With accountable marketing being the new priority for marketers, Telemarketing has come into its own. However, the days of low skilled telemarketers working from a script to make calls are over in the B2B market and there are three main areas for development in the future.
The first is quality of data. The most important factor in any direct marketing campaign, this has often been overlooked in the past. Now and in the future it will be (and should always have been) a given that the data will be top quality.
Secondly, integrating telemarketing with other lead sources, like direct mail and email, is increasingly being used by the top telemarketing agencies.
The third is that “highly skilled” is the important buzzword.
The days of low skilled telemarketers working from a script to make calls are over in the B2B market.
In the majority of instances, when you are telemarketing in the B2B arena, you are speaking to high level execs. These executives do not have time for poor quality calls. Those companies that continue to subscribe to the model of low quality staff, scripts and low charge-out rates are quickly going out of business, as they don’t deliver results.
Moving forward, there is a requirement to hire the best resource, pay the individuals the right money for it and to deliver results for clients. If you’re buying B2B telemarketing and an agency puts a script in front of you, then you need to consider whether they are the right company for you.
In the words of Paul Thomas, MD of forward-thinking telemarketing agency, Market Makers, “there is no place in the B2B arena today for anything but top quality telemarketing”. Market Makers themselves reward their staff well so that they can source the best, offering real career progression for their top performers. They’ve also just been voted 25th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For 2009. Paul comments: “selling is a skill. Therefore we employ the most talented individuals and give them constant support and training in order to keep them”.
Of course there are other considerations that are important, for instance the systems technology used by the telemarketing house. But if you can find an agency that employs the very best sales people, only sources the most responsive, accurate data and is experienced in offering integrated marketing campaigns then you will have a head start for the future.
