What Are The 10 Worst Mistakes When Doing Telemarketing Campaigns?

10 Worst Mistakes in Telemarketers Campaigns

1.Letting your new hires or trainees do the cold calling for your company.

This is often the most common mistake committed by both small and large companies. Because they don’t want to deal with gatekeepers or the tedious task of calling for hours, they simply have their trainees do this for them. Of course, with hardly any knowledge about the company and its procedures, you can expect one of two things from this: the trainee quits, or the telemarketing campaign turns into a disaster.  

2.Outsourcing to the cheapest company you can find.

The reason why a lot of businesses are scammed out of their money is because they fail to do enough research before signing a contract. Good telemarketing service providers can be easily identified from the fraudulent ones. A good tip is to always double check on any contact information, contact person, or reference they present.  

3.Not paying attention to the DNC list.

Some business owners think that they can disregard the DNC list and not get caught. The truth is, your business leads are just as eager to report a law-breaking practice as you are, so always make sure that your telemarketing list is updated and cross-referenced regularly with your DNC list.

4.Calling business sales leads during peak work hours.

You know that your business leads are busy people just like you, so don’t expect them to be eager to answer a cold call in the middle of their workday.

5.Calling before 8am and after 9pm.

While you shouldn’t call your business leads during peak work hours, you must never ever call them outside of the standard 8am to 9pm schedule (as mandated by the FTC) either. Unless you have a prior permission to call outside of these hours, you could easily end up with a lawsuit, and your company’s integrity will immediately suffer.

6.Pitching to the gatekeeper.

Sales people who are eager to make the sale might come to think that by getting the gatekeeper sold on their offering, they would immediately get the sale from the decision maker as well. Getting the gatekeeper on your side is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to pitch your sales talk to them.

7.Arguing with the gatekeeper.

Don’t think that arguing with the gatekeeper will get you anywhere, much less getting an appointment with the right decision maker. Gatekeepers are frequently viewed as the enemy of the telemarketer, but they shouldn’t be. If you know how to treat gatekeepers properly, they can be your best asset.

8.Not following up after the initial telemarketing call.

When setting business appointments through telemarketing calls, remember that you’re not the only person that a gatekeeper has to deal with. Even if the company of your business sales lead may have advanced technologies to handle all inbound calls, always make sure that the appointment you agreed on was placed in the decision maker’s calendar by calling one day or a few hours before the appointed meeting.

9.Not leaving a voicemail for unanswered cold calls.

If you unfortunately fail to get to your business leads on time, or the gatekeeper was away from the phone for some reason, leaving a concise message on voicemail will help them anticipate your next call.

10.Calling too many times throughout the day.

Doing this is not necessarily illegal, but no matter how lovely your product or offer may be or even if the office you were calling was a high quality b2b sales lead, no one would want to do business with a company who leaves 15 missed calls on a potential client’s phone just to get an appointment.

3 Things to Consider in Choosing the Right Appointment Setting Telemarketing Firm

If you are seriously considering making use of telemarketing for a constant stream of appointments with prospects, then appointment setting is the primary goal. And in relation to this, if you are taking into consideration getting the services of an appointment setting telemarketing company, there are actually top 3 things you ought to know.

It’s only natural that there are several telemarketing service providers offering their appointment setting programs and services, so, knowing which telemarketing firm is the right fit for your business establishment is one the major factors for a successful appointment setting campaign.

Here are the top 3 factors in selecting the right telemarketing agency for your organization.

1.The right sector. Sector experience brings in a degree of understanding, usually just a subtle one, which aids to ensure success. Having worked in a particular sector or industry previously means that your appointment setting agency would understand all the nuances of the companies and markets they’re calling into. Minor elements like job titles, jargon, etc differ so much from one sector to another that it’s tough to teach.

2.The right volume. Getting the right match between the volume of assignments you need and amount the contact center makes, is most likely to deliver is very crucial. If you only want a few and they’re a call center making like, a standard 100 calls per day, what can you expect? You mutually want to have the same level of expectations.

3.The right level. If possible, always seek to match the appointment setting telemarketing consultant with the right target prospect. Appointment setting calls for your telemarketing firm to establish credibility right away. Credibility is accomplished more than just a script—it is accomplished by presence.
Get these 3 things right and you can reasonably expect a lucrative and winning appointment setting campaign.

Convert Your Sales Leads Like A 9-Ball Billiard Game

Lead Generation is Like a 9 Ball Game

Most marketers view their sales process as the popular sales funnel: sales leads come in at the top and as they progress through the sales process, the path narrows.

I, on the other hand, like to view my sales process as a pool table, the various business sales leads generated through b2b telemarketing are the billiard balls, and I'm playing 9-ball. I find this analogy more apt for describing what happens during sales conversion as not all business leads follow the path of the funnel; hot sales leads can suddenly get cold if a sales person makes a mistake, and cold leads sometimes turn warm or even hot when positions in the corporate ladder change.

