Before we talk about B2B telemarketing database and its many merits, let understand a few things.

 

The telephone has become incredibly central to our day-to-day lives. While we may have moved on to better communication technology, B2B telemarketing continues to be central to lead generation. However, telephonic sales aren’t as high-ROI generating as they once were. In the not-so-distant year of 2007, it took an average of 3.68 cold call attempts to connect with a prospect. On the other hand, today it takes almost eight tries to get through to a candidate and land a sale via the phone. The difficulty of landing a phone sale has practically doubled in hardly a decade.

 

However, phone sales are far from dead. All they need is a stronger strategy to power them. The report by Baylor University found that securing a referral or appointment via cold calling efforts takes an average of 7.5 hours. If that’s all the time it takes to land a new prospect for your organization, you could obtain one referral a day if you dedicated one employee for this activity on a full-time basis. In the B2B scenario, this is a number that represents a strong ROI.

 

Usually, B2B telesales and B2B telemarketing are used interchangeably. However, while they fall in a similar category, they are very different. B2B telemarketing, in general, is broader and encompasses far more activities than B2B telesales. Usually, telesales data lists will get used when teams are looking at fulfilling specific targets or missions. On the other hand, the goal of telemarketing is more multi-dimensional and layered.  There are usually several methods and multiple goals involved.

 

 

What is B2B Telesales?      

                                                                    

In simple words, B2B telesales refers to methods of converting leads into sales through telephonic conversation. However, as technological advancements have become central to staying ahead, telesales has become more complex.

 

Usually, telesales professions will receive a list of qualified or hot sales leads from junior telecallers. There is also a chance that other marketing channels are used to gather these lucrative leads. Not matter from where the leads come, telesales calls aim to land sales through outbound calling. The objective of successful and effective telesales campaigns revolve around moving leads further along the sales funnel. Moreover, such activities act as a nudge in the right direction for your buyer.

 

In any case, B2B telesales aim at generating sales-relevant returns. Such activities are far more focused and single-minded than B2B telemarketing.

 

What can B2B Telesales Do for Your Organization?

 

• Once you have the right customer data, you need a team that can persistently persuade and convert these into sales. With telesales activities, this becomes a more straightforward process, and conversion rates increase.
• Since B2B telesales increases conversion, it also ends up reducing the overall costs per sale.
• With a highly experienced B2B telesales team, responding to accurate data becomes easier. This is where B2B telemarketing database or telesales data makes a difference. It builds the foundation for active
• Without the expense of logistics involved in travelling, B2B telesales can save you much money in the long run. Additionally, it is one of those marketing activities is easily tailored to your budget.
• An experienced telesales professional, however, is a non-negotiable requirement. Since telesales takes a level of tact and temperament, a professional team can prevent customer annoyance or inconvenience. Additionally, through such efforts, it becomes easier to leave customers, potential partners and prospects with a professional impression.

 

 

What is B2B Telemarketing?

 

Before we get into explaining just how important the quality of your B2B telemarketing database is, let’s understand the phenomenon of telemarketing.

 

In the simplest of words, B2B telemarketing is a host of activities that aim at increasing opportunities for your organization. The focus is on raising brand awareness and discovering leads, prospects and opportunities by directly communicating with potential customers.

 

Like B2B telesales, B2B telemarketing database finds itself useful for outbound calling. However, that is not all. A telemarketing call can have other motives such as lead generation, segmentation, and qualification. It can help with setting appointments for inside sales teams. Additionally, market research and polling endeavours will benefit from a robust B2B telemarketing database. Such data helps in getting quality customer feedback, and by extension, retention rates see a rise.

 

All in all, B2B telemarketing is an excellent way of turning leads into opportunities. Unlike the shorter period that telesales campaigns run, such campaigns usually have long-term goals.

 

What can B2B Telemarketing Do for Your Organization?

 

• Telemarketing effectively helps you find new customers. Additionally, such outreach is useful in generating interest in your organization or brand. By taking information to the customer directly, the returns will grow.
• These activities reduce the time and cost associated to lead generation. Moreover, they can help your teams identify leads with the most
• In the same way, B2B telemarketing creates a more reliable data source for your marketing and outreach efforts. Needless to say, it helps you more than store-bought data would.
• Again, a robust telemarketing campaign is sure to deliver positive telesales campaigns. This makes it integral to your marketing strategy.
• Reduces overall costs by cutting on spending related to cold calling and training of telesales staff.

 

 

Does Your B2B Organization Need Telesales or Telemarketing?

