Why Cold Calling Has Some B2B Advantages

One of the most effective ways of securing new business is through cold calling – it is a fabulous way of acquiring new leads if you do it right. The unfortunate thing is that many businesses go about their telemarketing the wrong way and are letting potential business just slip through their fingers. Telemarketing can often be an overused tool, so your marketing team should assess when is the right time to start a telemarketing campaign and not just launch one for the sake of it.

The Advantages of B2B Cold Calling

There are four main advantages to running a cold calling or telemarketing campaign, which can be described in the following ways:

• Lead Generation. Telemarketing is a great tool for lead generation. If your business is relying on inbound calls alone for their leads you may find that there are simply not enough to meet your targets. You can’t always be in the position of waiting for business to come to you, there are times when you need to go out and secure that business for yourself.
• Marketplace Education. One of the things that cold calling allows you to do is to get a feel for what is happening in the marketplace. It can give you insight into why the business is not coming to you of its own volition, cold calling provides valuable information about the current marketplace as well as opening up possible sales leads. The act of cold calling puts you in touch with what people actually need, they will tell you what they want and if you don’t have it they will tell you who does! This will give you an insight into possible market trends and the needs of your customer base.
• Business Visibility. During a telemarketing campaign you are throwing the name of your business out into the public domain, raising awareness of your existence and the services that you provide. It could be that one of the reasons you are not receiving as many inbound calls as you would like is the fact that no one knows that you are there.
• Professional Staff. By using experienced cold callers you will find that your telemarketing campaign is more effective than simply utilising your existing staff. Cold calling professions have been doing the job for a long time, they know how to engage the potential client and keep them on the line. They have the knowledge of techniques and strategies for cold calling that you do not, and you should be able to recoup the cost of hiring them through the new leads that they generate for you.

Research

Research is essential before undertaking any marketing campaign. You need to know the names of the purchasing managers, stock controllers and decision makers in the companies that you will be calling. Telemarketing might not be popular with those that are on the receiving end of the calls but by making those you are raising awareness, promoting your business and growing your lead generation figures into a much healthier place.

Mark Adams is an expert author on all aspects of B2B marketing – he regularly visits Sure2Door.co.uk for more details on up and coming marketing strategies.

 

5 Appointment Setting Tips to Keep you Sane

Telemarketers have received much help from the technological advances made these past few years. However, the key in effective appointment setting still revolves around mastering a handful of basic techniques. As you may have already figured out, the road to outbound appointment setting is not for the fainthearted, as this will require a great deal of time and dedication to become successful with what you’re doing. Remember if you ever need help, you can always call an appointment setting company like Vendere Partners.

In this article, we will tackle the 5 basic tips you should know in setting an appointment.

1.  Have a Pen and Paper at all Times

The first thing you should be doing is obviously writing things down. No matter how powerful you think your mind is, you should document all information that is worth noting. This is by far the most obvious thing to do and is sadly, where most people fall short. Always make it a point to carry at least a pen and paper for those desperate times.

2. Have a telemarketing script

Having a telemarketing script is an effective way to keep an outbound call right on track. Before talking to the prospect, one should write a script as this can be very helpful in describing your intent – this also makes your pitch sound natural. If your employees are handling the task of setting appointments, a script helps them gain knowledge of the product, and eliminates any chances of being caught off guard by a question.

3.  You should maintain a list of fresh contacts or leads.

Telemarketers typically make hundreds of calls every day. Always make it a point to move on to newer prospects and add fresh new names to keep yourself on your toes rather than call the same voicemail over and over again. While it may be recommended to move on to new targets once the old ones cannot be contacted, don’t completely disregard them at the first sight, learn to judge the right time to move on.

4.  Be persistent!

This is the most prominent trait of any telemarketer; you shouldn’t just give up right away even if the possible options are already exhausted. You know how annoyingly persistent telemarketers are? Yeah, that’s your goal.

5.  Close the appointment!

Always take note that all appointments that have been settled are basically all sales calls. Don’t be repetitive and alternate schedules when setting appointments in order to make sure that it is convenient for the prospect. Learn to vary scheduled appointments and don’t just stick to what you’ve been used to. And when closing the appointment, always make it a point to use a choice closer in order to make the appointment convenient for the prospect while adding variation to your schedules.

Mark Doyle is a freelance writer who writes about many subjects including Vendere Partners.