Telemarketing can be a powerful way to grow your business that typically involves calling customers via the telephone to introduce a product or service with the intention of a sale.
Typically telemarketing works by obtaining a list of potential customers that you would like to sell a product or service to. The list of potential customers can be purchased by specialist list suppliers, or it might be an old list of your own customers or even a current list of customers you already have and are actively engaged with.
Call centre telemarketing is normally defined using three key terms:
Cold calling is when you don't have any prior relationship with the customers.
They may have been a previous or existing customer so there will be some awareness of your brand when the call centre agent makes contact.
This is best defined as when a customer has specifically requested contact with the intent of learning more about the product or service or to purchase.
There is no question that cold calling telemarketing can produce results but it's also not easy with a range of factors that can contribute to a successful telemarketing campaign including the quality of the customer data, the skill of the agent, the perceived value of the product or service.
But rest assured there are specialist call centre telemarketing businesses that can help improve the odds of your campaign being a success.
Just a word of caution though - many businesses seeking telemarketing solutions are looking for a 'commission-only' model where the telemarketing provider will only be paid on sales. Unfortunately, this is a very high-risk strategy for the telemarketing business and most will require a trial period first on a fixed-price model to determine the expected conversion rates before agreeing to the commission-only models.
With call centre resources significantly cheaper overseas (e.g. Philippines, South Africa etc) one of the decisions you need to consider is do you engage a telemarketing company in Australia or do you use one overseas?
There is no blanket rule and it ultimately comes down to what you want to achieve for your business. Some key points you may want to consider:
How much do Telemarketing companies charge?
What is a typical conversion rate?
Ultimately the conversion rates typically come down to four things:
Typically, as a rule good telemarketing conversion rates vary between 2% and 7%.
Below you'll find a list of call centre outsourcers who are telemarketing specialists - give them a call and they'll be happy to walk you through the various options. If you'd like some free help, just contact us on 03 9008 7287or send us a message and we'll provide you with a shortlist of recommended suppliers who can best meet your requirements.
You may also want to search our list of Lead Generation specialists as well if you are looking for suppliers to specifically book appointments for you.