In the UK there are hundreds of telemarketing companies that offer cold calling.
However the problem is finding the right agency for your business. Some helpful cold calling advice is to be selective in who you use.
Compare quotes from 5 telesales agencies that work in your industry sector.
Cold calling is a telesales service that involves calling up prospects for the very first time having had no prior contact.
Sometimes there may have been an introduction e-mail sent to the prospect, or a mailing. More often than not cold calling is unprompted and unexpected – a call out of the blue with the purpose of selling.
Cold calling is an essential marketing tool in the marketing arsenal.
Any business that wants to generate sales leads quickly will have considered pro-active marketing. Whether this is to businesses (B2B) or consumers/homeowners (B2C).
This is a very difficult process that many telemarketers dislike doing. Often it will involve rejection and can involve people being rude or offensive. Which when a person encounters several times in a day can be soul destroying and upsetting.
No one likes getting unsolicited calls, whether at home or at work cold calls are intrusive and unwanted. There is the occasion that a cold call is timely and the caller is selling something that is either needed or wanted. But the fact remains that the surprise factor can be off putting. So the reality is, this is a necessary evil.
It is something that no-one wants and no-one likes, but is needed in order for the business wheels to keep ticking (for the most part).
When to do cold calling is often a question that crops up.
Calling s potential customer at 9am on a Monday morning is probably not going to go down too well. If you are a busy professional and get a complete stranger knocking on your door first thing after your weekend will not put you in a good mood.
The best time to do cold calling is late morning to afternoons mid week in general opinion. This is not saying do not employ staff on a Monday or Friday, but this is a general rule of thumb.
All businesses are different, some businesses have meetings going on most afternoons, some companies (like engineering companies or construction companies) do not have meetings to contend with. It is about knowing the pattern of your prospects.
Cold calling is a marathon, not a sprint. Depending on what you are selling, people generally do not make their mind up on the spot (unless you are very lucky and catch them at the right time).
Focusing on a sale on the spot is not the best strategy, finding out if there is a need and if you can provide a solution is much better. Building a rapport with a potential customer is a good strategy and should result in a better conversion rate.
Follow your sales script, but be flexible to change. This can only come with experience.
Most companies that require telesales/telemarketing will have a sales script, but may need help putting one together if the cold calling campaign is to be successful. Thinking of objections ahead of time is also wise so that you know how to respond to them.
Basic research is always wise, which can be done first thing on a Monday morning.
Around 80% of sales result from follow up to cold calls, so always agree a suitable follow up period (a couple of weeks or a month is the general rule of thumb.
Keeping track on your sales pipeline on your CRM system is key to a successful cold calling campaign
This kind of calling can be a nuisance for many businesses and homeowners and there are extreme cases of businesses receiving hundreds of calls a day.
Some homeowners have received over 20 cold calls per evening from businesses selling will writing services, solar panel installation, debt management, double glazing etc.
Ofcourse these are most likely calls from telesales companies that are working on behalf of their clients.
These are extreme cases and are caused by the selling of personal and business information (which is a big industry and a growing industry).
Any time you apply for a loan, compare insurance prices, move house, change gas suppliers – the information is in the ether and is available for companies to purchase.
There are registered bodies (such as TPS – the telephone preference service) that can help with reducing cold calling.
However it is impossible to stop them completely without unplugging the telephone.
We have put together some effective telemarketing tips that may be helpful.
Choosing a marketing company to do your telesales is a challenge.
There are hundreds of telesales companies in the UK that offer cold calling. It is wise to shop around and compare quotes from 5 expert companies. Choosing a telesales agency can be difficult, which is where we can help.
Telemarketing prices vary considerably, so it is very wise to shop around. All agencies are in business to make a profit, so it is essential to find the best agency at the lowest price.