The Basics of Telemarketing

You are probably already familiar with the words telesales, telemarketing or cold-calling – and like most people, you probably associate these words to people calling at inopportune times to sell something. On the other hand, there are also several people who can attest how effective telemarketing or telesales is in terms of making a business profitable.

There are two existing types of telemarketing. One is business-to-consumer (B2C) which refers to any company that markets or sells primarily to end consumers or individuals. The other one is business-to-business (B2B) which refers to any company that seeks business opportunities from other companies. B2C telemarketing usually involves hard-selling methods for the purpose of converting individuals into buyers while B2B telemarketing is a more conservative way of turning prospects into loyal customers which typically entails longer sales cycles.

These two types of marketing can be carried out in two ways – inbound and outbound. Inbound calling is generally used for customer service while outbound calling is used commonly for lead generation, appointment setting and market research.

There are several companies that integrate telemarketing with other forms of marketing such as direct mailing and online advertising to maximize their marketing efforts. In most instances, salespeople make follow throughs or follow up calls until they have secured a sale.

In order to acquire new business, companies use different phone-based sales or marketing methods. Two of the most commonly used telemarketing strategies are hard-selling which requires a significant amount of persuasiveness and soft-selling which is ideal for getting repeat business.

Below are the steps in a typical telemarketing call:

• Opening. The telemarketer introduces to the prospect the company being represented and the product or service being offered.

• Presentation. This is where the caller briefly demonstrates the benefits of the product and asks probing questions to the prospect to identify how the service or product can be an advantage to the person or the company.

• Objection handling. At any point in the telemarketing call, a prospect may object or decline what is being offered. Skilled telemarketers know how to handle such objections with efficient rebuttals.

• Closing. This is where the telemarketer is expected to complete the process and secure a sale or set an appointment.

A script or call guide is necessary in all telemarketing calls in order for telemarketers to deliver efficient, conversational statements about the service or product. A good script should cover various telephone marketing scenarios that agents may encounter.

Now that you know what telemarketing is and how it works, it is up to your intelligent decision-making to consider its possibilities and start increasing your business' profits.