Which Telemarketing Mistakes Can Thwart Your Campaigns?

The most effective marketing campaigns are meticulously planned to take into account any possible circumstances, minimise potential issues and treat your leads, customers and peers with the respect they deserve for taking time out of their day to learn about your services and products.

This is particularly true in science technology sectors, where historic scattergun approaches to telemarketing will burn through a very limited number of leads very quickly with little prospect of return.

The power of direct marketing is that you can tailor the case you make to the particular client or company you are talking to, and this precision can, when executed properly, help to close a sale that other forms of marketing could not.

However, it also means that some simple mistakes made without consulting an expert marketing team well-versed in your products, services and market sector can have a huge consequence. In a worst-case scenario, they can end a promising campaign before it starts.

Here are some of the most common of these mistakes, why they have such a big impact and how you can work with your marketing and sales partners to avoid them.

Is Your Ideal Customer Profile Clearly Aligned With Your Project?

Your customer profile data is very important, but beyond the information you have access to, you also must clearly identify who the ideal customer is for your product or service.

This is especially important in fields such as life science and medical technology, as an instrument, tool, or service will need to be carefully chosen and vetted before its use.

If you choose the wrong companies, wrong industries or wrong contacts, you can waste time with phone calls that are guaranteed to be unsuccessful.

The key to successful campaigns is the work undertaken ahead of time.

Is Your Data Clean And Validated?

Good data is far more important than plentiful data when working on B2B telemarketing campaigns. Working with dirty or unvalidated data decreases the reliability of any campaign.

There is very little a highly skilled and specialised marketing team can do with wrong numbers, contact information for people who no longer work at an organisation and details that are fundamentally incorrect.

This is why data validation and hygiene are so critical, and as much focus should be placed on ensuring that the data you are working with is as correct as possible before you launch a coordinated campaign.

Is Your Marketing Team Equipped Before They Start Calling?

In B2B marketing, and especially in specialist scientific fields, marketing teams should be knowledgeable about the products and services they are offering in order to appear credible.

A lack of preparation can create a bad first impression; as your first point of contact represents your organisation, someone who lacks product knowledge, business context and an understanding of what they can offer will create the inference that your company is similarly ill-prepared.

The best way to avoid this is to provide your marketing team with as much information as possible about your company, the problems your products and services solve and the objectives of any call, and they will guide the conversation through that.

Is Your Marketing Team Reliant On A Rigid Script?

There has been some debate about the value of a script in direct sales, but given that empathy, rapport, and adaptability are so vital in specialist telemarketing, relying on or requiring a rigid script can in some cases be counterproductive.

This is the cornerstone of our approach; we understand that we are part of a conversation and research discourse, so we focus on a highly knowledgeable approach based on an adaptable framework rather than a script.

Most customers can tell when callers are reading from a script, and it can feel disingenuous.

Should Your Marketing Team Focus On First-Call Conversions?

Whilst the ideal scenario is for a customer to be won over and in a position to buy from the first call, the reality is not this simple. 

Many businesses are not capable of providing a definitive decision straight away, and attempting to push a hard sale to someone without the authority to do so can be counterproductive and potentially destroy the relationship with a lead.

Instead, gauge early interest, ensure that they know about you and your product and identify their needs and whether your product would be a good fit for them.

Similarly, objections and concerns are free market research and insights; ask more about pain points, existing products and services and show empathy for their situation.

Do You Have A Follow-Up Plan?

Your marketing plan must have a system in place to follow up and remain in contact with people who cannot make a decision now but could be open to working with you later.

Ensure you get contact information, add them to your customer resource management system and follow up at a rate that is regular without pestering.