Most marketers will at some point wonder how to generate more B2B leads. We know telemarketing works because there is nothing more profound and effective than human to human contact. But whilst the fundamental principle of telemarketing is fairly straightforward – call a target client, deliver a compelling business proposition and ask for the meeting/sale; the reality may not always be as easy as it seems.
B2B telemarketing is one of the main challenges salespeople face. Most will encounter a whole host of barriers or problems when making calls and some dread or altogether avoid them, buts it is how we choose to deal with the challenges that determine whether B2B telemarketing calls will be a success or flop.
Often businesses come to Blue Donkey because their previous telemarketing campaigns have failed. Whether they’ve attempted to run them in-house or have outsourced them to another telemarketing agency, businesses often find their first forays into telemarketing don’t produce the results they were expecting.
To help improve a telemarketing campaign’s chances of success, and explain why a campaign might have previously failed to produce results, we’ve identified some of the most important steps we need to take to ensure projects prosper in our hands. Keep reading to find out how to generate more B2B leads.
No scripts please!
You’d never use a script when speaking to a person face to face, so why do it on the phone? Scripts make calls sound mundane, robotic, and uninspiring. They can create a distance between the telemarketer and the decision makers they are speaking with. At worst they will irritate professional buyers and dramatically lower the call’s chances of success. At Blue Donkey we never use scripts. We believe there’s no substitute for training, knowledge, and experience, so focus on using staff who are committed to communicating a brand to customers and potential customers.
Stay away from “techie” language
As we’re based within the Cambridge technology bubble, we’ve become used to working with organisations in fast-paced industry or innovation. In our 22 years as B2B telemarketing experts, we’ve learned that cramming technical jargon into a telemarketing call is counterproductive.
Overwhelming for the person receiving the call and daunting for the person dialling, specialist IT, pharmaceutical, or marketing language is a big turn-off for professional buyers and decision makers. What’s more, with these industries moving at lightning pace, the specifications we’re using are often out of date before the pitch has even begun.
Remember the WIIFM principle?
Customers will always be asking themselves What’s In It For Me. Years ago Henry Ford missed the WIIFM mark when he said, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour he wants so long as it is black.” As communication experts, Trade Press Services said ‘that’s easy to say when you are a manufacturer with a monopoly on the market.
But in today’s customer-centric marketplace, organizations need to be in the businesses that customers want them to be in. If you don’t offer the products, services, and solutions they seek, they will go elsewhere’.
This is never more so than in B2B telemarketing. When making a telemarketing call, we always recommend speaking in terms of the business benefits delivered by a solution, rather than going in-depth into its features. As well as being easier for a decision maker to understand, a targeted overview should naturally lead to a face to face meeting where more detail can be discussed. Give too much information over the phone and it could leave you nothing to talk over in person, negating the point of a meeting.
Make connections with the right people
When making a telemarketing call, it’s essential you speak to the most senior decision maker available. Though it may take more work to get hold of them, speaking to the person who has real decision making powers will give your pitch a much better chance of success. Never ask for the ‘person who deals with’, instead ask for the person who makes decisions about…
Have the right objective for B2B leads
In our experience, getting good quality meetings takes time and effort. You can’t expect to cold call a company and get a meeting instantly, nor would you necessarily want to, since a fast-close often leads to a quick loss. Instead, you’ll need to start slow, nurture the relationship and work towards a face to face appointment and meaningful interaction.
If you have had previous contact with a company, and so are working off warm data, it shouldn’t take you as long to obtain a meeting, however, you’ll still need to put a bit of legwork into building strong links if you want the relationship to be successful.
To find out how to generate more B2B leads or to learn how we can help you improve the quality of your calls take a look around our site or contact a member of our team.
