Telemarketing may be among the more maligned of marketing methods, but it’s also one of the most effective. Being able to directly canvass a database in the hope of gaining leads is one of the more direct approaches to marketing we have available to us and the results can often be very impressive. What’s more is that recent developments in communications systems such as VoIP have made making telephone calls less expensive, further enhancing the efficiency of telemarketing. Telemarketing is not just about picking up the phone and making calls, however, because a successful marketing campaign needs to be well planned. One of the most important ingredients of any successful telemarketing campaign is the call list you are using; it should meet certain criteria.
Well trained staff
Telemarketing can be a tough job, especially when the callers are getting cold responses on a regular basis. Training is very important in telemarketing to help ensure that the callers do not let their heads get down and continue to feel positive throughout the working day. It is also very important that your staff know what to say to prospective clients and how to approach certain situations, this is gained through a combination of experience and training.
Clear telephone lines
There is nothing more frustrating for telemarketers than not being able to hold a conversation properly because of a poor quality line. If you cannot understand each other then there is little to no chance of achieving what you want and any time and money spent is wasted. If you don’t invest in having a proper system installed then you should be prepared to find that your campaign does not meet expectations. Having telephone lines that are clear and reliable are one of the most important ingredients of any telemarketing campaign.
Targeted data
There’s no point in trying to sell somebody something that they just don’t want or can’t afford. It could be the best product in the world and at the best possible price yet you are wasting your time of you are not speaking to the right person. Would you expect to sell luxury cars to people with a low income? Would you expect to sell pension products to people that have retired? When calling from a list it would be much more efficient for you to be calling people that fit certain criteria such as income brackets and age groups to improve your chances of success on every call.
A professional data list supplier should be able to provide you with a list of people that do fall within certain categories. Many such suppliers will have experience in what works and what doesn’t and may even be able to advise you to help your marketing campaign be more effective and achieve he results you are looking for.
Having the wrong data lists can be very frustrating for all involved and be costly to you regardless of how successful your campaign may or may not be. On the upside, a well-managed telemarketing campaign can help to raise your company’s profile considerably and increase your revenue, helping you to get a foothold in the market. If your campaign has not achieved the results that you hoped, you may be wondering whether it’s worth your while even trying. Don’t give up, instead you should refocus your plan of attack and make sure that you are using the right tools and the right data list. You could soon be very happy with the results indeed.
About the Author
Stuart Edge is a professional writer in the field of technology, business and internet matters. He writes on behalf of thedataoctopus.co.uk who specialise in telemarketing and call centre data lists.
