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Lisa Shepherd

Develop a set of scripts and follow-up collateral.
Telemarketing requires a series of calls and follow-ups to be
effective. How many times have you received a message from
someone you don’t know and not returned their call? But if
they are polite and call you back a couple of times over several
weeks and have a compelling offer for you, you’re more likely
to call them back. It’s the same with telemarketing. So plan
the calls, voicemails, and email follow ups. Prepare collateral
to send your targets after voicemails and live conversations.
Appropriate collateral might include an overview of your
services, case studies, and an article on your company from a
recent trade publication.

Use a CRM system to track your calls and their results.
A typical telemarketing campaign will involve 200-500
calls per week. This volume of activity can’t be effectively
tracked on a spreadsheet. Use a CRM system to organize
the campaign and make sure you can evaluate both activity
and results.

Test and refine. Most campaigns require some adjustment
in the first few weeks to revise the script and hone in on the
message and targets that are most effective in setting up
quality meetings.

Give it some time but not too much. Telemarketing will work
well for some companies and not for others. If it’s going to
work well for your business, you’ll know within two months.
The first couple of weeks are usually a process of refining the
message and targets, and the second two weeks begin to
generate some interest. Then you should start to see meetings
being booked. If not, there may be an issue with your list or
telemarketer. If you are confident that your list includes the
right targets, then you’ll have to consider whether you have
the right resource doing the work or if telemarketing is simply
not where you should focus your marketing effort.

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© 2012 Lisa Shepherd