There are any number of reasons why companies may choose to use an outsourced B2B telemarketing agency rather than doing telemarketing in-house. Ultimately, there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer since there are pros and cons of both approaches. Check out this short video on that subject.
There is a whole industry dedicated to outsourced calling. Typically, call centres cater for large BPO-type activity for large corporate entities. They may require hundreds of bums on seats, both taking and receiving calls. But, in this article, we’re more interested in B2B lead generation, and where organisations need to feed their sales team, whether it’s large or small.
So, what are our 11 reasons why B2B Telemarketing makes sense?
Management expertise:
Organisations can’t be experts in everything. Whilst, the decision whether to recruit roles in-house is always a consideration, this comes down to whether the role is core to the business, and what other roles may be required within the sales and marketing team.
B2B telemarketing agencies specialise in telemarketing and have extensive experience in designing and executing effective telemarketing campaigns. They have a deep understanding of the best practices and strategies that work in B2B telemarketing and can leverage this expertise to generate better results. What’s more, it’s the day job of agency management to make campaigns work whereas internal management usually has many other priorities.
Professional telemarketers with experience:
B2B telemarketing agencies employ professional telemarketers with extensive experience in B2B sales. These telemarketers have the skills and expertise necessary to engage decision-makers and to build relationships with potential customers. They are trained to understand the most effective approaches, and understand how to deploy the best tips and tricks where feasible.
This is supplemented by specific information on a business’s products and service. Coupled with learning about the needs and pain points of its target audience, effectiveness is enhanced. Callers can deliver persuasive and effective messages that resonate with potential customers, and they can handle objections and questions with confidence and professionalism.
Flexible resourcing:
B2B telemarketing agencies have the necessary resources, including a trained sales team, advanced technology, and data analysis tools, to run successful telemarketing campaigns. This means that businesses can avoid the cost and hassle of building and maintaining an in-house telemarketing infrastructure.
The need for sales may be ongoing or it may ebb and flow. Therefore, flexibility in terms of resourcing may be essential e.g. for events, product launches, key seasonal periods and so on, yet not be so critical at other times.
Scalability:
Agencies usually have the capability to scale up or down telemarketing campaigns based on the needs of the business. This means that companies can quickly adjust their outreach efforts to respond to changes in the market, such as shifts in customer behaviour or changes in demand for their products or services.
It’s a pretty rare organisation that has staff just sitting around, waiting for things to do. And, it’s even rarer for those same team members to have skills in terms of picking up the phone to generate sales leads when required.
Higher contact rates:
Contact ratios are the lifeblood of successful telemarketing campaigns. This is often a hidden failing of internal management of lead generation exercises. It’s partly understanding what ‘good’ looks like. But, it’s also about consistently making the right number of calls to reach the appropriate number of decision-makers.
B2B telemarketing agencies are used to mobilising their team to deliver the right numbers. They typically have sophisticated systems, tools and techniques to increase the chances of reaching target buyers. They may also have access to profiled databases and cloud dialling systems, which enable them to reach more people in less time. This means higher contact rates, which in turn can lead to more opportunities for lead generation and sales.
Flexibility to turn agencies off and on:
Whilst there’s no doubt that a consistent, ongoing campaign of activity is likely to generate more positive long-term outcomes, outsourcing telemarketing provides businesses with the ability to turn telemarketing on and off as needed. For example, if a business needs to ramp up its telemarketing efforts during a busy period, it can easily increase the number of agents working on its campaign. Conversely, if a business needs to reduce its telemarketing efforts, it can quickly scale back its campaign without having to worry about HR implications.
HR management is often a headache that businesses don’t need. Ongoing staff management can be a drain on time, energy, and finances. The flexibility that comes from paying a little more when needed more than counterbalances the hassle that’s removed alongside not paying more at other times.
Systems that optimise calling success:
In our experience, few, if any, companies have systems that are geared up for making regular telephone outreach. Most organisations utilise CRM systems to simply hold their prospect and customer data. Some are linked to accounting systems. Others are more marketing-oriented automation systems for email marketing. Most are simply not configured for fast calling, and outbound call rates can drop as low as 25-50% of those achieved within an agency. That’s double the productivity, aside from better quality calls, using outsourcing.
B2B telemarketing agencies often have tailored telemarketing systems in place to facilitate effective outreach. For example, everything the caller needs is at their fingertips, often on one screen. This facilitates speedy follow-up, which is essential, and allows management to track and analyse customer interactions, which can in turn, help them to identify trends and adjust the approach accordingly.
Targeted ongoing monitoring and control:
Without effective management and measurement, most campaigns will flounder regardless where they are carried out. Agencies constantly have their eyes on the ball. After all, if they don’t succeed, they get fired!
So, most good B2B telemarketing agencies have dedicated account managers that build effective call structures. They regularly listen to calls, and use call recording and monitoring tools to ensure that their callers are delivering consistent and effective brand messages. They will also use cloud dialers to minimise downtime between calls to continuously maximise productivity.
Expertise in data sourcing and list building:
An often overlooked key success factor in effective lead generation is the quality of the target list. If the data is inaccurate, it will slow down the success of the campaign. If callers need to use Google, LinkedIn and other tools to constantly check information, it will sap the life out of their momentum. Callers need to call. Hence, loading a robust list on the calling system is essential.
Good agencies should have expertise in profiling and segmentation, and data and audience list building. They may have access to, or be able to build from scratch, databases that contain accurate and up-to-date information about potential customers, including their contact information, company size, industry, and other relevant details. The lower the wastage, the higher the success rate.
Zero on-Costs:
With outsourced resourcing, there is no need for additional tax, pension, sick pay, and national insurance costs. Outsourcing to a dedicated B2B agency can save businesses a significant amount of money on fixed overheads. These expenses can add up quickly when employing an in-house telemarketing team, whereas outsourcing telemarketing to an agency eliminates the need to pay for these additional costs. This can result in substantial savings, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses with limited budgets.
Less drain on internal manpower:
Using an external agency can also provide businesses with a significant reduction in the hassle and drain on internal resources. Instead of spending time and effort on recruiting, training, and managing an in-house telemarketing caller or team, businesses can use their agency to handle all aspects of the telemarketing process.
This can be particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the resources to dedicate to handling this themselves. It thereby allows those businesses to focus on their core day-job, leaving the sales and business development effort to the experts.
Conclusion
Whilst there are inevitable costs attached to using an outsource, using a B2B telemarketing agency can be a cost-effective and efficient way for businesses to generate leads and sales, freeing up resources to focus on other critical areas of the business.
There are several advantages, including higher contact rates, flexibility, higher hit-rates, better productivity that ultimately results in more bang for buck.
