Telemarketing

**donovan b** · Oct 22, 2009 22:38

Hi,

With the change in the global market and fuel crisis, communication through the telephone is becoming easier and cheaper, which makes telesales techniques very important. A good telesales caller will begin by politely introducing himself or herself and then the company on behalf of which they are making the call. This is the core strength of the telesales.

I request the forum members to share their views on telemarketing ? Thanks in advance.

**Telemarketing** · Nov 9, 2009 07:08

Telemarketing is still a proven method for promotion. Done professionally can increase your sales. Lead generation and appointment making are the first steps to making sales.

**Ted S** · Nov 9, 2009 21:16

Telemarketing in the US is a dying method of promotion and rarely worth the negative brand association or even the cost of making the calls. Between the do not call list and general customer opinion of the practice there's little upside with very limited conversion rates.

**Jack32** · Nov 9, 2009 21:36

Since practically all people do not like them, there is your answer.

Nothing more to be said.

If you do not believe that, do a little polling.

**Zug Dot Com** · Nov 9, 2009 21:49

It's about "inbound marketing" not "outbound in your face marketing" thats really annoying.

But prank phone calls to telemarketers, is a proven business model that we have carved out as our niche & hobby since 1995.

**Telemarketing** · Nov 10, 2009 12:00

Originally Posted by Jack32

Since practically all people do not like them, there is your answer.

Nothing more to be said.

If you do not believe that, do a little polling.

Sorry guys but I have to disagree. the only reason why you know these telemarketers, and that you receive calls is that it is a proven business. Ask me I work at one and the company does really well.

Any marketing activity that helps businesses make money, and more profit is not a bad thing. - SO THERE IS YOUR REAL ANSWER!

**Ted S** · Nov 10, 2009 13:57

Originally Posted by Telemarketing

Sorry guys but I have to disagree. the only reason why you know these telemarketers, and that you receive calls is that it is a proven business. Ask me I work at one and the company does really well.

Any marketing activity that helps businesses make money, and more profit is not a bad thing. - SO THERE IS YOUR REAL ANSWER!

The existence of the do not call list would disagree with you. For the long term brand reputation is far better than a few sales. Furthermore, ample evidence exists showing the limited results of telemarketing. Almost any tactic can drive sales -- even spam. But that doesn't make it an ideal method for driving business.

Marketing is about return in both the short and long term. Telemarketing can for some businesses work out in the short term but compared to other tactics is rarely the ideal choice and is just about never good for long term branding.

**Jack32** · Nov 10, 2009 16:40

The existence of the do not call list would disagree with you.

That's a very good example.

Sorry guys but I have to disagree. the only reason why you know these telemarketers, and that you receive calls is that it is a proven business.

Oh, just because we receive calls means it is a proven business?

But, on the other hand, and not to be a contradiction here, some, SOME businessses do ok. But in the bigger picture, practically all don't.

People have spoken about them, which, again, is why the do-not-call list was formed.

And of the very few who do see a profit, how much is it? Some do well, I will admit, while most see just a trickle.

Maybe a trickle is ok for them, I don't know, but hanging on by a thread, beating a dead horse is not my definition of a proven business.

I guess what should have been said is that some do alright. So, yes, you are right, but they are far and inbetween. VERY far and inbetween.

**Dan Grossman** · Nov 14, 2009 12:57

Outbound business-to-consumer telemarketing is dead. It's been regulated out of existence because people hated it enough to convince legislators to do so. The do-not-call list was part of the result. Almost nobody does it anymore, it's not worth the regulatory hassles.

To do any kind of B2C telemarketing you need to PURCHASE copies of the DNC list, the state DNC lists for every state you might call numbers in, filter out your list of leads (that you probably had to purchase) by those lists, maintain your own DNC list and documentation, be prepared to send DNC policies and other documentation to any consumer that asks for it (required by law), and you need to be working with a company with recent dialing hardware if you're going to do more than just one call at a time yourself. There are regulations on the number of times the phone can ring, there are regulations on the maximum length of the delay between someone picking up the phone and hearing a voice from the caller (so if you don't have an agent available after the auto-dialed call, the hardware needs to be able to automatically step in and play a recording), there are regulations about the percentage of dropped calls... I'm probably even forgetting a few things.

The telemarketing companies that are still doing well today are doing business-to-business calling, calling customers with an existing business relationship (think of your cable or cell phone company calling to sell you a better package... it's not actually your company calling, it's a telemarketing company they hired), or have adjusted their call centers to do inbound work instead of outbound (customer service / technical support / inbound sales calls).

**RemoteWorkMate** · Nov 15, 2009 21:23

Great topic, I have been considering this of late as I am looking for new marketing strategies ... I have always been against it, but just wanted to improve the bottom line ... you have all convinced me to take another route, cheers

**Ravedesigns** · Nov 16, 2009 20:10

I have to agree with Dan for the most part. I think B2C it's probably just not worth it considering the regulations involved, but done right I think it can be effective for B2B promotion.

It all depends on the products/services you're selling though and the profit margins involved. If you're selling software a $40 a piece I can't see it worth your while, but if you're a web designer who gets $1000 or more for a website then getting one project with a hundred calls could be worth it.

Personally I think the best telemarketing approach isn't a direct pitch to buy your product/service, but a two-step educational approach where you offer something of value free to your prospect first before going in for the sale. This is where a whitepaper or invite to a free seminar can help, or a free trial offer if possible with your product or service.

Steve

**edgetelephone** · Nov 19, 2009 01:28

To telemarket or not to, everyone has different opinions based on their own experiences.

People are often interested in your product or service, but it's just not the right time for them to speak as they are in the middle of something.

If you do decide to telemarket, the most important tip I can offer is to ask their permission to speak with them, and if it's a bad time, ask them when would be a better time. This will be an opportunity for you to build rapport quickly and receive much greater responsiveness next time you call. Ensure you do call them back at exactly the time they requested, or you will completetly undo all the rapport that had been built with your courteous manner.

**Nathankeane** · Nov 21, 2009 03:14

Many people believe that it means getting phone calls from pesky sales people, but telemarketing is still a very important tool for many types of business. It is the individual touch of actually talking to another person that some people actually prefer.

**cecille20** · Nov 21, 2009 07:25

Telemarketing was still considered to be an effective lead generation tool for professional service firms (law firms, accounting firms, etc). I thought it would be interesting to analyze the telemarketing process to determine if it still can be effective for professional service firms, and if so, how specifically the process should be structured.

SOURCE

**sweetfranky** · Nov 28, 2009 03:33

Yea, B2C looks like its dead. But B2B is alive and well. I get a webmaster call once a week now promising me the #1 spot of google.

**DailyCashSaver** · Nov 29, 2009 02:39

Texting telemarketing, email marketing, newsletter marketing are 10 times better. I mean the only telemarketing works when people sign up to be called.

**sweetfranky** · Nov 29, 2009 17:51

Originally Posted by DailyCashSaver

Texting telemarketing, email marketing, newsletter marketing are 10 times better. I mean the only telemarketing works when people sign up to be called.

I'm curious how texting marketing works. How exactly do you sell people at 200 characters?