 

As both of these marketing activities are similar to each other, there is much confusion about what to choose. However, this decision is not a simple either-or type of choice.

 

For example, a B2B telesales campaign run without upstream lead generation is going to bring in low conversion rates. On the other hand, even the best B2B lead generation campaigns without telemarketing support can bring in the most miserable results and in worst cases, a negative ROI. An amalgamation of both, telesales and telemarketing, gives you an edge over others.

 

In the ideal scenario, your outreach strategy should combine both disciplines. Additionally, there must be an excellent collaboration between your telemarketing and telesales wings. Such partnership ensures the smooth flow of operations and helps maximize efficiency.

 

 

For example, an integrated campaign that amalgamates elements of all forms and platforms will work best. For example, traditional PR and marketing, telesales, telemarketing, and online marketing are going to bring in robust results. Since there is a mix of various successful strategies, it helps land prospects across the spectrum. Surely, an integrated approach may be slightly more expensive. However, it brings in high returns on investment.

 

At the end of the day, you need to assert if telesales or telemarketing in your organization requires boosting. If you find that your teams are successful at speaking about products and services, but don’t generate enough interest and positive contact, you need B2B telemarketing. On the other hand, if potential customers come your way, but don’t land your sales, it may be time to get some B2B telesales help.

 

 

B2B Telesales Success Tips

 

As we’ve explained before B2B telesales should ideally be part of your B2B outreach efforts. However, selling over the phone requires a unique skill set. While the rewards that telephonic sales outreach efforts bring are huge, it is not without effort.

 

Let’s take a look at some tips that will help you become a pro at telesales for B2B customers.

 

Tip #1: It’s all about the Timing

 

As is the case with most marketing activities, timing is of the essence even in the case of telesales. You will achieve more and have more fruitful connections if you call during peak hours. Since you need the prospect to remain attentive and engage with you, the best time to approach them is when they won’t be busy. Reach out at peak efficiency during the peak hours and see how things change.

 

 

One vital asset in this scenario is your telesales data list. By analyzing this database, you will gain insights that help in determining the peak hours for your prospects. Additionally, an in-depth study conducted by MIT may help you understand the best time to reach out to prospects. The findings of the study show:

 

• It is best to contact your leads between 4.00-6.00pm. This is usually a period where a significant chunk of the day’s work has ended, and the prospect may have a few minutes to spare.
• The second best time to reach out to prospects, according to the study, is between 8.00-10.00am. Usually, prospective B2B customers have not yet begun the day in full swing and might be available to talk for a few minutes.
• The study also states that the worst time to call a prospect is between 11.00 am-2.00 pm. In other words, calling them up when they are most likely in the middle of the day’s busiest period is not going to be lucrative.
• As per the study, Mondays and Tuesdays are the worst possible days to connect with prospects. On the other hand, Wednesdays and Thursdays are likely to land you the best results.

 

 

Tip #2: Connect With the Right People, But Research First

 

A ‘bull in a China shop’ approach never works when it comes to B2B telesales. To get the best results out of the work you put in, it is indispensable that you call the right kind of people. In the B2B scenario, you are most likely targeting a niche segment of prospects. When your telesales data list comprises of such people, you are sure to receive better response rates. Moreover, by reaching out to people who are most likely to require your products and services, you will make positive connections without irking people for unsolicited communication.

 

Admittedly, it is necessary to have a database maintenance partner. A partner like this will help you evaluate any irrelevant contacts. However, this doesn’t free you from researching responsibilities. In today’s social media age, learning about prospects isn’t nearly as difficult as it once was. Before you reach out to a prospect, run a quick search online to find any relevant information. This step helps you understand what a prospect might potentially need from you.

 

You can also initiate contact with a potential customer before you make the first call. Approaching them via shared acquaintances is wise. Maybe you can catch their eye by commenting on a social media post. There are many ways to establish a connection, albeit a superficial one, before dialing someone’s number.

 

 

Tip#3: Follow Scripts, But Handle Objections Tactfully

 

You must have noticed by now that sales scripts are demonized for being dull, boring, and having many downsides. However, there are still many merits to using a well-written sales script. In most cases, the problem arises when you use the script poorly. When you utilize a well-written script aptly, it forces you to create a sales methodology that is consistent. It acts as a baseline for all the telesales team’s efforts.

 

In a scenario, where your teams have to hit a certain target, speed is of the essence. Here, a sales script is very helpful since reps will spend less time preparing the contents of each call. Instead, with a script, they know how to navigate a conversation without much stress.

