Marketing and Sales Over the Phone

Marketing Over the Phone

Telemarketing is not a universal promotion and sales tool. And even more so, there is no way to quickly increase your sales results. Not all products or services are even suitable for communication by telephone. If the product is not popular in other sales channels, then there is a high probability that it will also not sell over the phone.

On the other hand, if the product is “good”, supported by appropriate promotion, then shifting sales from retail outlets to remote channels, or the simultaneous development of these channels, can bring a number of benefits.

The development of telesales (or the so-called inside sales ) can effectively contribute to lowering the costs of acquiring customers. But it’s not an easy process that you can start right there. Building a team of professional salespeople requires time, adequate facilities, training, a series of analyzes and hard work.

Outsource the Call Center

When the first organizational and technical problems are overcome (or the decision is made to outsource the call center, which is sometimes associated with much lower costs ), then it is time to take a closer look and refine the details of how to sell and strategy for the campaigns carried out.

Then it is worth considering what conditions should be met in order to increase the chances of effective telemarketing offered products. Some of them are:

1. The subject of the telephone campaign should be a product with clear benefits for customers . During phone calls, which usually last up to a few minutes, there is no time for long descriptions of the functionality and explaining the complexities of the offer. The simpler the product and offer, the better.
2. During one conversation, you cannot present the entire range of products and then wait for the customer to choose one of them. Better results can be achieved by a short interview at the beginning of the conversation – i.e. asking 2-3 questions examining the needs of a potential client. Based on the answers obtained, it is easier to come up with a specific offer later .
3. At the beginning of each telemarketing campaign, you must clearly define what the purpose of the talks is . In the case of campaigns aimed at individual customers, it is usually about sales; secondly, to obtain full contact details for future contact. In the case of B2B marketing , and when selling more difficult products, often the first goal of a telephone conversation is to obtain contact details of the decision-making person, then arrange a sales meeting, or obtain consent to send an offer by e-mail .
4. The people assigned to implement the action should be able to talk first , and not only read the previously prepared conversation script and recite the benefits dryly. This is especially important when we entrust the telemarketing campaign to an external company, where most of the employees often have work experience not exceeding 3 months.
5. The telephone consultant should give the impression of an expert worth spending a few minutes interviewing.
6. The product offered over the phone should have unique benefits not available in other sales channels – e.g. additional discount, free, bonus. Alternatively, in the case of simple products (e.g. financial), the benefits of not having to visit the point of sale should be clearly emphasized during the conversation – everything can be settled by a courier, at a time agreed by both parties.
7. Any previous customer experience with the company or brand has a huge impact on the purchasing decision. The final result largely depends on all pre- sales activities undertaken previously (e.g. lead nurturing , content marketing , email marketing campaign, advertising campaign, etc.). The greater the knowledge about the company and the product, the greater the trouble and the easier the conversation on the phone.
8. An inseparable element of the decision-making process are doubts that appear in the customer’s mind immediately after making the purchase. After the call, it is worth supporting customers to feel the right choice made and confirm the details of the arrangements , e.g. via SMS or email with an appropriate message.
9. The analyzes based on the results of the interviews turn out to be invaluable . It is worth considering the main causes of failure (e.g. wrongly selected target group, lack of interest in the product, too high price, complicated transaction finalization procedure, etc.). The results of such analyzes should be the starting point for developing better arguments to overcome customer objections.
10. It is worth using indicators used in call centers to analyze profitability .
11. It is worth testing new techniques, conversation scenarios, changing and improving the telephone sales process, enriching it with email marketing activities, etc.