With the remaining Covid-related restrictions set to be lifted in July 2021, many organisations are already planning for post-pandemic life, as employees start returning to the workplace in some capacity.
Therefore, organisations looking to promote their services and convert prospects into serious new business opportunities are likely to be thinking about planning an effective telemarketing campaign that will succeed despite the challenges surrounding office-based working.
During the lockdown, key decision makers were a captive audience with no receptionists or gatekeepers there to intercept incoming calls. In many cases, these decision makers were more likely to engage telemarketing calls as a way of breaking up the monotony of remote working.
However, an imminent return to the workplace for most businesses means that you must adapt your strategy accordingly. Although you may be confident that a certain organisation would welcome an opportunity to discuss your services in more detail, you must come with an approach that increases your chances of making successful contact.
Research your prospects
It may seem obvious, but one of the most important pre-calling exercises to undertake is research. Telemarketing should not be confused with cold calling, whereby businesses try and promote their services to a list of prospects they have never previously contacted.
Instead, you should take the time to research and identify businesses that have a genuine challenge they need to overcome or have interacted with your past marketing content. For example, a decision maker that has liked your social media post is more likely to acknowledge your communications.
The research process is especially important now that employees are returning to the workplace, as calls need to hit the mark immediately in order to make it past the gatekeeper. Without knowing or understanding how your services can help a prospect, you are likely to fall at the first hurdle.
During this research stage, you not only need to identify which businesses would be interested in having a conversation, but you should also have an understanding of the individual you are trying to target.
Remember, you are offering ‘pain relief’ for a problem they are currently facing, so enter the conversation with confidence in your services and have a script of what you want to say in mind, so you don’t miss out any important info.
Assess your meeting options
With the relaxation of Covid-related restrictions, there will undoubtedly be more opportunities for face-to-face meetings. Therefore, when you make contact with a decision maker, it’s worth keeping this in mind as it can help progress the relationship further.
Some businesses make the mistake of thinking every single call they make must result in an immediate sale, and whilst this would make life much easier, unfortunately this is not realistic.
More often than not, businesses need time to contemplate and consider a potential working relationship before they agree anything. They may even welcome a second conversation, with other senior employees in attendance to discuss the logistics of the partnership.
During lockdown, this may have been in the form of a second Zoom meeting, and whilst this is still an option worth considering, the removal of Covid-related restrictions now opens the door to agreeing more face-to-face meetings, which allows conversations to feel a lot more personable.
Ultimately, the aim of your initial contact should be to successfully introduce your business and the services it provides, establishing the foundations for a future relationship to build upon.
Outsourcing is an option
The return to the workplace will undoubtedly throw up some challenges for businesses looking to plan and execute a successful telemarketing campaign.
With this in mind, organisations must take the time to carefully strategise an effective approach, ensuring they make the most out of every successful contact, progressing each relationship every time an opportunity presents itself.
Of course, running a thorough campaign can be time-consuming for many businesses, especially if they too are in the process of returning to the workplace and have other priorities that must also be addressed.
That is why organisations are opting to outsource their new business functions to an experienced telemarketing team, like Competitive Edge, who will use their knowledge and expertise to convert prospects into a long term and sustainable sales pipeline of opportunity.
