September 27, 2011 (Powerhomebiz.com) If there is one thing to blame about why outbound telemarketing has gained such a negative impression, that would be cold calling. Why is that so? For one, the difficulty of keeping a continuous conversation with a prospect hinders the primary purpose of making use of the telephone as a marketing tool. Two, sales prospects are often not in the mood to answer any direct marketing tool. Take for example emails, how many of these were replied to? Broadcast campaigns, how many of these have been responded to?
Actually, it is in human nature why people become reluctant toward strangers or to any person they’re not familiar with;or even worse, if they discover that they are taking to people who sell them something out of their knowledge. I mean, would you?
Aside from the instances given above, here are some other examples.
Calling them at the wrong time. This usually happens almost half the time. Several outbound cold calls are made at the most unfavorable time ending in wasted calls. That’s why most call center supervisors advise their call marketing agents to call during the mornings wherein clients tend to be more positive in the mornings.
The dreaded Do Not Call List. But perhaps the greatest challenge most professional telemarketers face during cold calling is that when telephone numbers are protected from unwanted beeps.
How to overcome gatekeepers. Needless to say, receptionists, secretaries and front line attendants are the first people to answer the cold call coming from telemarketers. And it is only normal that these people are not warm and responsive. So in the end, communicating with the targeted decision makers can be tough.
Impolite sales prospects. It is understandable and you can’t blame most prospects who get irritated whenever they receive an unsolicited call especially from someone selling them something. Especially if they’re working and they don’t want to be disturbed.
These are but few of the many challenges telemarketers need to face when cold calling prospects. These can affect the efficiency of the telemarketing process and the whole lead generation programs. Then, another option that businesses can take is handing this telemarketing task to an expert b2b outsourcing service provider. Outsourcing to b2b companies have its advantages like taking out the stress off your employees and leave it to the expert telemarketers to handle it. At your end, your company can focus on other just as important agenda such as product development or training and development of your staff.
About the Author:
Belinda Summers works as a professional consultant. She helps businesses increase their revenue by lead generation and appointment setting services through telemarketing.