Sales is an art form. Many people think that it’s all about being pushy, aggressive, or doing whatever one needs to do to close a sale. But that’s far from the truth since salespeople need to be the best negotiators. They must be skilled communicators and be able to build relationships with potential customers. Telemarketers, in particular, have to be especially personable and persuasive.
When building a sales strategy, it’s good to hire someone trained in telemarketing, even if you’re planning on only having them make sales calls. Wing outbound callers are well-rounded sales professionals who can. In this blog post, we will discuss why telemarketers are an essential part of any sales campaign and what makes them so successful!
What Can Telemarketers Do?
A telemarketer is a person who calls potential customers to try and sell them a product or service. The telemarketer will usually work off of a script and will have some basic information about the product or service that they are trying to sell.
The telemarketer’s job is to introduce the customer to the product or service, answer any questions that the customer might have, and then try to close the sale.
If the telemarketer is successful, they will set up an appointment for a salesperson to come and talk to the customer in person. In some cases, the telemarketer may also be responsible for making follow-up calls after the sale has been made.
Why Do Companies Still Use Telemarketing?
Telemarketing can be an extremely effective way to generate leads for a sales team. telemarketers are often able to reach a large number of potential customers in a relatively short period.
Additionally, telemarketing allows salespeople to build relationships with potential customers before they even meet in person. This can make it easier to close the sale when the salesperson does eventually meet with the customer.
There are some drawbacks to telemarketing, however. One is that it can be very difficult to gauge a customer’s interest level over the phone. Also, telemarketers often have to deal with angry or frustrated customers who are not interested in what they’re selling.
What Skills Do Telemarketers Need to Have?
To be successful, telemarketers need to have several hard skills and soft skills. These sales professionals must know data entry, have basic computer skills and be experienced in handling customer relationship management (CRM) tools. They must also be adept at managing their time and organizing projects.
Besides these, telemarketers should also have soft skills. Negotiation, persuasion, and the ability to build relationships are crucial in their line of work. Telemarketers should be able to listen with empathy, pick up on nuances in what people are saying, and be able to respond in a friendly way.
Telemarketers vs In-person Sales
Both telemarketers and salespersons contact potential customers to try and sell them a product or service. The main difference between the two is that telemarketers usually work over the phone, while salespersons typically meet with potential customers in person.
Professionals doing in-person sales campaigns have more time to build relationships with potential customers than telemarketers. It is because they’re meeting with them face-to-face. This can be an advantage when trying to close a sale.
However, telemarketers often have a wider reach than sales callers because they can make more calls in a day. Both telemarketers and salespersons need to have strong communication skills. However, telemarketers must build relationships quickly over the phone.
Telemarketers and in-person teams are both important for a company’s campaigns. Telemarketers are often better at generating leads, while salespersons are usually better at closing deals. Both types of sales professionals need to have strong communication skills and the ability to build relationships with potential customers.
What Sales Tasks Can a Telemarketer Handle?
Telemarketers are a valuable addition to any sales team. If you know what tasks to assign to one, you can free up time for sales strategy and analytics. But what things can you offload to a telemarketer in the first place?
Cold Calling and Outreach
One of the first things you can offload to a telemarketer is cold calling or outreach. Cold calling is the process of contacting potential customers who have not shown any interest in your product or service and engaging with them through sales scripts. Often, sales teams use cold calling to gauge market interest rather than close sales.
Telemarketers can build relationships quickly over the phone. If you have a list of potential customers that you want to contact, telemarketers can take a load of work off your hands by calling these leads one by one.
A seasoned telemarketer will also ensure the effectiveness of the scripts they’re using. They can tweak their scripts on the spot, depending on how the lead is responding, without veering too far off the course.
Fielding Questions from Third Parties
Telemarketers do more than cold calling and prospecting! You can also count on your dedicated callers to respond to inquiries from external parties. A telemarketer can respond to questions from potential customers, industry peers, affiliates, and anyone who might be interested in your brand.
