Some businesses may find that their telemarketing results are lackluster. While it's true that telemarketing may send your company into new regions of profits, you have to know how to use it to its potential. In short, you need to put your effort into making the most of telemarketing so that it can work for you.

To make the most of telemarketing, you have to think outside of the box. Telemarketing is like any other business activity - it benefits from creativity and mirrors the amount of effort you put into it. When trying to make the most out of telemarketing, consider the following:

1. The telemarketing process can benefit from a nice division of labor.

2. Calling prospects and current customers doesn't always have to end in telemarketing sales.

3. Telemarketing companies can help you improve your use of telemarketing.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Streamline your telemarketing services

Testing telemarketing results and calling only those prospects and customers who you to contact them are the first and second steps to seeing the best results. Generally, the newer the technology used, the better results you will see and usually, good technology exists at already-established call centers specializing in both outbound telemarketing and inbound telemarketing. Some of these call centers may even provide you with a telemarketing list.

I recommend: Find out telemarketing essentials and get a quote from Telemarketing Consultant or contact the Database Systems to get a quote and have your business telemarketing needs analyzed.

Use telemarketing for more than just sales

Sales aren't always the ultimate goal when using telemarketing. Any good telemarketing business will be capable of appointment-setting, follow-ups, qualifying prospects, redefining your interested parties list and simply keeping contact with your customers to renew relationships. All of this falls under the 'business telemarketing' umbrella and play a role in the success of telemarketing.

I recommend: Learn how outbound and inbound telemarketing might help your business at Business Beanstalk Telemarketing Services and Call Center Solutions. Try Go4Customer, a company that emphasizes "business performance improvement" and aims to help you find new ways to make your business reach its potential.

Increase your telephone marketing during the holidays

It goes without saying that more people are home during the holidays. In addition, they have more money to spend and are more willing to spend it than any other time of the year. Telemarketing businesses take advantage of important dates like 'Black Friday,' Christmas and other holidays where gift-giving and sales tend to increase. But remember that telemarketing rules apply during the holiday season, too.

I recommend: Axiom BPO Services offers offshore telemarketing solutions. Quality System Solutions can also help you with your telemarketing needs and even provides demos of their other management software.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Get ready to battle complaints if you abuse the fact that people are home during the holidays. Reports indicate that prospects are more likely to file complaints against telemarketing companies during the holidays, so use your knowledge of their off-time wisely.

Many small business owners are surprised to discover that telemarketing encompasses more than just cold calling. In fact, telemarketing takes advantage of both inbound and outbound calls. Inbound telemarketing occurs every time existing or potential customers call your company, on your regular or toll-free lines.

Outbound telemarketing takes place when your company calls a prospect or existing customer. Small companies can use telemarketing in the following ways:

1. To gather customer information
2. To introduce new products or services
3. To make a sale
4. To complete a current transaction
5. To add an incremental component to the sale

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Evaluate the potential for telemarketing

Telemarketing isn't for every company or every customer. Before embarking on a telemarketing program, consider what you wish to accomplish and if your customer base is receptive to this marketing tool.

I recommend: Sign up for a 20-hour telemarketing test to determine if this selling strategy can boost your bottom line.

Follow the rules

Respect the Do-Not-Call Registries. Not honoring them can be costly, with fines up to $11,000.

I recommend: Become familiar with the National Do-Not-Call Registry and similar programs within your specific state.

Cross-sell and up-sell

Use the telemarketing customer encounter as an opportunity to both cross-sell (sell complementary products or services) and up-sell (sell a higher-level product or service).

I recommend: Invest in a cross-selling and up-selling training program for your telemarketing staff from ImpactLearningSystems.com.

Get script savvy

Most marketing experts recommend using scripts, but only when the telemarketer delivers the script with a natural voice and cadence. Encourage your telemarketers to learn about your products and services so it doesn't sound like they're simply reading from your script.

I recommend: Check out an audio CD or e-book on How to Create Winning Telemarketing Scripts from ColdCalling.com. Get tips on scripts and more at AllBusiness.com.

Hire the right telemarketers

Not everyone is cut out for a telemarketing gig. Finding the right people for the job can make all the difference in whether your efforts succeed or fall flat.

I recommend: Find experienced telemarketers at Guru.com or consider outsourcing your telemarketing needs to a service, such as Telemarketing.com. When interviewing potential hires, use these sample telemarketing personnel interview questions (on pages 5-6).

Obtain telemarketing lists

Use your existing customer database to create a telemarketing target list. You can also purchase names and numbers or cull names from a phone directory or other publicly available list.

