In a B2B scenario, with longer lead times, higher value outcomes and complex decision making units, telemarketing can help build the depth of relationship and level of trust needed to take a prospect through to a sale.

1. In a B2B scenario, with longer lead times,
higher value outcomes and complex
decision making units, telemarketing can
help build the depth of relationship and
level of trust needed to take a prospect
through to a sale.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

2. With the arrival of social and digital channels, the sales funnel has
evolved. We now understand the value of social media in nurturing
relationships, engaging and interacting with a community of
individuals on a huge scale.
The Buyersphere Report 2015, however, found that 50% of B2B buyers
surveyed did not use social media, a statistic that had changed little
since the same report in 2013. Whilst digital can engage on a broader
scale, there is clearly a limit to the number of B2B buyers it can reach.
Introduction
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

3. Moving a prospect from awareness to sale requires a depth of
relationship and level of trust, which is easier to achieve through
human contact. It is this that makes telemarketing such a powerful
B2B channel. Telemarketing can be applied at every stage of the B2B
sales funnel and can adapt to each individual and their requirements,
be it Business Leaders initiating the requirement at the start of the
process, IT contacts involved during the evaluation phase in the
middle, or Finance contacts involved in the later stages.
10 Ways Telemarketing can help optimise the
B2B Sales Funnel
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

4. The starting point for every effective campaign is a good quality list.
Telemarketing can cleanse and enhance existing data, append job titles
and Decision Maker names and capture email addresses.
Clean and accurate data with the right target profile not only ensures
you reach the right people more quickly without wasted time and effort,
it also enables you to profile and segment the data to inform your
campaign strategy and then target prospects accurately with a relevant
offer.
1. Data and Insight
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

5. Market research over the phone, either as the prime function of a call or
a secondary benefit, can provide valuable customer insight to help
progress sales opportunities.
• Information gathered can support account development, organisation and market
mapping to improve sales strategy.
• With additional understanding of the customer’s situation and requirements, sales is
better placed to progress leads received. In addition, call recordings give direct
access to conversations and a much deeper understanding of the opportunity.
• Customer feedback gained during a call on areas such as product perception,
satisfaction levels, or brand awareness can help in developing product and brand
strategy.
1. Data and Insight…continued
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

6. Telemarketing can be applied at any stage of the pipeline and can fulfil multiple
objectives. From cold calls and simple transactional calls, to complex
compliance calls, it can add value at every stage for a wide range of objectives,
either low or high volume calls, short or long term projects:
2. Versatility
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

7. 2. Versatility – Multiple Objectives
• List Building
• Cleansing and profiling data
• Market research and insight
• Capturing email opt-ins
• Lead and opportunity creation from cold call data or warm prospects
• Lead and opportunity conversion
• Appointment setting
• Event Promotion
• Inbound call handling
• Transactional calls
• Telesales
• Post-sales customer satisfaction calls.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

8. 3. Flexibility and Agility
Telemarketing activity can be ramped up or down, depending on your
requirements, to ensure a continuous, steady flow of leads to the sales
pipeline. If other activity brings in unforeseen volumes of enquiries,
Telemarketing can be slowed to ensure that the sales team is not
swamped and leads and opportunities do not go stale for lack of
resource.
In addition, if a sudden need arises, for example to generate leads for a
particular geographical sales territory, or a particular industry, calls
can be easily re-directed to focus on the area of most need at any
point in time.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

9. 4. Persuasiveness
Telemarketing is a very persuasive medium and, unlike email, it is hard to ignore a
phone call. The level of engagement and quality of interaction provides potential, with
the right brief and preparation, to take cold data right through to a well-qualified, sales-
ready lead in a single call. As conversations happen in real-time, it is possible to quickly
build an understanding of customer needs and achieve higher value outcomes such as
appointments or commitment to attend events.
Good telemarketers can quickly understand and react to customer input and exploit
new opportunities immediately. By using unscripted, intelligent conversations,
telemarketers can build knowledge and understanding of customer pain points and
tailor their response. Open questions, solution selling techniques and two-way
communication ensure leads are better qualified when they reach sales and have a
greater propensity to convert.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

10. 5. Human Interaction
It can be argued that high quality human interaction is the best way
to gain trust and build the level of rapport and mutual understanding
that is typically needed for high value, complex B2B sales. Multiple
individuals with differing characteristics, varying requirements and
perspectives need to be engaged at each stage of the buying cycle.
The one to one nature of the communication means agents can
match content to roles and interests much more effectively than in
broadcast media.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

