Telemarketing

Once you have decided to use telemarketing and have determined your target audience, you need to decide how you will approach your strategy.

Contacting customers directly can be an efficient sales device. This is especially true if you intend to tell existing customers about a new product, or one that is like something they have previously purchased from you.

However, before you begin telemarketing, you need to do the following:

• obtain your clean, opted-out list of current customers and their details
• decide if you will do your telemarketing in-house or get an agency to do the work for you
• think about rewarding your existing customers with special offers

Using a telemarketing agency

You should try to ensure that your telemarketing generates new leads, retains your existing customers, and maintains relationships. If your business is struggling to do these things through its telemarketing project, consider hiring a telemarketing service provider.

Before instructing a service provider you should:

• Decide on the services you need. For example, do you just need cold calling, or would you require someone to be always contactable?
• Ask for referrals and research into any bidding service providers. Many telemarketing agencies advertise their services but you can also find information about them online.
• Contact the telemarketing service provider directly and gauge their responses to your particular needs.
• Request a proposal - this will help you shortlist the agencies you are considering.
• Visit the agency to observe the office environment and see if the company appears credible.

Planning other telemarketing activities

You can also use inbound calls to sell products or services to your customers. For example, if a customer asks for a particular item that you stock, you can offer to supply them with relevant, accompanying products that they may need. If you intend to use this sales tactic, you should ensure that any telemarketing staff have had previous sales training.