Just like the rules of the game, marketers start first with the lowest numbers or the low-hanging fruits. These b2b sales leads are the hot or warm leads that are most easily converted, and the nine ball (money ball) are those high converting leads which we all covet (or perhaps having your company bought by Facebook or Google for “x” billion dollars).

Of course, when you play 9-ball, you have to pocket the money ball to win the game before the other player does. In sales and marketing, this means going after the highest converting business sales leads before they go to your competitor. In the game, this can be done in three ways:

1. Pocketing all the lower numbers first 
2. Set the balls on the table so you can hit the nine ball with a lower number. 
3. Accidentally pocketing the nine ball while you were aiming for a lower number.  

When aiming for “the big fish” in business lead conversion, those 3 ways can be translated into the following:

1. Going after the small business leads first and converting them, slowly gaining more insight into what defines a truly qualified b2b sales lead for your business. 
2. Asking your existing clients for referrals to those in their business network who might also benefit from your product. 
3. Your b2b telemarketer cold calls a business lead who either declines (or converts) and refers you to another business lead without your asking or, there is a sudden change in the management of that business lead and the new decision maker finds your offer beneficial.  

In business, if we follow the rules of 9-ball, getting to the highest converting leads means you have to pocket the “smaller” leads first. When your company is just starting out, this is the best way to go. As you get more clients and gain more experience, you learn to better identify your b2b sales leads, which eventually allows you to target that high-converting lead (how about a long-term contract with a Fortune 500 company?). “But what about those companies who hit the nine ball right at the beginning?” you ask. As stated above, you either accomplish this through experience or sheer dumb luck. Seasoned entrepreneurs are like professional or exceptionally skilled pool players, they know how to plan their business right at the start. Others were simply more blessed by lady luck.

When you play 9-ball, you have the option of pocketing all the lower numbered balls first or aiming for the nine ball right away. This is the same with business, meaning, all the b2b sales leads you get with a targeted telemarketing lead generation campaign can be converted, some just convert faster than others. And depending on how you throw your pitch at them, you can either miss, pocket, or hit the money ball. When you miss the shot, your competitor gets a turn, and you just have to hope that the ball remains on the table till it’s your turn again.

Telemarketing: Home-based Vs. Call Center

Telemarketing Services

Companies, especially small businesses, who wish to do a telemarketing lead generation campaign are often stumped by the choice of hiring a telemarketing company or just a home based telemarketing agent. Here are the 5 most important points to consider about outsourcing and how the two (call center and agent) match up to each other.

Portfolio

When you outsource your telemarketing to a call center or a home based agent, the first thing you have to do to ensure that you are dealing with an authentic business is by asking for their portfolio of clients. A good portfolio needs to have a sizeable list of genuine clients to prove that they don’t have any problems generating business sales leads of their own. You should also look for recurring clients, as this indicates that the service provided was satisfactory enough for the client to pay for another campaign.

Obviously, a trustworthy b2b telemarketing company will be able to give you a list of their clients. In fact, this should be readily available in their company website. For a home based agent, on the other hand, you would have to specifically ask for their portfolio because chances are they don’t have any website to put these in.

Work hours

Because b2b telemarketers working in a call center are managed by team leaders and quality analysts, you can be assured that your hired b2b telemarketers are working for you on the specific hours and days stated in your contract. Home based agents are often prone to distractions; even if they have an office in their homes, family demands will always be prioritized (which is why they decided to work at home in the first place). Aside from family distractions, access to the internet and the freedom to control their time can further affect the hours put in by your home based telemarketer.

Accountability

Outsourcing to b2b telemarketing call centers normally require signing a contract which clearly outlines the points of your campaign agreement. A registered cell center lets you easily request for a refund if your campaign does not reach up to your expectations. They would also readily provide a replacement should you telemarketer fail to report for work. On the other hand, when something goes wrong in your home based telemarketing campaign or your agent suddenly stops communicating, you have no one to hold accountable for the damages to your business operations.

Skills

Home based agents usually learn their craft by working in a call center first. Once they decide to go home based, their telemarketing skills are stunted; if you want to expand the skills of your telemarketer, you would have to provide (and sometimes pay for) the training yourself. Professional b2b telemarketers in call centers continually undergo seminars and trainings to further improve their telemarketing skills; whether it’s updating their knowledge of telemarketing best practices, improving their accent, or voice modulation trainings, the call center pays for everything to ensure the effectiveness of your telemarketing campaigns.

