Well we all know that telemarketing has an image about it. The very image of this marketing tactic varies with different individuals and groups. About the sales staff and the tactics there are different opinions developed in the working community. There are many negative comments attached to the marketing tactic of telemarketing and the individuals attached to it. It has also been said by the experts that a lot of bad word about the concept of telemarketing is due to the somewhat similar in nature marketing tactic of business to consumer sales calls.
All these misconceptions were built about this incredible tool of telemarketing when major businesses used the tool as an afterthought or don’t employ it to its full potential.
It is to be considered that telemarketers are not there to waste their time in prospects who are not interested. Like each of us obviously they too are looking for the ways to earn and they cannot afford to annoy their potential clients through any weird act.
The truth or reality is somewhat different to the opinions made about this tactic of telemarketing. It is a dilemma that many big and great brands are reluctant about including the tool of telemarketing in their marketing mix. They believe in some misconceptions and this where they lose to get the benefits of telemarketing.
This article will be discussing the most common misconception of the whole notion of telemarketing.
- All about chatting on the phone
One of the biggest misconception is that what all telemarketers do is talk endlessly. They have no planning and strategy they just call and converse. Now here comes the real time scenario where just taking up the phone and calling your prospect is not the scenario
In real time situations they have to prepared about below mentioned areas as these need to be explained to the prospect
- Caller Introduction
- Their employer Introduction
- The solution to customer problems
- Providing information asked on spot
So, this concludes that the good telemarketer needs to have an ability to listen and not just talk and understand the problems faced by the customer. After this they need to come up with a solution to their problem, without a solution there is no point in calling and talking to any individual.
- Script Reading
It is also being said or understood about the telemarketers that all they do is memorize a script. They do not think and plan much about the person they will talk to. There will be no tailoring of the content they need to talk about.
In the wildest thoughts no one can imagine a telemarketer telling the same thing to every person he/she is talking to as this will never work. They will be blocked / banned and titled as the ones who are harassing.
They need to have some general notes in order to start and warm up the conversation. This is a pro tip so that they do not go blank on a call. In addition to this they will make pointers about the lead information available, the problems faced by the respective lead and the offer company has for it.
- The more the better
Here comes another opinion about this tool of telemarketing that all they want to do is to call the maximum number of people.
Though it is very important to find the maximum number of people to whom you can consider for your product or company. But on the other side this practice is not done blindly by just picking up the numbers from the directory.
It is a fact that every solution is not for everyone. Telemarketer cannot just target everyone with he same product. There are very few in the whole pool of people they have who can be approached for the solution they have to offer. They have to make every possible attempt to make the most out of those people. Also to ensure the time invested in each call Is not wasted they call As such, telemarketers often spend a lot of time and put a lot of attention into each lead.
Telemarketers cannot just call randomly and waste the whole investment of time and money where there are no chances of collaborations
- Outdated Marketing Tool
Digital marketing is the new trend. But with its rising importance and influence no one can forget the charm of human touch. It has been realized by the experts that an appropriate marketing mix is the only way to the success of any campaign. Telemarketing can be one of the most influential tools in marketing mix. It has a great influence on varied marketing objectives like building brand’s awareness in the market or converting the potential customers into actual buyers. Whether used to increase brand awareness, convert prospects into customers or to support existing marketing activity, telemarketing can be a worthwhile investment.
- Effective tool for low-priced products
As discussed already that telemarketing can be very effective if used as a part of a relative marketing mix. It can provide a very promising number of leads and opportunities in terms of business if curated accordingly for any marketing campaign. This tool can be used with other marketing tactics for various number of products and services.
- Manipulation Tactics
There is this widely considered misconception about telemarketing that the telemarketers apply the tactics of controlling and manipulating the individuals on receiving end. They try to get the results which are good for themselves. Well in today’s modern era there is one for sure that the client/ customer is more than just aware. The know the tactics, the relative information, the market and existing competition. They know what options are there.
Trying to manipulate a potential customer is nothing more than a lost sale / business and may be a bad word of mouth. The best strategy here is to empower the client be giving them the freedom to ask all the relevant questions. These questions will lead to the solution to their problems. The problems faced by clients are subjective and there can never be one solution to all of them. This is one of the valid reason why controlling the client was never an option. Because we are not taking about few people, it is about the whole client data base.
- Meticulous Approach
A great marketer needs to ensure that he has to build a narration/story around the solution that the client comes for it.
It has been believed that all telemarketers do is to push for a sale to happen. Well it never was a marketing technique because it can never inspire a client or customer to come to any brand but yes it may push them away out of annoyance.
In reality for a successful telemarketing campaign there is a need to convey your personality in order to build a relationship with the client. Problems of the clients and way to approach them are subjective. Every telemarketing campaign has a different way of approaching a sales pitch and what works for one person won’t work for another. As well as developing your own personal approach to a sales pitch, it’s important to also be aware of a variety of different approaches that can be used where appropriate.
- Credibility issues
It has been widely misunderstood about the telemarketers that all the need is your private information. They will use this information for their own benefits.
Well we all know that there are individuals who are unreliable. Having said that we cannot ignore the vast group of genuine and honest people working in the marketing business. There is a chance that people calling to hard sell a product/service can be a fraud and not a telemarketer. Because a telemarketer will not stake its credibility for nothing.
Telemarketers make sincere efforts to share the product/service and its company information with the client. They cannot imagine taking private information from the client and lead them to a wrong way. Such an act makes no sense as they have goals and targets to achieve rather than create problems for themselves.
- Telemarketing Is an Expensive Marketing tactic
It is a fact that telemarketing is one of the most expensive marketing channels but it comes with a great return on investment.
In addition to the monetary ROI there are other “soft” characteristics which telemarketing can offer. This added value comes in a quantity of forms; the most apparent of which is the general raising of brand’s profile. Hundreds of potential clients will come into interaction with brand’s name each single day of the campaign; this particularly will be great for the new business aiming to create awareness.
In B2B scenario the telemarketers also collect latest information, email addresses for the contacts businesses want to target. Telemarketers can instantly send brand’s information to the related people as and when their email addresses are collected, or those can be delivered to the brand as a batch at the end of the campaign.
Telemarketer aim to build a conversation, rather than a monologue, they also collect/ gather other peripheral, relevant information. For example, if telemarketers fail to make a successful call and end up getting a simple “not interested” outcome, they might produce an outcome like “May be Later” response, providing you a more suitable time to call back in the future. The not interested outcome in itself is an insight and lead to the information that if why a prospect or client is not interested.
Conclusion
The authentic truth is that being an expert in telemarketing needs a lot of skills than any usual marketer or an individual will know. In order to work hard for a win- win situation for the company and its set goals and to sort out the problems of your client an amazing judgment skill is required. To understand the needs of your client in the best possible way and to then to offer them the required and suitable solution isn’t an easy task.