Telemarketing is a great way to produce sales or make an appointment. Telemarketing is a superb way to make contact with customers as soon as they stop being customers. Sometimes that is all that is required to bring them back into the fold. Mention telemarketing, many small business owners and managers and you are likely to see uncertainty, doubt and confusion. Many of them confuse telemarketing with telesales. The only similarity between telemarketing and telesales is that they both use the telephone as a communication medium. But telemarketing is proven to deliver high quality appointments with specifically targeted, pre-qualified decision makers.
Targeted telemarketing can hugely increase your lead generation and conversion rates. If you’re selling complex and expensive products or services, the telephone is a key marketing tool - with an emphasis on the word “marketing”. It’s not just for sales people anymore. The secret of successful telemarketing lies in how you use it. Consider this; telemarketing is most effective when it is used as a supporting tool. Telemarketers most frequently represent easy-to-understand products and services and often do not receive extensive sales training. However, just about any marketing book you read will tell you it is easier/cheaper/more profitable to sell to existing customers than it is to gain a new one. Telemarketing to your existing customer base is an excellent way to inform them of all your products and services.
Some other advantages of telemarketing are that it can instantly allow you to identify relevant contacts, identify qualified leads, and give precious information about market condition. Telemarketing is also an excellent way of reviewing, updating and building your contact database.
Some companies prefer to handle telemarketing with an internal staff. You can do your own telemarketing. Many people do, for cost reasons, or because they don't think anyone else could do it better. For some telemarketing activities you may be better "contracting out" to a specialist agency. This very much depends on the skills and people available from your own workforce, the volume of effort required, and the budget available. Both approaches can be successful, and the decision more often than not depends on the culture of your company.
Telemarketing is still one of the most powerful methods of reaching potential customers. Not surprisingly then, there are thousands of small telemarketing businesses – many of them absolutely excellent.
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