An introduction to Telemarketing
If you ask most people what they think Telemarketing is they will tell you that it is those annoying and unsolicited phone calls trying to sell you things you don’t need, or worse, to trick you into giving away your bank details. While there is an unavoidable element of this, it is in no way the full story.
To put it simply, Telemarketing is something every business needs to carry out in some form in order to be successful. There will always be a need for calls to set appointments, generate leads, close sales, carry out market research and service customer needs. Here we outline the basics and the pitfalls:
Appointment Setting
Most firms need to book appointments with prospects and clients. However, setting an appointment isn´t always as simple as it seems. It can take a certain amount of diplomacy and skill to convince someone to interrupt their day for a sales call or meeting.
Lead Generation
In order to set an appointment you must first generate a lead. Leads can be generated through call backs, or via a referral.
Call backs involve a series of cold calls that hopefully will lead to a request for more information, an appointment or a sale. With your competitors all vying for the same customers it´s important to keep your company name in the forefront of the prospects mind. They may not be interested now, but when the time comes you may be the one they contact because yours is the name they remember. This kind of calling takes patience, dedication and occasionally a thick skin – something which many employees struggle with.
Referrals are easier because they come from a known source. A contact gives you information on a new or potential lead and can also help you to create a relationship with the person. Again this sounds simple, but very often staff in contact with clients either forget or are uncomfortable to ask for a referral for fear of souring their relationship.
Customer Service
Customer service is a large part of Telemarketing that is often neglected by even the best companies. The truth is that sales people spend a great deal of time landing the account and making sales, but forget to really take care of the customer´s needs. Without attention to customer satisfaction there is no credibility in your services. It’s important to make the customer feel cared for, or eventually they will take their business elsewhere.
As you can see, while these calls are a key part of running a modern business, they are often not as simple as they sound. If managing relationships with your prospects and clients is important to your business, it might be a good idea to use a professional telemarketing company like Teleleads to carry out these calls on your behalf.
