Telemarketing is proven to be successful, having a 5.78% response rate - the highest of any marketing approach according to the recent Direct Marketing Association study.

But, telemarketing is still not a sure thing by any means.  It’s been estimated that a person who cold calls a new prospect IN PERSON (and actually stands in front of the decision maker) has about 90 seconds to get the prospect interested enough to want to hear more about buying it.  So a good sales person has to say the right words and offer the right benefits of the product in a very short time.

By contrast, a telemarketer (speaking over the phone) who cold calls a decision maker has only 30 seconds to interest the prospect!   It’s just a fact of life that people are more reluctant to say no right away to a person who is standing right in front of him.  But, with a telephone call, the prospect generally feels no obligation to listen futher, once they’ve heard what the call is about.

So, that first 30 seconds of a telemarketing call needs to present the product and its benefits in a smooth and understandable presentation.  And make sure the call is being placed to prospects who can use the product!  If a telemarketer makes that 30 seconds count, the prospect may become a customer.

Posted: January 31st, 2008 under Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Have you ever made a telemarketing call?  If it’s a cold-call (meaning it’s unsolicited and comes to a prospect who is not expecting the call), it can be hard to get the attention of the receiver of the call.  In fact, it’s estimated that a telemarketer has 15 to 30 SECONDS to try to capture the attention of the prospect!  If they haven’t become interested in those first few seconds, the call is usually over.

But, a new type of telemarketing directs calls only to those who have actually requested the call!  Sounds too good to be true?

Often called “request” telemarketing or “permission” telemarketing, the prospect has indicated that they would like to hear more about a certain type of product or a sale regarding this product.

The Dell Corporation, maker of Dell computers and equipment, asks their new customers if they would like to be kept aware of new equipment and sales.  A simple check in the “yes” box puts these customers on a list giving Dell permission to contact them.

This list of customers now becomes a “prospect” list for those who may become buyers of new products that Dell sells.  And Dell has their PERMISSION.

These prospects may be contacted via e-mail address, mail, or telemarketing.  What a difference it makes to telemarket a prospect who REQUESTS the call!  It becomes a “warm” call or even a HOT PROSPECT!  If you’ve ever made a cold call in telemarketing, you will know how much better it is to have your prospect ask for you to call them.

Lists of Permission Prospects are available from List Brokers and usually are more expensive because of the obvious advantage to calling this type of prospect.

Posted: January 30th, 2008 under Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Successful sales people will tell you that when they have made a sale and then ask for leads from the new client, they often get them!  Just for the asking.

Telemarketers are calling people at work and in their homes constantly.  While they are talking to someone, why not ask for a lead?  Even if a contact declines the product for themselves, they often are willing to tell you about somebody else who may need it.

And the name of the referring person does not have to be divulged to the new lead.  They will assume it’s another marketing call.  In answer to a curious lead who wants to know how you got their name, the appropriate reply is to say that it was on the list of calls the manager provided.

Lead generation is one of the most important uses for telemarketing, yet many companies miss opportunities to ask whoever is contacted for an additional lead.  It has a higher percentage of leading to a sale than a cold call.

Getting a free lead is usually easy:  just ask for it.

Posted: January 23rd, 2008 under Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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It’s important enough to focus on and I can’t stress it enough…  Telemarketing is used to set appointments because it works!

Some businesses are so aware of how effective this is that they spend as much as 90% of their marketing budgets to have telemarketers set appointments for their salespeople.  Getting their sales reps in front of the right decision maker increases the liklihood of a sale, and businesses know it!

That’s because the sales person is able to have an uninterrupted and exclusive time with the prospect.  This undivided attention gives a good sales person the chance to present the features and benefits of the product, answer objections and close the sale.  It’s much harder for the prospect to say “no” when they are face-to-face with the presenter. 

In fact, it increases the sales rate dramatically and businesses know this.  Cold calling is a drudgery compared to having a standing appointment already set for an in-person meeting with the decision maker.  Telemarketing is used to set appointments and businesses have found it to be worth the expense. 

Posted: January 22nd, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Call Centers, Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Telemarketers set appointments but they don’t try to sell the product.  And they shouldn’t.  That’s what your sales people are for.   It’s a proven fact that in-person meetings reap the highest sales rate. 

An appointment setter is trained to call the decision maker and entice them with the benefits the product offers.  And when the prospect wants to hear more, they set the appointment for a sales person. 

It’s the job of the telemarketing appointment setter to create the prospect’s desire to hear more about the product.  That’s all.  No selling.  That’s not only because selling is the job of the sales person, it’s because too much information over the phone may lead the prospect to get bogged down in a discussion and say no.

