 referrals, was he happy? No way but he needs to take a bit of the blame.

If it is not working give up. Restart new and try again.

In-House telemarketing

Now, this is a different thing. You or your staff are going to do the heavy work.

You still need a list and a basic script but this is where I get different.

First up is the introduction. How much do you hate it when a stranger call and says,” Hi Bill how are you today” They don’t care how you are, you don’t want to tell them so don’t do it.

It is a b2b introduction so be brief and get to the point.

Follow a script. Again I will stray from the rules and say only loosely. Yes, you need pointers on what you want to cover but not sound like a Google robot.

Every story has an element of intrigue, we can fix a problem you don’t know you have do you want to hear more.

Purpose of the call. This is a very important matter.

Are you calling to sell yourself or company and get permission to come back with more?
Do you want an email address and permission to start marketing by email to the appropriate person?
Will you try and sell on the first ( and possibly) the last call.
Are you billing a database?

We all learn early in the journey that people buy from you when they like and trust you.
This is particularly hard to build in a single phone call so consider a planned approach to the market.

Never, ever overtalk a conversation.

Don’t EVER over talk the conversation, If you get a yes in either soft or hard format get the details and get off the phone. A polite way of saying this is Shut Up and walk away.

What do I mean by a soft yes? This is one where they agree to give you their email or provide you the correct person to talk to.
A hard yes is do you want to buy, yes, how many, thank you and goodbye.

I believe you should do this in bites of time. It is a hard slog and you really need to be motivated.
Droning on for hours on end is tedious and your performance will drop.

If you set a target work to the target and then break. I often find that I really rev up as I get to the end of a call list and need to meet my objective. I don’t mean get pushy just better.

The satisfaction from a good return from your calls is a real buzz but if you are ploughing along and getting nowhere change something. Have a break, change the script, jump around the list anything to build the excitement in your delivery.

Finally, yes, it is hard work but it can be very rewarding if done correctly.