Not all prospects are created equal. In B2B, staff size minimums, decision-maker titles and names can be a baseline of data points that require confirmation to determine if the company is worth pursuing. The goal is to confirm and validate information on that first call.
The ability to quickly develop initial rapport during a qualification call can lead to more successful sales opportunities as the process moves along. Being able to create a comfortable environment for conversation, where the guard goes down, will allow for results to be achieved. Finding out information about a potential target before they answer the phone, is vital. It determines whether or not a company is eligible to pursue, resulting in the proper allocation of sales team labor. It is very expensive for marketing to produce unqualified prospects, and then for the sales team to not recognize this until weeks of time and energy were expended chasing the wrong people or companies! Let’s take a look into how to identify a pursuable prospect, and then how rapport is built throughout the interaction.
If you are a B2B business, you rely on making meaningful connections with other businesses to sell your product or service. When it comes to connecting with real people, there is nothing that works quite as well as a phone call. That’s why B2B telemarketing is the best way to get a prospect to move into and through your sales funnel.
Even still, telemarketing is getting harder every year. In 2007, it took an average of 3.68 calls to reach a high-ticket prospect. Now, it takes around 8 calls on average before you can connect with the prospect.
Getting your highest-priority prospects on the phone is a must. That’s why you need to make sure your B2B telemarketing strategy and execution are top-notch.
In this article, we’ll show you how to set yourself up for success in the world of B2B telemarketing.
Key Takeaways
B2B telemarketing is a marketing tactic where a business will call business owners and decision-makers with the objective of selling a product or service.
B2B Telemarketing can help you build relationships with prospects while closing bigger deals more frequently.
Effective telesales relies on appointment setting. This should be a priority in your telemarketing initiative.
Before calling a prospect, research them thoroughly.
Focus on building rapport while you’re on the phone.
If you or your in-house team are not delivering the results you’d expect, try working with a telemarketing agency.
Now is the perfect time to think about how your company can use social media as a tool to increase sales. Whether your company has been experimenting with social media for years, or is more recently diving in, a few things are for sure – social media can help you reach the prospects you are looking for, drive web traffic and, ultimately, generate more sales. Consider using these tips to improve your social media marketingstrategy: (more…)
Find a telemarketing agency with a proven track record. Avoid off-shore telemarketing agencies.
Focus on lead gen, make sure to implement a lead qualification process so you don’t waste time on low-quality leads.
Don’t be pushy when calling your pre-qualified leads.
After you close a sale, deliver exceptional service. This leads to word-of-mouth referrals which makes more inbound leads for your business.
When you run a B2B business, your telemarketing can (and should) look different from other run-of-the-mill telemarketing operations.
You need every call to drive a deeper relationship with your prospects. You need your leads to not just agree to set a sales appointment – but you need them to WANT to set up a sales appointment.
Sales appointment setting through telemarketing can be a daunting task, so we’ve compiled a how-to guide to help you get started!
It is safe to say that one of the best marketing tools to help seal the deal are testimonials and reviews. People want to hear about the good and the bad and, truthfully, anything you see on a company’s website will always come with some bias. Hearing from past clients or customers is a good way to decide whether the product or service will be the right fit. Ultimately, there are many benefits – for both your prospects and your company – that come with sharing testimonials and reviews. Some of these benefits include:
Testimonials and reviews can increase trust
According to Big Commerce, 72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business. Potential customers may be more willing to use your product or service if they see that your company is being transparent and honest with them. While other tools, like case studies, can also be helpful in attracting customers, they are often written by the company. According to a 2017 survey of 250 B2B Buyers conducted by TrustRadius, “most buyers think both case studies and reviews have their place in the research process, and see the two forms of social proof as serving different purposes.” As seen in the chart below, B2B buyers consider testimonials and reviews to be significantly more authentic and trustworthy than case studies.
However, in a B2B telemarketing call, a 2 – 4 sentence case study is a fantastic way to verbally demonstrate the Problem-Solution-Outcome that the customer experienced by going with your firm. It adds to the credibility of your presentation and puts the prospect in the shoes of your customer and allows them to visualize the advantages realized.
They can generate more revenue
And revenue is the name of the game right? According to Big Commerce, every time a consumer interacts with your review, they generate 62% more revenue per site visitor. Similarly, consumers that interact with reviews are 58% more likely to convert and buy. This is most likely due to the increase in trust that testimonials and reviews also bring. With evidence that testimonials help in increasing revenue, it is almost a “no-brainer” to include them on your website. People are interested in hearing about what others have to say about your company, product, or service. Even if reviews brought in just a few new customers a year, it would be well worth it.