By having a telemarketer respond to frequently-asked questions, you’re freeing up your time to focus on more pressing tasks. You’re also showing callers and visitors to your website that you’re ready to attend to their needs.
Updating CRM Tools with Customer Data
Another task you can assign a telemarketer is updating your CRM tools with customer data. CRM tools are software applications that help sales teams manage their customer relationships. These tools often have features like contact lists, call logs, and deal trackers.
Telemarketers keep your CRM tools updated with the latest customer data. They will input new data points like updated names, new contact information, and notes from previous calls. This way, you can have a complete record of your interactions with each customer.
Outsourcing the management of software like these is a great way to free up your time. Although business owners must strive to know their market, at some point, it will be impossible for them to personally know and interact with every lead and customer. Having an updated CRM database allows salespeople to act on behalf of the owner and cultivate a relationship with the business’ customers.
Troubleshooting Customer Concerns
A telemarketer can also serve as a customer support representative. In this capacity, they troubleshoot product or service issues and direct customers to the appropriate channels.
For example, if a user is having trouble with your product, a telemarketer can walk them through some basic troubleshooting steps. If the issue persists, they can then escalate the concern to a QA team with a more technical background.
Telemarketers can also help with billing concerns or issues. They can investigate the problem and provide a resolution to the customer. If the telemarketer is unable to resolve the issue, they can pass it on to a manager or supervisor.
Customer support is a valuable part of sales because it allows you to build relationships with your existing customers. Having great customer support shows customers that you’re invested in their experience of your brand.
Cross-selling and Upselling
A telemarketer can also help with cross-selling and upselling. For example, if your main product is an e-book on social media marketing, you can cross-sell complementary products like a book on copywriting or an online course on graphic design. Though graphic design and copywriting are distinct areas of specialization, they are components of a good social media marketing campaign.
Upselling is the act of selling a more expensive version of the product to the customer. For example, if you’re selling an ebook on social media marketing, you can upsell a premium version that includes templates and video tutorials.
Cross-selling and upselling are crucial parts of a telemarketer’s job because they help increase the average order value. By selling complementary products, you’re able to provide more value to the customer. And by upselling premium versions of your product, you’re able to generate more revenue.
Screening and Routing Calls
Telemarketers can also help you direct the flow of information coming in and going out of your company. By screening and routing calls, telemarketers can help direct calls to the appropriate department or individual.
For instance, if a customer has a question about billing, the telemarketer can route them to the billing department. Or if a customer has a highly specific question, the telemarketer can ask more questions to determine whether they can answer the query themselves or if they need to pass the customer to a different team.
Conducting Surveys
Finally, telemarketers can help you gather more information from your customers about their preferences, their experience of your products and services, and more. Surveys are a tried and tested marketing tool, and if you have a telemarketer on your team, you don’t need to conduct your surveys in person.
Telemarketers can reach out to your customers via phone, chat, or email and collect survey responses. This is a great way to get feedback from your customers without interrupting their day-to-day lives.
Conducting surveys is an important part of telemarketing because it allows businesses to gather data about their customers. This data can be used to improve the products and services that a business offers. It can also be used to create targeted marketing campaigns and understand the needs and wants of customers.
Telemarketers: valuable to campaigns
A digital-first marketing campaign seems to be the norm for companies today, with businesses allocating thousands of dollars to pay-per-click ads, content, social media marketing, and search engine marketing. These measures do work and scale, but it’s best to complement them with top-tier telemarketing and phone support.
Having a telemarketer on your team can help you close deals, upsell and cross-sell products, screen or route calls, and conduct surveys. Telemarketers are a valuable asset to any marketing or sales campaign. If you’re not using telemarketers as part of your marketing mix, you’re missing out on a key opportunity to connect with your customers.
Boost your marketing and sales strategy with a trained, dedicated outbound caller from Wing Assistant. Get in touch with us today to learn more!
Aya is Wing Assistant’s blog manager. When she’s not wrangling content briefs, editing article drafts and handling on-page SEO, she is crafting messages for Wing’s other communication materials. Aya writes about SaaS startups, marketing for startups, search engine optimization, and pop culture.