 

 

In the case of B2B telesales activities, reps must deal with objections daily. Rather than taking this negatively, reps should receive training on how to effectively tackle any customer objections that arise. With practice, reps will have a clear understanding of how to reply effectively. Some complaints, especially those related to price, service, products, etc. need to be covered as soon as they crop up. These issues have a way of hindering the sales process and ignoring these objections or brushing them away might lose the sale for you. On the other hand, representatives shouldn’t bring up other objections that may hinder the sales process. Anything that creates doubt when there was none, to begin with, should be avoided.

 

Tip #4: Keep Communication Two-Way and Add Value

 

Sure, everyone knows that effective communication is a two-way street. However, marketers seem to forget this when it comes to B2B telesales.

 

When undertaking any telesales operations, always remember to listen more than you talk. The more that your prospect talks on a call, the higher are the chances that they will buy from you. In the case of telesales calls, both outbound and inbound, the processes are inherently intrusive and aggressive. Here, you are usually on the offensive. So, rather than trying to prove how don’t intend offense, just listen to them instead. Sometimes, it is better just to slow down, listen to them and get out of your own way.

 

Another critical thing to remember is that your intention shouldn’t be to sell, it should focus on adding value. In any case, B2B sales are not about hoodwinking someone into buying a product or service that doesn’t provide solutions. Here, the focus is on matching the benefits of your product or service with organizations that might need them. So, by focusing on adding value, you are more likely to land a sale. Always remember to focus on talking about value before you begin discussing price.

 

 

B2B Telemarketing Success Tips

 

As we’ve explained before B2B telemarketing has some incredible benefits to offer your organization. However, it is not without its problems. For many marketers, their reality is such that telemarketing attempts just don’t work. However, rather than blaming the technique for this, in such a scenario, you must look inwards. B2B telemarketing is far from dead. If you aren’t succeeding at it, it may be time to have a new approach.

 

Instead of critiquing the method’s efficacy, it is better to look at what your team can do to improve telemarketing impact. An excellent way to start is by evaluating what is lacking. Consequently, it becomes easier to identify the shortcomings and work on improving them.

 

Tip #1: Avoid Cold-Calling Myopia – Invest in your B2B Telemarketing Database

 

Any B2B sales professional knows that at the end of the day, it’s a numbers game. Usually, in the case of B2B telemarketing, it starts by obtaining a large batch of contact data. In a manner of speaking, this B2B telemarketing database lays the foundation for everything else. Once you’re all set with your B2B telesales database, the focus shifts to engaging a large number of these contacts via cold-calling. Usually, teams will end up selling products or services only to a small pool of these contacts. Additionally, in this scenario, the hope is that at least some prospects turn to high-ticket customers. This phenomenon helps justify an otherwise low risk, low reward work.

 

 

The best way to work around this is first to evaluate your B2B telemarketing database very keenly and honestly. Understand that the quality of your B2B telemarketing database is imperative in deciding the lucrativeness of your efforts. This means that rather than relying on some data vendor to give you a list of contacts, invest in the right quality data. For your B2B telemarketing database, look for connections mined with your objectives in mind. A service provider such as Bizprospex can help you with all your data solution requirements. Needless to say, cold-calling will rake in better results when a data partner backs you.

 

Tip #2: Never Stick to One Channel, Have a Multi-Channel Approach

 

It is very common in B2B marketing circles that teams will focus all their energies and resources on one channel or another. Not that this isn’t working for them, but such an approach is going to keep you cloistered from full-fledged success.

 

Sure your B2B telemarketing database has a lot f potential for telemarketing and telesales, but that is not all. Make sure that your B2B company doesn’t pool all its resources only on outbound outreach. Additionally, other important channels such as email marketing, social media, webinars, web outreach, etc. mustn’t be ignored. While this may sound incredibly obvious, it’s an easy mistake to commit.

 

Most importantly, remember that outbound and inbound outreach doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Ideally, they should act in a complementary capacity to one another. Incoming telephonic sales interactions help when it comes to increasing brand awareness and filling the top of the sales funnel. On the other hand, B2B telemarketing data helps in following up with prospects and starting conversations with potential customers. Such multi-channel alignment helps bring in higher annual revenue growth, growing numbers of accepted leads, and increased capacity to meet sales goals.

 

Tip #3: Schedule Your Call’s Timing Perfectly

 

Your B2B telemarketing database is a gold mine. The main reason for this is that B2B telemarketing is deemed far less intrusive or annoying as compared to B2C. However, in this survey, it was found that 35% of participants thought of telemarketing calls at home as the most annoying of all. At the same time, only 4% believed that telemarketing or sales calls at work were annoying. Concurrently, this makes it extremely important that you time your cold calling efforts well.

