Business to business (B2B) telemarketing is a cheap method where a business cold calls another business. There are several reasons as to why this is done. It could be from generating leads, qualifying prospects, following up on direct mail, or doing market research.
This telemarketing technique is an effective B2B lead generation process because it helps build trust through a personal connection. It also allows direct contact with top decision-makers of the business. In return, lead qualification and conversion are processed faster.
The difference between B2B (Business to business) telemarketing from B2C (Business to Customer)
B2B telemarketing and B2C telemarketing have similar goals. They also have key differences. Starting with its tone.
B2B telemarketers would need to present solutions to their client’s problems. With that said, their products or services are ultimately an essential investment for their customer’s companies.
On the other hand, a B2C telemarketer can slightly be more creative with their strategies. Their customers usually buy products or services from them based on emotion and desires.
Compared with B2C telemarketing, B2B telemarketing focuses on clients’ needs, interests, and challenges. A good B2B telemarketer would attract an individual to buy based on an expected ROI rather than based on emotion and desires.
With that said, B2C telemarketing won’t have a long sales process compared to B2B telemarketing. As B2B telemarketing is more relationship-driven than product-driven.
This happens because the B2B data pool is smaller and more focused than B2C and their prospects need to be nurtured. Once a sale is already on the go, other company decision-makers would want to get involved before the deal is done.
Telemarketing for sales, marketing, and B2B company benefits
Suppose you like to see new opportunities for development while creating brand awareness and credibility. In that case, B2B telemarketing is something your company should have!
Here are four benefits of B2B telemarketing:
1. You can get quality leads.
You’ll have the chance to warm up your lead and create a relationship quicker on B2B telemarketing. This kind of telemarketing will allow you to create a more personalized approach. Aside from that, you can find out if the lead you’re talking to is the right one for your company or not.
2. You can have a more extended pipeline
Since you can assign a particular lead to a specific agent, your agents can build rapport with the client. If that happens, they are already warmed up before these leads are passed on to your business development manager to close the sale.
With that happening, the other members of your B2B sales team can focus on finding and researching more leads. And as we know, more leads will give you a more significant opportunity for lead conversion.
3. It’s cost-effective
Managing a telemarketing team will make you see a big difference in cost compared to running a sales team. Suppose your telemarketing team stays in one place. In that case, they will have extra time to focus on bringing in more prospects, giving additional revenue. Whereas if your sales team would need to go from point A to point B to close a sale, the time used for travel could’ve been used to generate more leads.
4. You can measure its performance in real-time
The ability to record and listen back to calls to see what worked and what didn’t will significantly help your telemarketing team. It will also provide you with essential data. Data such as how long a call would take and the number of prospects open to the first contact.
How to do Business to Business telemarketing effectively
Your B2B telemarketing success depends on having the right qualified leads for what service or product you’re selling. That means that your telemarketing team should be highly focused.
For you to succeed, here are the steps to follow:
1. Set Goals
Before starting, it’s essential to know who you want to target. After that’s done, you can now focus on what you want to achieve in your campaign. Always make sure to consider your short and long-term objectives. Also, do not forget how much your budget would be.
2. Create your brand
People who have heard of your brand will be more willing to interact with you. Making blogs and content relevant to your product across all social media platforms will help reach people interested in what you’re selling. It will also create engagement and tell you more about what your target audience finds attractive.
3. Make buyer personas
Making buyer personas will help you straighten out strategies and activities to your target market needs. It’s also another way to connect and build rapport with your customers. Not only that, but it will also help you develop a trustworthy relationship and discover more of their concerns.
4. Personalize your connection
Personalized communication will go a long way to help you maintain a beneficial relationship with your customers. Remember that people don’t want to do business with companies who are not willing to go the extra mile.
5. Create a script
Personalization is always partnered with preparation. A script won’t be needed if your telemarketing team already has the experience. Keep in mind that new hires can benefit from it when they are just starting out.
Always make sure that your script contains all the essential information. It should also include responses to objections without coming across as robotic.
6. Train, test, and study
Your team can never have enough knowledge through training. Updates will pop out left and right. As well as new strategies and approaches that will help you have higher conversion rates.
If your team develops new skills, you can test them out to see if it works. It will also allow you to see if this new strategy is worth continuing.
7. Track your metrics
From the title itself, always make sure to track everything – from leads, the conversion rate of your team, sales per agent, and sales by region to give you a few examples. After collecting every data, make a report and update it weekly; if not, do it daily. Constantly evaluate your progress to enhance your telemarketing.
8. Have fun with your telemarketers
Make the job enjoyable. Engage with your team. Putting up with rejection and straightforward attitudes is emotionally draining, so you have to find a way to make your people lively.
Give out incentives or create contests. Make the working culture of your team comfortable and fascinating.
Different types of B2B telemarketing campaigns
To have a compelling telemarketing campaign, you need to develop a winning B2B strategy.
Here are some of the most effective B2B telemarketing campaigns:
1. Lead generation
Quality data is needed when you generate leads via telemarketing. The first step is to create a list of target prospects. Inbound lead generation will focus on anyone who has visited your website and requested a callback. On the other hand, outbound lead generation will target decision-makers in a specific industry.
By doing this, your calls will be focused on creating brand awareness. It will also help prospects be convinced to agree to a demo or a meeting.
2. Following up on prospects
If a prospect has shown interest in your product or services or you already spoke to them but didn’t get a clear answer, then this campaign will help you take them back in. Following up with them will pique their interest again and will give you a chance to book a meeting or a demo.
3. Inbound sales support
Here, your team will provide personalized assistant to callers who need help. Your sales team will only do one thing: address challenges, needs, and goals by a prospect that has something to do with your products or services.
Aside from that, your team can check if those prospects are qualified leads during the call. They can email them after the call as follow-up material. This will also help your product or services be retained in the prospect’s mind.
4. Event telemarketing
If you’re looking to increase the attendees of your webinar or virtual event, event telemarketing will come in handy. Invite a prospect to your event, show them what will be discussed, and include the benefits if they attend.
5. Lead nurturing
Nurture your relationship with prospects by giving them something of value before selling something right away. This can be anything from a free trial or a copy of your E-book. Often, this strategy is used when a lead goes cold. Doing this will let them know that you have something valuable for them.
How important is data to B2B telemarketing
Data is the lifeline of a successful B2B telemarketing campaign. Why? If you want to give your prospects a personalized experience, your data must be accurate.
Having bad data isn’t going to help your telemarketing strategy. Aside from not connecting with the right people, you’ll also be wasting revenue and resources.
If you want to start growing your business today, speak with digital marketing experts online at Expandant.