I recommend: Whether you need fewer than 5,000 names or more than 100,000, whether your focus is business-to-business or business-to-consumer and whether you're looking for names in the Northeast, Midwest or all across the nation, you can find a list at Discount-Lists.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  For many customers, their only contact with your company is through telemarketing. For them, your telemarketer is your company. Make sure the image your telemarketers are portraying fits with your company image.
• •  Telemarketing isn't all about the numbers; it's also about building customer relationships.
• •  Telemarketing can be done from your office, from a call center or from someone's home, also called homesourcing.
• •  Respect customers and their time.
• •  Respect the word 'no.'

Many people may find the word "telemarketing" off-putting. In reality, telemarketing is a vital part of any business and can do more than just convince prospects to purchase a product. You can do prospect research, market investigation and other business-refining activities using telemarketing.

First and foremost though, working with telemarketing services can allow your business to focus its efforts into closing sales. By letting telemarketing companies deal with the hassle of gathering prospects, you free yourself up to do the more important details of your business. If you're thinking about using telemarketing, consider the following:

1. You need to prepare telemarketers to contact prospects and customers.

2. You need to clearly define the goals for telephone marketing.

3. You can hire telemarketing firms to work for you, so you don't have to train telemarketers with your own money.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Make sure that your telemarketing sales staff is fully equipped to handle calls

Provide your callers with conversational scripts and put them through mock calls during training. If possible, profile your telemarketing callers to match with the people on your telemarketing list to increase the chances of a connection between the two. Having a prepared telemarketer and one that is capable of finding a common ground with the prospect may help you achieve your goal.

I recommend: AnswerNet Network and VSA offer solutions to handle regular customers as well as businesses. This is especially useful for anyone looking for popular business-to-business solutions. Business By Phone and Leadership-Tools.com provide telesales tips to help your staff stay on the line.

Use telephone marketing as part of your lead generation

Telemarketing isn't just about closing sales. Research your prospects by asking them questions outright as part of your business telemarketing. You may also consider having prospects evaluate their purchase history. You can use information provided on your competitor's entry forms or websites to gain feedback that might help your business.

I recommend: RDI and TelemarketingConsultant.com help make contact with prospects and leads. Lead generation is just one of the things that they specialize in. Mac McIntosh offers some consulting information about business-to-business lead generation in particular.

Contact telemarketing firms to try outsourced telemarketing

Sometimes, spending money and time on calling prospects and customers is just too much of an investment. You may cut the amount of money and time you spend contacting your leads by finding a telemarketing business that will handle the calls for you.

I recommend: Telemarketing businesses like Tele-center are one-stop solutions for your telemarketing needs. Call Center Comparison provides information about basic telemarketing questions and offers services of its own. Gaebler Ventures and VendorSeek provide some practical tips designed to help you decide on a telemarketing firm.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  While matching the demographics of telemarketers with that of prospects or customers may give you an edge, professional telemarketing firms should be able to connect with any prospect.

Telemarketing is a business that provides a way to reach new customers by telephone. While some companies have moved away from telemarketing and into Internet marketing in order to reach out to more potential customers, there are still many businesses that use telemarketing as their main source of customer leads. Telemarketers must bring a strong set of communication skills to the table in order to find leads for the company and make solid connections with cold calling procedures.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Agent

An agent is a term that describes a trained telemarketer. The telemarketer's job is to make or receive calls for the company.

I recommend: StateUniversity describes the job of a telemarketing agent, including working conditions and average yearly salary.

Call back

A call back is a term in telemarketing used to describe a return call to a potential customer. Many telemarketing companies are using the Internet to let potential customers request a call back without sitting through an initial sales call.

I recommend: ASP Telemarketing lists the benefits of DialVision software, which includes a feature that allows call backs to be redirected to the original agent, making it easier to pursue a potential customer.

Call center

A call center is a term that refers to the building where telemarketing services are located. These centers can take inbound or outbound calls, or a mixture of the two.

I recommend: Step To Call Center provides information on how to set up a call center and manage activities and productivity in a call center.

Cold calling

Cold calling is the process in which an agent makes phone calls to potential customers that have no previous relationship with the company.

I recommend: Mr. Cold Call provides an A-to-Z list of cold calling tips for more effective cold calling leads.

List source

A list source is the list of phone numbers a telemarketing firm has obtained.

I recommend: TeleNet Marketing Solutions provides tips and additional information on getting the right list source for your company.

Script

A script provides prepared speeches for telemarketing agents. The script provides a variety of sales pitches to use depending on the answers provided by the potential customer.

I recommend: Integrity Sales Leadership provides information on how a telemarketing script follows a distinct formula for making a sale and using branching methods, and it provides examples of a generic telemarketing script.