Telemarketing is an approach to direct marketing where a professional salesperson solicits potential clients to purchase goods or services, either via the telephone or via a subsequent face-to-face or internet conferencing meeting scheduled over the telephone. Telemarketing sales techniques are becoming increasingly common and well established amongst many different types of businesses. The reasons for this include that telephone sales have access to a large audience, usually consisting of people who are on the move, many of whom do not even remember receiving a call, let alone making a purchase. Additionally, telephone sales techniques can be undertaken by a business without the expense of employing sales people, and, depending on the type of business, may prove extremely cost effective.
There are many people who do not own landlines, yet are regularly contacted by telephone solicitors. These people are called “cell phone customers” or “landline customers”. Landline customers are often targeted because they tend to stay on the same, often at convenient times throughout the day. A business contacting a cell phone customer is offering them something that they want – such as a reduced rate on a new service or a credit to offset a previous late payment. While many people will be wary of providing their personal details over the telephone, it is important to note that a legitimate telemarketing call will not result in a request for personal information, as many such unsolicited calls do. If a telemarketer follows up with a call to a landline customer after a successful telephone sale, the caller can be charged with harassing or intimidating conduct.
Despite the fact that many of the rules governing telemarketing may have changed in recent years, telemarketing remains an effective way of obtaining information. In particular, telemarketing may be used to obtain information about a potential client from a client’s past and current employer. This can enable a telemarketing sales representative to develop a profile of an individual that they feel may be worth investing time in further. Many different types of consumer information are collected through telemarketing calls. These include but are not limited to, the date of birth of a consumer; social security numbers; financial information; criminal records; etc. The amount of information that can be obtained through these types of unsolicited phone calls has increased dramatically.
As more businesses and organizations make their way into the digital age, it is becoming increasingly necessary for businesses to tap into this new source of potential customers. As an alternative to cold calls, many people are opting to make telephone calls to prospective customers, rather than meeting them in person. Telemarketing has many benefits, however, including:
Although many people use telemarketing to acquire potential customers, many businesses use telemarketing calls to improve their overall efficiency. A good example of this is the use of telemarketing to reduce the amount of time wasted during in-person meetings between representatives and prospective customers. In some cases, telemarketing can even help to decrease the cost of conducting business. Because telemarketing calls are used to solicit potential customers, many times these calls are recorded by the telephone company. These recordings can then be used by a telemarketer to find out exactly how to approach a potential customer.
Another advantage of telemarketing is that many times, companies who use telemarketing services have access to qualified professionals who have experience with telesales and lead generation. Often, qualified telesales professionals are able to generate more business than would be possible without the assistance of telemarketing, and a telemarketer can sometimes obtain more business than he or she could by using other methods. For more information about telemarketing services and resources, see below.