subject: How Telemarketers Can Shorten Any Sales Cycle [print this page] In contrast to widespread belief, telemarketing calls are not only ideal for B2C or businesses that serve individual customers or for products and services that are not too expensive. Telemarketing is as effective in B2B markets or for businesses that cater to other businesses. They can have a positive impact on the sales cycle irrespective of its complexity. Decision makers must remember that telemarketers are most successful in the early phases of the sales cycle. Once a lead is acquired, it should be taken over by your in-house sales persons.
Telemarketing services shorten the sales cycle
In the early stages of the sales cycle, a lot of calls need to be made to a long list of potential customers. A number of of these will develop into leads while others will fizzle out. Telemarketing services fit right into place where high volume of cold calling is required to generate leads. Towards the end of the sales cycle, potential customers will require detailed information and facts of the product or service being marketed. It is wise to bring in your in-house sales executives who have the ability and knowledge to take the sales process to a successful end. It would be unwise to expect a telesales service to finalize a sale and a specialized sales person to waste precious time in making introductory calls.
Many roles of telemarketing services
Telesales services help in generating leads by dialing a large volume of preliminary calls. This appreciably shortens the sales cycle for the specialized sales representative. A company can assemble an internal telemarketing service for the task - and use it as a training ground for promising sales persons - or outsource to a third party telemarketing service for quick returns.
Developing a telemarketing squad and have it call prospects is not going to get you new business without the knowledge and training to add value to the sales cycle. Robo-calls or amateurish conversation is often the reason people hate telemarketing calls. Businesses should instruct telemarketers the proper way to go through a call and appropriate business processes to steer clear of any hurdles.
Telemarketing services can help businesses by: * Fixing erroneous data: Customer databases may contain a lot of erroneous entries or have inadequate information. As telesales services speak with prospects, they can fix the data.* Adding proprietary data: Telesales services can also add proprietary data to a prospect's record in the database. Things such as the names of the company's decision makers, servicing due date of equipment, etc. play an important part in making a sales call at the right time.* Developing brand awareness: The objective of telemarketing calls is not only to qualify leads but also to develop brand recognition. Repeated calls (but without harassment) to customers establishes a feeling of continuity and generates confidence in the business' commitment to the market.* Effectively timing a sales call: By collecting crucial details from prospects, telemarketing services prepare the stage for the sales representative's call. For example, if the customer conveys that an equipment or part may need to be serviced in three month, the sales representative can call at the jump in when the time is ripe and move the sales discussion to fruition.A business should not spend too much time and in-house resources in the beginning of the sales cycle. The better its focus on the later phases, higher will be the productivity of its sales executives. Maximize on telemarketing services to qualify sales leads and spread brand awareness.by: Daljeet Sidhu
