Telemarketing For A Longer Sales Process

Telemarketing For A Longer Sales Process:from Business 2 Community by Matt Ford
A common misconception about telemarketing comes from the fact that the usual sales process that most people go through are so fast, things like telemarketing seem unnecessary. Usually the sales process for the average customer is imagined in that single moment when somebody walks up to the counter and buys something.

How Telemarketing Can Still Fit In That Process

All right so a phone call is not exactly the best way you to send you off to the local hardware store. In fact, those stores would benefit more from advertising than telemarketing. The only problem with that is it is ultimately a singular, narrow-minded definition of what a sales process is.

Now in essence, the goal of every sales process is to get something go sold/bought. That does not mean they do not come in a variety of styles that suit their respective products. Classifying them would also be far from perfect. But if it is just for the sake of knowing where telemarketing fits, the following illustrations would do:

• Sales via the shop counter – As mentioned before, this is the most commonly recognized sales process. However, that does not mean it is all there is to it. Shop owners still need marketing (even if the strategy does not involve telemarketing specifically). Just because they do not generate leads does not mean they have no desire to draw a customer’s attention with online/offline ads, catchy signs, and a few fliers.
  
• Sales via the warehouse – Someone who sells products by bulk is actually closer to using a sales process that requires telemarketing. Some consumers may rather buy stuff in bulk (perhaps for simple reasons like saving up or crazy ones like stocking up for the apocalypse). On the other hand, store owners have bigger (and more obvious) reasons while also being open to contact and perhaps a supplier deal.

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  Sales via the client meeting – Suppliers are not the only businesses that provide for other businesses. At this point, you have reached the sales process that is long enough that you may even need more than on telemarketing call in order to finish. B2B deals naturally take up much more time for both marketing and sales.

B2B telemarketing continues to thrive purely because not even the latest marketing tools can replace the need to speak live to a decision maker (or if it is inbound, the company representative). Granted, the length of the B2B sales process is no excuse to waste a decision maker’s time (far from it given what little they have during a day’s work). Regardless, these people still prefer a conversation over an advertisement. They want to know all the facts before buying just as much as B2B telemarketing agents want all the facts before redirecting prospects to sales.
And when you think about it, a similar phenomenon is already prevailing even in simpler sales process. Consumers may not want telemarketing yet they turn to marketing materials posted online in order inform their own buying decision. Telemarketing just happens to take over when a prospect requires appointment setting services to qualify them compared to just buying after seeing an ad.