Printer-friendly version

Telesales has the invaluable advantage of personal human contact, which cannot be said of many other direct marketing methods. According to Robert J. McHatton from Total Telesales, “Used correctly by professionals, the telephone is the most cost-efficient, flexible and statistically accountable medium available. At the same time, the telephone is still very intimate and personal. It is individual-to-individual."

Outbound Telesales is an important tool when it comes to customer care. Telesales sales associates can contact your customers to make sure they are getting the most out of your products or services, asking if they have any questions or concerns. Sales associates can keep your customers abreast of your latest deals based on their interests and provide useful information relevant to their concerns.

After the initial sale, your outbound Telesales services provider can continue to engage the customer with communications such as customer satisfaction surveys.  Surveys are excellent tools for gathering information regarding your customers’ needs and areas of interest, allowing you to create more targeted future messages.

Telesales has the advantage of providing immediate feedback, giving you the opportunity to analyze the services and make changes as needed. Telesales scripts are very flexible and can be readily changed as your marketing strategy evolves. Outbound Telesales can be easily customized to appeal to your segmented and targeted audiences.

Outbound Telesales achieves fast results. An email blast may remain on your customer’s computer for days before they take action or immediately deleted. Skilled sales associates, on the other hand, can help customers to begin a buying decision on the initial call.  Although the cost of a Telesales campaign is greater than that of an email blast campaign, response rates from outbound Telesales are six times higher as the email blast response rates, making Telesales the more cost-effective choice.

Outbound Telesales also allows businesses to avoid travel expenses associated with in-person sales. Closing a sale through Telesales typically costs less than one-fifth of what it would cost to send a salesperson to make a sale in person.

Telesales can be used as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy that integrates advertising and personal sales visits. For example, email a sales flier with introductory information, then follow-up with a Telesales call to gauge the prospect's level of interest; if interest is high, set up an appointment for a salesperson to visit.

Outsourcing your outbound Telesales services can be much more cost-effective than managing an in-house outbound Telesales department. It also eliminates the time and expense required to interview, hire and train outbound customer service sales associates.

Outsourcing also allows you to offer 24-hour customer service availability, which might not otherwise be economically feasible. Using outsourced customer service and sales associates lets you focus your efforts on other aspects of marketing your business.

Disadvantages

The outbound Telesales industry has been affected by negative press coverage due to abuse of the system by disreputable marketers. As a result, governmental regulations such as the Do-Not-Call legislation have been activated to protect consumers. This does not need to have a negative impact on your Telesales campaigns.  However, this assumes that your service provider remains in compliance with relevant laws.

Excessive Telesales calls can be annoying to consumers and businesses, but if you chose a provider whose sales associates demonstrate a high degree of professionalism, courtesy and discretion, the majority of calls to your prospects should prove successful. Your provider can take advance measures to qualify leads, ensuring that the sales associates contact only those who have expressed an interest in your products or services.

Next Step

You now understand why companies outsource and the reasons it is even more attractive today than ever. Your company will benefit from outsourcing the front-end steps of the sales process, which would make your sales department much more effective.

TeleArk will dovetail with your sales organization and become a partner in the sales process, make TeleArk your new sales development partner, get your sales department ready for the flood of qualified leads and appointments.  Watch your business grow!

*** Don't forget, our website has a wealth of information for significantly improving your sales.  Make sure to take a look at our library of Sales Tips and Training Materials at http://www.teleark.com/sales_tips_and_training_materials.  Stop by or sign up for great sales tips delivered to your inbox at http://www.teleark.com/register!