A good appointment setter should make it short and exciting, saying generally, “These are the benefits (name them), and that’s why other businesses (use references if possible) use this product.  You could have these benefits too…  When can our representative come by and tell you about it?  Tomorrow or Wednesday?”  Set a specific time. 

Then send out your best salesperson on that appointment!

Posted: January 17th, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Call Centers, Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Your business hires top sales people because they are persuasive and convincing.  You hire them to sell your product. 

Yet I am surprised to find that many businesses still expect their sales people to set their own appointments.  It’s such a waste of their time and talent because appointment setting can be accomplished by trained telemarketers. 

This leaves 100 % of a sales person’s time for selling!  And that means more sales for your company. It’s the cost of appointment setting that seems to be the deterrent. 

But your business is actually spending more.  Here’s why:  In-person meetings are proven to be more productive because you have the prospect’s complete attention.  Sales rates increase, and these added sales more than offset the cost of the appointment setting expense. And appointment setting can be outsourced to a telemarketing service.  So the only thing that your business and its sales people are focused on are SALES.

Posted: January 17th, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Call Centers, Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Telemarketing by itself has a proven and successful track record.  But if you can meet the prospect in-person, the sales rate increases dramatically. 

90% of many business marketing budgets are spent on appointment setting.  This is because appointment setting gets your sales person in front of the decision maker.  For example, it’s used by:

• top Fortune 500 companies
• the smallest one-man shows,
• doctors for new patient generation and patient reactivation
• financial planners
• insurance agents
• contractors
• most service oriented businesses

If you want to increase your sales, let telemarketers get your sales person in the door using appointment setting.

Posted: January 17th, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Call Centers, Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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I think that buying contact or “call” lists for telemarketing can benefit your sales enormously because the right prospects can be targeted.  No need to call someone who isn’t likely to need your product. 

This is why List Brokers have become an industry that provides these lists.  A good call list is “like gold”.  And the key is a GOOD list.  Unfortunately, even this industry has its less reputable or unreliable providers.

Several problems can arise with your list if you don’t take the necessary precautions.  For example, contact information can be out of date, the phone numbers may be disconnected, and sometimes the same information is repeated again and again.  Because you pay for each listing, this misinformation can cost you extra money.

First, use List Brokers who you can verify, the same way you would with anyone you do business with:  get references.   Who has used their service?  Call and ask them how it worked for them.  How long have they been in business?  Do they have professional relationships established (i.e. Better Business Bureau membership)?  But most importantly, discuss ahead of time how they will handle large numbers of bad contact information.  Most lists should be valid within the last 6 months.  Will the List Broker give you a refund for bad contacts?  Or will they replace them?

Make sure you avoid problems by asking lots of questions up front, and by including in your agreement the terms for handling erroneous listings. 

Posted: January 14th, 2008 under Call Centers, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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 While “sales” is still partly a numbers game (the more contacts, the more potential for a sale) we’ve come a long way in targeting markets that include prospects most likely to buy our product.  A new industry has even evolved to help telemarketers do just that: the List Broker.  And I think it’s well worth it, rather than using the phone book or other haphazard, unfocused lists.

To target the appropriate prospects for outbound telemarketing, I suggest you buy a list from a List Broker.  This is a service that provides calling lists based on the demographics that you request.  It can match the profile of the typical buyer or user of your product or service.  Besides the basic demographic choices of age, gender, location and income, there are many additional and more specific options. 

For business-to-business calls, you can request the type of business, location, and number of employees.  More options include and the name of the owner or manager, and credit history etc…

Targeting your market is the first step in making sales, and the right list for your market is conveniently available through a List Broker. 

Posted: January 10th, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Lead Generation, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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Outbound telemarketing is a phone call that’s generated from a call center to prospects who are often unaware of the product or service, and who did not request such a call (cold-calling).  This type of call can be used for lead generation, sales calls, appointment setting, research surveys and information verification. 

The key to the success of outbound telemarketing is that a specific market can be targeted using call lists with demographics that correspond to the type of buyer that would use the product or service.  For example, people in the “over 60” age range can be called regarding special travel packages for seniors.  A percentage of those called will respond favorably because they are the right type of client and are interested in what you offer.

Pricing:  In the U.S, a telemarketing service usually charges about $2 per call plus a base fee that depends on the size of the whole project.  500 calls is usually the minimum accepted, and larger projects typically receive a better per call rate. 

Additionally, a minimum down payment of around  $1,500  is often required.  So, plan on about $20 to $40 per hour plus the base fee.  Outsourcing globally (off-shore) is becoming more popular because the cost can be as much as 50% to 75% less than an on-shore service.  This option is usually used for huge projects.

Posted: January 9th, 2008 under Appointment Setting, Call Centers, Lead Generation, Off-shore Call Centers, Telemarketing Sales, Telemarketing Services.
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