They can drive web traffic and improve SEO
Surprisingly enough, testimonials and reviews can drive a lot of new web traffic and improve your SEO. The goal of SEO is to deliver users, not only the information they are looking for, but also the most helpful information possible. Using bots, search engines crawl the internet looking for the most relevant information and then rank webpages based on this information. According to data collected by Yotpo, “websites using testimonials saw a 45% increase in traffic compared to those who didn’t.” So why do testimonials and reviews rank so well? Ultimately, search engine bots are looking for content that is new, interesting, and can’t be found anywhere else. User-generated content, like testimonials, are perfect for this reason. The graph below illustrates how using testimonials and reviews can impact the traffic on your company’s webpage.
The benefits that come with sharing testimonials and reviews are undeniable. Your customers will consider your company to be more trustworthy because you are sharing authentic messages, rather than biased ones. With so many people turning to the internet to help them make buying decisions, it is important that they can find information that they can trust online. Convert prospects that may e Once you increase trust, you will likely be able to generate more revenue because people are more likely to convert and buy after reading testimonials and reviews. Lastly, if your company has been struggling to bring traffic to your website, testimonials may be the key. Search engines are looking for unique content and testimonials are the perfect way to include content on your website that does not exist anywhere else on the web. When developing or adjusting your company’s content marketing strategy, adding testimonials and reviews may not be top-of-mind, but given the benefits it can bring to both your customer and your company, you may want to consider it as a part of your future content strategy.
Identifying KPIs for your sales reps will help you evaluate their effectiveness.
Making your KPIs known to your sales reps will help them self-evaluate and improve performance. This reduces the need for intervention from you and other administrators.
When evaluating your sales rep’s performance, your highest priority KPIs should include:
Without an organized client relationship management (CRM) system, prospect qualification, lead generation, and every stage of the sales cycle would be complete chaos. This is especially true if you have multiple lead generators or sales reps working those same records. It’s important for there to be a way to streamline and organize the data collected during each stage of the sales cycle.
Having a CRM system in place is a great way to stay organized, make sure you are reaching the right prospects, capitalize on prior intelligence gathered, and make sure salespeople are not calling the same prospects simultaneously. Lastly, prospects will still remain even if the sales rep leaves. Don’t let the prospect notes disappear along with the rep! If you don’t already have a CRM system in place, consider the benefits that come with having one:
How can calling still drive leads? It’s suprisingly a very effective way of marketing. People always have their phones available, so contact has never been easier. You just need to know how to sell to whoever answers your call.
After speaking with several successful, tenured producers at the Professional Insurance Agents’ (PIA) annual conference in Atlantic City, it was interesting to note that many built key blocks of their book of business through outbound calling. Evidently picking up the phone has got a lot to do with a book of business.
Some will protest this statement, citing, “But it is 2022 now. There is no way a producer could profitably or reasonably add new clients to their book of business by pounding the phones, is there?” The answer is, yes. Here’s why.
Demand Gen is a marketing tactic that helps bring your ideal clients to you by generating interest in your product or service.
You can generate demand by building better relationships with businesses, enhancing operational efficiency, and focusing on your top-of-funnel process as well as implementing account-based marketing tactics.
Consistent communication with your clients, as well as your sales and customer service teams, will help you get the best information about how to generate demand.
When you have a product or service that is in high demand, you’ll see in increase in profits and the lead generation practically comes to you.
Demand generation is a B2B marketing discipline designed to create interest in products and services that results in greater sales pipeline opportunities and revenue. A comprehensive, effective demand generation strategy will also result in happier customers and better sales-marketing alignment.
Reduce the risk of hiring the wrong people for the job.
Reduce the time and money spent on training new staff.
Reduce the uncertainty of payroll costs, allowing you to dial up or dial down spending as needed.
Receiving customer service calls means that your customers know they can contact you for assistance, but when you have an overflow of them, it can change that perception.
When you have tons of customers needing your help, it can lead to many not getting responsive and timely answers. Or they can feel rushed from the conversation. These can bring your company’s perception down rapidly.
Perhaps you’ve been toying with the notion of callingallcustomersin an outbound, proactive approach to either touch base, understand their new needs, or just simply – to show you care. While there is no telling when we will go back to business as usual, it is important to make decisions now that will benefit your company in the future. Ultimately, outsourcing your overflow of customer service calls will eliminate the costs of:
