Word is that telemarketing is dead – but is it really? Though a majority of people, indeed, prefer to drop the social interaction and simply engage with companies via social media or email marketing efforts, there still is something to be said about the value of cold calling.
Telemarketing and cold calling allow you to connect with customers in a targeted and intimate way that just isn’t possible via online channels. When designing online marketing campaigns, your message has to be somewhat general to cast a wide net that draws in a number of people. Though often effective, the downside is that you are unable to engage with contacts at a granular level that grants you insights into their wants and needs.
Talking to prospects one-on-one is a great way to listen to their problems, come up with solutions, and forge meaningful relationships. It also gives prospects a chance to ask questions and feel like their needs are actually being heard. With this in mind, it’s not hard to see that cold calling still has its place in modern marketing strategies.
Investing in Telemarketing Solutions
Knowing what telemarketing can do for you isn’t enough to see success, though – you also need a strategy that will ensure you’re getting the most for your efforts. Businesses that utilize telemarketing successfully are the ones that have invested in software that can streamline and automate processes for their sales development teams.
These telemarketing solutions come in the form of sales engagement platforms (SEPs) that offer sales teams the tools they need to succeed. With an SEP you can expect features like:
- Auto-dialing
- VoIP
- Call recording
- Queue-based lead routing
- Logical-branch scripting
- Lead and sales tracking
- Automated messaging via email and SMS
- Appointment setting and auto-reminders
With this kind of technology, your sales development reps are given the opportunity to focus on the call rather than all of the manual tasks involved with finding leads, dialing numbers, and logging call information. Instead, SEPs funnel leads through the sales process and ensures they are being engaged with at appropriate times. Use autodial software to save you time and get connected with leads automatically, and with dynamic scripting, you can maintain natural conversations without awkward breaks or hesitation.
This kind of software takes much of the guesswork out of the process. SDRs aren’t stuck wasting time deciding which lead to contact next or on what to do when a conversation goes off script. With a branching script, they can instead choose options and get relevant responses to the conversation that sound natural and unforced.
Telemarketing software of this caliber enables teams to engage with millions of prospects in a short amount of time, opening up more opportunities to close sales and turn leads into customers. Without it, you won’t be getting the most out of your cold calling efforts and your SDRs will feel the pressure of trying to meet quotas without the necessary tools to get there.
So if you want the benefits of this tried-and-true marketing strategy, you’re going to have to learn how to use sales engagement software to your advantage.