All the things an outsourced B2B telemarketing company can do for your business
Finding and converting prospects has always been a top priority for companies and businesses.
It takes expertise and market knowledge to grow a sales pipeline – and it also requires a team.
The UK Data and Marketing Association, reports that telemarketing generates £11 in revenue for every £1 spent on it. It is also one of the best ways to reach potential prospects.
A company like More Than Words Marketing offers instant access to telemarketing experts for B2B companies.
Telemarketing is typically associated with cold-calling – this is when a company contacts a prospective customer for the very first time with the intention of selling them something.
Nevertheless, telemarketing can also be used for several other purposes, such as generating leads, ensuring events are well attended, following up after sales, or collecting feedback.
Outsourcing telemarketing: three key benefits
Financial
Startup costs, no matter what the product or service is, can be high.
It is not uncommon for staff teams to be multi-disciplined and take charge of more than one area of the business – thus requiring hours of training without any assurance of success.
You can reduce your training budget, plus the time spent on training at the crucial beginning stages of your business, by outsourcing B2B telemarketing to experts like More Than Words.
Establishing connections
Starting a business and growing your network takes time, but time isn’t always on your side.
When you outsource your B2B telemarketing to a specialist, you gain access to experts and key contacts in your market and industry.
At this early stage, having insights from these individuals can offer you a valuable start, something that other businesses of a similar size to yours may not have.
Ability to scale
Flexibility is another key benefit of B2B telemarketing.
Single campaigns can often be purchased, as well as larger packages tailored to your needs.
It provides an advantage over hiring and training a telemarketing team in-house, especially when your income is unpredictable.
Did you know?
Seven in ten companies in the UK outsource services to third parties.
Source: YouGov
What services do outsourced B2B telemarketing companies offer?
Sales are not the only function of telemarketing. The focus, especially at the earliest stages of the B2B relationship, is on establishing a brand, nurturing leads, and maintaining long-term relationships with customers.
Telemarketers can help your business grow in several ways:
Lead generation
Quality data is essential for generating leads via telemarketing.
The telemarketing service can use your own customer database or create a targeted prospect list.
Outbound lead generation targets decision-makers in specific industries and market segments, while inbound lead generation targets those prospects that have interacted with your business on your website or social media.
As a result of this targeted approach, your calls will be focused on building brand awareness and persuading your prospect to request further information.
Scheduling appointments
Can you truly communicate what you have to offer without a face-to-face meeting? Do meetings form a significant part of your sales process?
The most efficient way to arrange these appointments could be through outsourced telemarketing services.
Utilizing outbound telemarketing will put your sales reps in front of a much larger number of customers, than if they contacted clients for appointments themselves.
Assume your rep is capable of seeing 20 clients per week (4 per day), but they’re only seeing 10, as they’re responsible for generating the leads themselves. That means that:
- Each year, your sales rep misses nearly 500 sales opportunities
- Every year, your business misses out on up to 500 sales.
You can focus on selling, rather than managing your diary when you hire the right B2B telemarketing company.
Did you know?
82% of buyers say that they have accepted meetings following a series of interactions with salespeople.
Source: RAIN Group
Telephone market research
Using telemarketing reps to conduct phone surveys is another effective use of outbound telemarketing.
Using phone surveys can reach audience members who aren’t responsive to digital channels, such as emails and social media ads.
An expert interviewer can use their knowledge of tone and speech patterns to better understand your prospects as they talk to them, and build rapport with your customers.
This allows them to qualify the customer’s responses and provide deeper insights in their reporting at the end of the survey.
Nurturing leads
Developing a relationship with buyers often involves giving them something of value and building rapport in the earliest stages of your relationship. Moving straight to selling is off-putting, especially in a B2B environment.
Besides human interaction being one of the most valuable things a business can offer, telemarketing enables businesses to answer prospects’ questions and offer reassurance on any issues.
Data cleansing
A telemarketing campaign allows you to clean your B2B database in a timely and efficient manner.
When compared to other channels, such as email marketing, telemarketing allows you to quickly ascertain a variety of information.
Choosing a telemarketing partner
An outsourced telemarketing service should provide you with two essential features. The first step is to be sure that they understand your product/service, your sales plans, and your expected outcomes.
Secondly, you should be confident that they will represent your company professionally and credibly. The compliance aspect of telemarketing is crucial and you want to ensure that your business is represented correctly by any telemarketing partner.
When choosing a telemarketing service, look for the following qualities:
Taking the time to get to know prospects, not just trying to sell them
B2B Telemarketing agencies treat calls with potential leads as conversations, not sales pitches.
Great telemarketing agencies know what they’re selling: the value propositions, the situations where it’s most valuable, and the applications that are less relevant for each prospect.
A professional Telemarketing team can use this information to establish the needs of businesses they call, before explaining why your product is the answer to them, in a way that those prospects can relate to.
Staffed by dedicated Account Managers, not just phone operators
Businesses looking to work with a Telemarketing agency often fall into this trap.
Using a standard call center won’t get you the results you need, since they can’t devote the time, understanding, and value to your calls that B2B telemarketing demands.
Most worthwhile telemarketing firms, especially those that focus on B2B, spend considerable time and resources training their employees. Calls are not guaranteed to result in leads, but time and effort is put into creating lists that select only the most qualified prospects.
Offers an all-inclusive service
B2B telemarketing services offer more than just leads. A good one will also provide additional support services.
When the Leads start coming in, you’ll still need to make sure the databases are clean and up-to-date so future communications are efficient and valuable.
A full-service Telemarketing agency can handle these tasks for you, requiring your input only when necessary.
According to research, 30% of B2B data becomes outdated within one year.
Your marketing and sales team spend far less time generating leads when your marketing database is clean and accurate. This also reduces the cost of acquiring customers.
More Than Words Marketing’s professional telemarketing services help businesses to create a highly-targeted list of prospects in their chosen sector.
Our skilled team of telemarketing experts build and nurture relationships with these contacts, to a brief that may include appointment setting, market research and data cleansing.
We’re available on 0330 010 8300 or email info@morethanwordsuk.co.uk
Interesting Related Article: “How to Increase Sales Effectiveness with Telemarketing“