Software Telemarketing And Cold-Calling
It's not surprising that people automatically treat telemarketing as synonymous with cold-calling. Even now, researchers on the subject of telemarketing still can't determine if the two words are one and the same; two different words but with an inseparable connection; or that one can in fact do well without the other. (Although on an interesting note, it would appear that the last one is often the case of telemarketing forsaking cold-calling.)
At the very least, Wikipedia has a different article defining cold-calling from that of telemarketing:
“Cold calling is the marketing process of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by a sales person.”
Starting from this, it's quite clear that cold-calling is not entirely synonymous with the whole telemarketing process. Some telemarketers actually boast a a large and up-to-date contact database with which they can refine beforehand, thus diminishing the potential rudeness of their unwarranted calls (and therefore, render it less similar to cold-calling).
Still, especially when you've only just started to try out the telemarketing method for your software, there are times when cold-calling from scratch can be the only means to start (a rough start it may be).
For many critics of cold-calling, the unexpected factor is enough for them to condemn it as fruitless. In the B2B world, this can even be more so and a poorly handled cold-call may not even be enough to get your call agents past the phone in the lobby. No company executive is in the mood for being treated like just another telemarketing customer. What they want to hear on their phone is something relevant and beneficial to their company.
To do this, you might want to do everything in your power to perfect your script-generation phase. All proponents of the cold-calling method (or even just those who see it as a necessary evil), agree that a convincing script is key to successful cold-calling (or at least to minimizing the negative reaction). You should also make sure that your agents don't make the habit of binding their brains to every word. Surprisingly enough, the words on the script is not the thing to be memorized but the concepts of which it stands for. They should get ready to adapt it for a foreign software prospect (especially since in the software industry, you guys have faster means of delivering products worldwide by sending them straight through the internet). For example, if you have a call center in Singapore, you should get your agents to adapt to clients that feel more comfortable speaking in a certain language. The words would change but the concepts of the script must remain intact.
The negativity surrounding cold-calling is really understandable. The unexpected element, a generic, predictable script, and finally the tendency for newbie agents to come as pushy salespeople, are in fact the very elements that smeared the name of telemarketing. If you're gambling on a marketing strategy that uses telemarketing or even just outsourcing to a telemarketing firm, then you need to keep the above in mind to minimize those elements. Review your call-campaign strategy now or discuss this with the head of your outsourced telemarketer and make sure that their cold-calling doesn't provoke an equally cold response.
About the Author
Claire Hansen works as a marketing communications program manager. She is inviting you to visit http://www.erpsoftwareleads.com to learn more about lead generation and appointment setting for the software industry.
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