 

 

Moreover, scheduling your telemarketing calls appropriately, helps you utilize time and resources. When you research and evaluate the right time to call prospects, the chances of making a definite connection increase. For example, in some cases, approaching a busy prospect around 9 am may work. Here, they’ll have a few minutes to spare before diving into their work. Maybe another candidate will respond to a call in the late afternoon, around the time they’re taking a break. Never call during lunch hours or after hours.

 

Tip #4: Be Goal Oriented, Question Effectively, and Get Them to Commit

 

Having the right business data analytics and insights about contacts in your B2B telemarketing database is very important. Such knowledge helps you by providing you with points of conversation likely to please the customer. It makes room for a more bespoke approach to telephone sales. However, remember to engage the customer on the call. Don’t just list of benefits without any forethought. Ask questions based on the B2B data analysis insights of your B2B telemarketing database. When you allow your prospect to answer at this leisure, you’re giving them a chance to talk about their business needs. This will help you make pitches more effectively.

 

Additionally, your telemarketing efforts should always have a core guiding principle behind it. Further, each call should have a purpose. This will help your pitch be more focused and clear. You will mitigate the chance of any grave errors in judgment. By planning your call, marketers can offer valuable service to customers and build a loyal base over time. As and when you get more hints or information from customers, remain adaptable and tweak your offering as well as communication. Finally, a well-rounded and prepared approach to telemarketing will bring in better, measurable results.

 

Lastly, your telemarketing calls should be result-oriented. Always try to get customers to commit to associating with you. On the whole, you can’t land a sale from every call you make. In fact, most calls won’t bring in any return at all. However, the aim of every call should include moving prospects closer to purchases. Ask for a follow-up session, offer free demos, and set up meetings. Anything that can help you remain in touch is a positive step.

 

 

Tip #5: Keep the Human Touch Alive

 

Since prospects will only ever hear the telemarketer’s voice, there is not much scope for keeping their attention through gimmicks. Effective telemarketing goes beyond formulaic scripts and monotonous, impersonal question-answer formats. By making use of an easily understood, relaxed and natural language during telemarketing calls, prospects will respond better to your messages. Avoid using stock-style introductions like ‘Hey! Hope you’re doing fine.’ Alternatively, ‘How are you doing?’. The use of such an impersonal communication tone will assure quick rejection. So, when it comes to the initial approach, sound exciting and genuinely care about their needs. Most importantly, don’t try to fake it. Most prospects will see right through this.

 

 

People want to be treated like people. The same applies to the prospects in your B2B telemarketing database. Consequently, to offer a more holistic experience, employ basic call etiquette techniques in your telemarketing efforts. Normal, pedestrian things like using the prospect’s right name, speaking in complete sentences, not appearing overly formal, not using jargon, etc. are all helpful.

 

Tip #6: Get Help from Experts When Required

 

As you’ve understood by now, the B2B telemarketing database is crucial to all your outbound cold calling efforts. While there are other aspects to the technique, let’s focus on data quality. As is the case with most companies, they just aren’t enough resources or experienced teams to process things accurately and appropriately. Moreover, the B2B telemarketing database you employ is just a small slice of the larger demand generation pie. So, if you want a steady stream of bankable and dependable leads in your B2B telemarketing database, it may be wise to rope in the experts.

 

In the case of data solutions and CRM cleaning, an industry leader like BizProspex would be perfect. By roping in partners who are adept at handling these tasks, you get higher productivity and better results. Services such as B2B telemarketing database management, CRM data cleaning, and CRM appending are most lucrative when left to the experts. Usually, expert organizations have the perfect blend of mastery and wizardry to get the job done in the most swift, resource-optimal manner possible.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Whether it is telesales or your B2B telemarketing database, a data solutions partner is a basic necessity. These types of outreach have already become difficult and bring in fewer returns than they used to. Moreover, if you set out to get good telesales results from an outdated database, we’ve got news for you.

 

Instead, if you’re serious about gaining success with telemarketing and telesales for B2B, get in touch with us at BizProspex. We’ve been in the industry for over six years. This intensive industry experience has made us experts in all data-related solutions. Whatever your requirements may be, we’re well equipped to bring you results that produce tangible results.

 

Get in touch with us today to kickstart your B2B telemarketing database maintenance, PEP Lists, Aml sanctions lists, global sanctions database or lead generation needs.