Price

While a telemarketing call center indeed costs higher than home based agents, you can be assured that your b2b telemarketing campaigns are done by professionals who are knowledgeable about your industry and your products/services. Your brand is well-represented at all times and the image presented to you business leads is that of a professional and reliable company. Home based telemarketing agents are obviously cheaper compared to a call center, but the quality of service you receive is often proportionate to the amount you pay. Remember: “Cheap pay is cheap work.”

The Power of Color In Business

Even if you are involved in the telemarketing business, where almost all your customer interactions are done through the phone, there are still some areas that you will need it improve on. One of these is through color. It is true, one of the most effective marketing strategies that you can employ is through color. Even a contact center would know how powerful a motivational tool color is.Especially with their websites and advertising brochures, color can either get them more customers or turn these prospects off. That is why it is very important to know what color to use in business.

The thing about color is that it serves as an attention grabber. Properly utilized, it can be one of the most powerful marketing tools in the business. Color can represent anything, and it can represent your company as well. If you are offering a live answering service or can supply a live operator for your clients, then you can use color to better represent your company. Red, green, blue, yellow, and a lot more other colors can be mixed and matched by your telemarketing company in order to maximize customer impact. It may be a simple thing, but color can be the ultimate marketing aid for your company.

Of course, this implies that you know how to use color. If not, then now is the time to hire the services of a professional graphics artist. These people can be of great help for you and your company. In today’s increasingly competitive telemarketing business, every little tool counts.

5 Indications to Watch Out for that You’ll Never Get the Sale

For sales professionals, it can be the typical frustration. You get ready and excited in meeting a new prospect or business sales lead that you’ve been waiting for a long time. You already memorized your products, prices, you even know about the products of the competitors. Of course, you also know that in the end, it’s all about closing the sale.

Unfortunately, that sale you’ve been waiting and longing for failed to materialize. What happened?

Here are some of the signals to watch out for and be forewarned before being too certain that you already have it in the can.

1. “Oh, that seems very expensive”. As opposed to common belief, the price can be a non-issue at all especially if the sales representative could show that his products are able to solve their prospects’ specific business problems. It can be a delaying tactic and could prove to be very effectual since it diverts from the spot of solving their business dilemmas. A comparable remark is, “I’ve heard that your competitor is 20% more affordable”.
2. “I’d get back on you after a few months.” Whilst you might have somewhat connected with the sales lead’s pain, still, at the back of their mind, they think that your direct competition could be their better choice. And if they say that they’ll get back again to you within 6 months time, it’s only fair to erase their contact details on your list. No need to qualify yourself in this situation.
3. “Okay, I’ll just think about it.” Honestly? They will not think about it. It is just their polite way of slowly backing out minus hurting you instead of directly saying no. This is a common scenario which usually takes place if the sales person is not connecting with the prospect’s pain—which is the real reason for that client meeting. Let’s say if you’re effective at your pitch, but then if you failed to communicate or even understand their pain, then you don’t add value or aid your business leads to recognize the solution to their problem. 
4. “Let’s discuss again after a few months.” If your prospect said this, there might be interest in talking again since you may have opened a few of their business pains. But you know what the drawback here is? That there’s no apparent understanding about who’s calling whom or for what specific reasons. Obviously, that statement is too vague and therefore, not a sign you certainly hope for. You, as a sales professional, may choose to demonstrate initiative and still take the plunge in that “few months”, nevertheless, tread carefully and try not to sound overly pitchy.
5. “There’s no need for our boss to come here because I could sign on the project anyway.” As soon as you hear that, it’s obvious that you’re not talking to the true decision maker. Though what he says may be true, but remember that a boss could still have the authority to cut back on budgets that fast as he could make one. You better be sure that you have connected with the proper budget owner in such a way that you’re certain that your project is a surefire thing. 

How Sales Leads Goals Can Be Bad For You

Is having a goal in terms of B2B sales leads good for your business in the United Kingdom? It may not be so. If you are to say that goals on sales leads can motivate you to get going, then that is the good reason. However, the problem here is that there are also a lot of people who are more focused in reaching the goal during the appointment setting campaign. The result? More problems for the company. How much more damaging can it be when telemarketing is involved as the medium of communication? To understand why this is so, we must be more process-oriented instead.

There is a big difference between getting your goals and getting to your goals. This exemplifies the difference in focus between the process and the target. When you are focused in the process, you just have to look carefully at what you are doing in the lead generation campaign. If you are more concerned for your goals, then you might employ a couple of telemarketing techniques that may not turn out well for you. Come what may is the mentally here, so to speak. That will not sit well with business prospects. And if it does not sit well with them, then you can expect to produce no business leads from them.

It is good to having a goal in your business, which is true. But if all you are concerned about is in getting the B2B sales leads, then you are not doing anything right at all. Focus more in getting your process right. Your goals will take care of itself later.