B2B telemarketing requires a slightly different set of skills than telemarketing to consumers. Use the following tips to make your B2B campaigns more successful. Just a few tweaks to your existing campaign could improve your KPIs significantly.
Emphasize Lead Management Strategies
A successful campaign depends on excellent leads from a reliable source. Having a good leads list will certainly help your agents get better results. Your lead management strategies will also influence their success.
Prune Your Lead Lists to Boost Conversions and Efficiency
You don’t want your call agents to waste time trying to reach leads with low chances of converting. Prune your lead lists to improve conversions and efficiency. Additionally, you will help prevent your phone numbers from getting flagged.
Lead list pruning should include:
- Comparing the list to the Do-Not-Call (DNC) list to remove registered numbers.
- Using internal opt-out lists to remove phone numbers from your lead list.
- Identifying and removing mobile phone numbers from your list.
Qualify Leads Before Giving Lists to Your Call Agents
Some leads will take more influence than others to convert. Qualify your leads to determine whether you should assign them to your most experienced agents. Qualifying leads can include:
- Reviewing previous interactions with the business.
- Researching businesses to discover more about their potential needs and budgets.
- Using lead forensics to identify who you should contact within businesses.
- Lead scoring that ranks each business’s conversion readiness.
Use Lead Scoring to Rank Lead Readiness
Lead scoring offers insight into whether a lead is ready to convert into a client. Plenty of software apps can help you score leads. The most effective options will look at factors such as:
- How many times a lead has visited the website of your products or services
- How often a lead clicks on the CTAs in emails, text messages, and websites
- Whether the lead has expressed interest in the past
- The lead’s annual revenue
- The lead’s industry and growth prospects
Lead scoring will also help you assign leads to the right agents.
Recycle Leads From Previous B2B Telemarketing Campaigns
When leads say they aren’t interested in becoming clients, take them out of the current campaign and place their contact info on a list for future campaigns.
Businesses might turn down your offer for several reasons. Maybe now just isn’t the right time for them to decide.
By recycling leads, you give businesses more opportunities to convert in the future. Of course, you should remove them from all lists when they ask to opt-out or join the Do Not Call Registry.
Train and Manage Call Agents Better
Managing your call agents well gives them the skills that they need to convert more leads during B2B telemarketing campaigns. A little training can go a long way, but you need to focus on the right training to get the best results.
Make Sure Your Agents Understand the Products and Services They’re Selling
Your agents need to know as much as possible about the products and services they sell. A skeptical lead might ask a lot of questions about what they’re selling. If they cannot answer those questions confidently, they probably cannot close the deal.
Dedicate at least one training session to the product or service sold in your next campaign. When your agents sound like authorities, you can let them place calls.
Use Impactful Scripts to Help Agents Excel
Some call agents don’t need scripts to guide their conversations. They have natural gifts that make them excellent salespeople. Other agents need more direction to keep their close rates high.
More often than not, you get the best results from call scripts that guide conversations instead of dictating the precise words agents must use. That way, agents will know how to respond to questions and answers without using words that feel unnatural. You want them to speak with their own voices so they can sound honest and knowledgeable.
With that said, hone your scripts over time. Never assume that the current version of a script is the best.
Schedule Call Times to Reach Decision-Makers
The times your agents place calls matters nearly as much as what they say when they connect with leads. During a B2B telemarketing campaign, you should take the opposite approach that you would use during a consumer-focused campaign. During a B2B campaign, you want to reach people at work.
Schedule your call times so you can reach decision-makers when they can set aside a few minutes to talk. Timing can get tricky depending on the people. Generally, you should not schedule call times:
- Early in the morning
- Late in the afternoon
- Around lunchtime
Many decision-makers schedule meetings during these times, so they will not take your call.
Get Past Gatekeepers
Some companies train their receptionists and other “gatekeepers” to prevent call agents from reaching busy decision-makers. Ideally, you can avoid the gatekeeper by using your lead’s direct line. When that’s impossible, agents need to know how to get past the gatekeeper.
Timing plays a role in reaching decision-makers. You can train your agents to use their research to adjust their approach when they attempt to make. Telling the receptionist, “I need to talk to Jane in accounting” sounds more personal than “Can you connect me to Ms. Jane X in the accounting department.” When the call sounds personal, you improve your chances of getting through.
Choose Effective Campaign Management Tools
Every call center needs effective campaign management tools to empower its agents and adjust strategies. The following options are some of the most useful for improving closing rates.
Dialer Solutions
You can choose from a variety of dialers to improve efficiency and conversion rates. The option that you choose will depend on your campaign target demographics.
Preview Dialer
Preview dialers give your agents information about leads before initiating calls. This approach gives your agents some time to learn about each lead and develop a sales strategy based on the information you’ve collected.
Many call centers choose preview dialers for B2B telemarketing campaigns because each lead has the potential to generate a lot of revenue. Closing one deal in a B2B campaign might equal closing dozens of much smaller deals that you make when selling directly to consumers.
Predictive Dialer
Predictive dialers increase connection speeds by dialing numbers and placing calls in a queue. As soon as your agent hangs up, the system connects that person to the next lead in line. It’s a powerful way to reach as many potential clients as possible.
The downside is that your agents don’t have as much time to prepare between calls. Still, that strategy can work well for some campaigns.
CRM Integration
CRM integration collects information about lead engagement. The software does all the work so your agents don’t have to manually enter details about each call.
A good CRM can significantly reduce after call work for your agents. This also sets up agents with relevant information for furture conversations they may have with the same leads.
Follow Up and Appointment Reminders
Reminders ensure agents follow up with missed opportunities, such as calling when a decision-maker isn’t available. By adding follow-up reminders to your system, you increase the number of leads you reach during each campaign.
KPI Analytics
KPI analytics help to determine the effectiveness of your B2B telemarketing strategy. Metrics might include:
- Number of contacts reached per hour
- Average time spent on each call
- Number of deals closed per hour and day
When you have the numbers right in front of you, you can make minor adjustments that lead to greater campaign success.
B2B Telemarketing Campaign Preparation
While your calling agents might be experienced in traditional sales, a B2B telemarketing campaign can be more challenging. Setting up your processes, tools and procedures ahead of time can help your call center excel. Make sure your agents are also trained in dealing with professionals when selling your products or services.