11. 5. Human Interaction…continued
The human aspect and real-time nature of conversation allows the
caller to tailor the message and proposition they present to the
interests of each individual, at that particular stage. Two-way, verbal
communication enables you to better convey your message and
better understand the customer perspective, not only through their
words, but also tone of voice and inflection.
With multiple conversations with different individuals over a period,
it is possible to build a picture of the interrelationships within the
decision making unit and the organisation itself.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

12. 6. Secondary and Long-Term Benefits
Whilst lead generation or appointment setting might be the primary objective of a call,
telemarketing can give you the opportunity to secure additional value from secondary
outcomes:
• Database updates
• Decision maker names added to your database
• Email addresses and opt-ins captured
• Contract review dates recorded
• Product Feedback
• Organisation and market mapping
With focus on gaining maximum value from a call, telemarketing can not only bring
immediate opportunities to fruition but also nurture longer term opportunities and
feed your future pipeline ensuring a continuous flow of leads.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

13. 7. The Sum of the Parts - Integration
The gap, which often exists between sales and marketing teams and activities, can
restrict the effectiveness of the sales/marketing process. By converting marketing
qualified leads to sales qualified leads and integrating with other activities
Telemarketing can bridge that gap and help align those teams and functions, making
the sales and marketing process more efficient.
Telemarketing also provides a flexible resource, which can act as an extended part of
the team - strengthening internal resource at busy times or supporting short term
projects when new recruitment may not be cost-effective. The versatility of
telemarketing and its ability to add value at all stages of the sales cycle allows the in-
house sales team to focus on closing sales in the latter stages of the funnel.
Proactive campaign management through an outsourced solution can also alleviate
pressure on the in-house management team.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

14. 8. Measurability
Telemarketing is direct, transparent and highly measurable so that
campaign performance can be understood, refined and optimised to
achieve the right goals and a good return on investment. KPI metrics
including dial rate, decision maker contact rate, lead stage, and
conversion rates enable you to see easily what is working and what
isn’t and make your sales process more efficient.
The measurable nature of telemarketing means that different
approaches and propositions can be tried and quickly adapted to
improve any approach.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

15. 8. Measurability - Feedback
The level of engagement provided through verbal communication allows
immediate feedback from prospects and understanding of their buying
mode. This level of clarity ensures that time is not wasted on poor quality
prospects, and stronger prospects can be prioritised and moved more
quickly through the funnel.
The opportunity to build rapport over the phone creates a more relaxed
medium where customers may be more open than in a written
communication or a less private environment such as social media. Emotion
can also be better conveyed by verbal communication so a customer’s level
of dissatisfaction or delight are fully appreciated and understood.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

16. 9. Specialist Skills and Systems
The particular skills of experienced telemarketers – tenacity in getting past
gatekeepers and objection handling - mean they can potentially take a lead further
than an in-house team. Also, if you are targeting a different customer type, or a
different sector, a telemarketing agent may, due to broader campaign experience, be
more comfortable when prospecting new business areas.
In addition, specialist IT systems enable agents to progress to a specific outcome
more efficiently, whilst capturing valuable insight and information. A standard CRM
may not support that fluidity or provide the specialist reporting, which can help
identify and prioritise real opportunities. Successful campaigns not only need a
consolidated effort with up to 20 calls per hour, every hour in the day, but prospects
also need to be spoken to multiple times over several weeks in order to secure high
value B2B outcomes. A bespoke IT system enables this complexity of calls to be
managed efficiently to ensure the best outcomes without data burnout.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

17. And Finally….10. Brand Awareness
Whilst this may not be the primary objective, a well-briefed telemarketing campaign
can help increase your brand awareness. Telemarketing agents briefed on your
company and brand values can adapt their style and language accordingly. They
can communicate those values and convey your brand personality during the call.
Telemarketing is easily integrated with other activities and when your
communications are aligned with a consistent message and brand experience for
the customer, the overall impact is enhanced.
In addition, the level of feedback gained through verbal communication can help
identify issues and address customer dissatisfaction, avoiding negative impact on
customer retention and brand loyalty. Market insight, competitor and brand
intelligence gathered through a sizeable volume of calls can provide valuable input
into your overall brand strategy.
10 Ways To Optimise
The B2B Sales Funnel

18. Our Services
Established in 1990 and based on the
Brighton sea front, The Telemarketing
Company is the UK's leading specialist
outbound B2B telemarketing agency,
with a robust research offering.
For further information on our services:
01273 765000
info@ttmc.co.uk
www.ttmc.co.uk
26-27 Regency Square
Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2FH