The Art of Telemarketing In B2B Lead Generation

Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation
Art of Telemarketing

In today’s business world, companies have a variety of options to generate leads from, for their businesses. Some of the famous methods used by companies are Telemarketing, Email Marketing, Content syndication, Direct Mail, Social Media Marketing (LinkedIn marketing and all) & Referrals.

Of all these methods, Telemarketing has survived and flourished like none others since the 19th century. While companies benefit the most by complementing all channels to one another, Telemarketing has been the heart of lead generation for any B2B company.

Companies depending on their Industry use different forms of marketing like B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer) & B2G (Business to Government). B2B Telemarketing is used by companies that sell their products/services to other companies.

Now let’s see what it takes to become a master of Telemarketing in B2B Lead generation –

1. Research

The Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation - Research
Research

Picking up the phone and ringing 100 numbers a day doesn’t sound like a big deal. It isn’t actually! With new emerging technologies and CRMs, agents can make 500-600 calls without breaking their backs.

However, this approach won’t yield results that tele agents or their managers are looking for. To get the best results of their efforts a B2B telesales agent has to be good at doing research on the companies and prospects they are calling.

Research might include what companies do, their products and services, decision makers within the company, competitions they might be working with, your prospect’s previous job roles, school and college they might have attended. Any or all of these information on your prospect and their company will give you an upper hand than your sales counterparts.

2. Timing

The Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation - Timing
Timing

Many researches have been conducted to find out the best days of the week and time to call prospects. Almost all research suggests Tuesday and Thursday to be great days to make prospecting calls and morning 8-10 am and afternoon 2-4 pm are the best times to get hold of the prospects.

This information certainly helps callers to increase their connections percentage and convert connections into leads. Mondays and Fridays are considered to be least favored days to make telesales calls.

A little more information on countries that you call, will also add an advantage to your telemarketing efforts. For example, knowing which state/city falls under which time zones. Calling the right person at the right time will certainly make you look lucky.

Must Read: 5 Effective Ways To Generate Leads Via Telemarketing

3. Database

Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation - list building
List Building

A good and clean database is the heart of telemarketing. Without a database, it’s like having a gun without bullets. You can’t shoot! For the Sales reps to outperform it’s important they have a good set of databases with phone numbers handy. Databases with direct phone numbers can improve reps productivity by upto 30%. It also improves the overall connect percentage by 400%. But most importantly a clean and updated database helps save a lot of time and money that sales reps invest in finding or updating existing databases.

4. Communication

The Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation - communication
Communication

Communication is the key to engaging prospects and converting them into paying customers. We need to understand that people buy from people and not companies.

A sales rep with good vocabulary and clear communication can attract more prospects and build relationships. But most of all, communication with sincerity helps achieve more. It doesn’t end here. A good communicator also needs to be a good listener.

Listening to prospects and responding with relevant information and solutions creates trust with your prospects, which turns into win deals. Good communication also helps sales reps to ask better questions and handle objections from prospects. So good communication is the number one skill that Sales reps should work on.

5. Product Knowledge

The Art of Telemarketing in B2B Lead Generation - product knowledge
Product Knowledge

It is a no brainer that you can’t sell something that you don’t know enough about or are not confident of. A lot of Sales reps lose interested prospects just because they don’t have enough knowledge/information on the product they pitch. Hence, mastering this skill is highly important for Sales rep.

Sales rep needs to know about the features, advantages and benefits of the product and how they can solve pressing issues their prospects face in day to day life. It is also imperative that Sales reps know how their product is different or better than their competitors.

The Sales rep with good information about the product can sell 5 times more than their counterparts. Sales reps with good product knowledge sounds more prepared and confident as compared to someone with half or no knowledge about the product.

Last but not least, continuously reviewing your performance and finding out things that work and don’t work is important for growth and learning. So keep reviewing what’s working for you and throw what’s not out of the window. Learn.Do.Pivot.Repeat.

I would love to know what is working for you and how you are mastering your telemarketing skills. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Must Read: Selecting The Right B2B Telemarketing Vendor

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