Our Round-Up series is based on collecting and collating insight from industry experts on how to solve industry problems.
We have asked a panel of Industry Experts* for ways that you can drive Outbound Telemarketing sales.
The ten suggestions made by our gurus cover data, sales, and operational, and the first five have been included in this Part 1.
1. Improve Quality of Data
First up, as the recency and accuracy of your data affects whether you can contact a client, Industry Expert Sean Moss says that it is well worth the time and effort to refine your data. More accurate data means higher contact rates which can translate into more sales.
2. Enrich Customer Data
By enhancing how much you know about your existing clients and prospects, you will be able to segment clients and determine the best products and timing to approach them with those products. This needs to be more than the basic and static demographic data that has traditionally been gleaned from analogue customer databases.
Enriching Customer Data will reduce churn, help you understand why they are saying “no”, and increase sales. In addition, Zanele Mahlangu says that sufficient data on the client and their needs will also reduce the acquisition and fulfillment time spent with the client.
3. Learn from Past Customers and Interactions
Sirinthip (Celine) Chotithamaporn suggests using information gleaned from data such as who needs sales promotions to convert and who doesn’t. Other experts also mention that this quality customer behaviour profiling can hold valuable information that could provide key insights to improve sales efforts.
4. Apply Propensity to Purchase
Determine how likely your prospects are to buy. This should also include criteria like Loan to Value to ensure profitability, says Chotithamaporn.
4a. Segment
Break down target databases into distinct market segments or clusters, with for example geographic, psychographic or past behaviour data points, says Moss. This is so that you only approach prospects with offerings relevant to them. For example, don’t try to sell car insurance to people who clearly don’t own a car.
An understanding of their purchase journey will also help you make better recommendations of your product. Paul Leadbitter adds that this should include tailoring the presentation of the product price and benefits according to the precise characteristics and circumstances of the individual customer.
4b. Get the Timing right
As Zanele Mahlangu shares, offer the right solution at the right and convenient time for the client. A few of our experts mentioned that the product type, seasonality, as well as the time of day all affect the conversion to sales. These can be considered when creating propensity to purchase models, as well as when using the data of past sales to match the salesperson to the potential client.
5. Collect and Act on Operational Data
Be able to collect and measure operational data. This will help you closely measure, manage and monitor your sales operations to ensure that they perform at the required levels of professionalism and sales performance. This is a non-negotiable requirement for any organisation that wants to drive sales through telemarketing.
For example, an expert suggested that you should avoid high frequency of calls and you should be able to measure when the frequency of calls being made starts to affect outcomes.
However, Moss says that although there are many metrics that can be used to drive efficiency, select and focus relentlessly on those which have the highest influence on your main targets. You can do this by creating a minimum and maximum for each of these KPIs, and in this way, you have an acceptable range between these 2 numbers where you may have good or bad days. Once a KPI moves outside of an acceptable range there should be an automated process where the variance is investigated and rectified.
We hope these suggestions have been useful to you. In summary, the first 5 suggested ways to increase Outbound Telemarketing sales are:
- Improve Quality of Data
- Enrich Customer Data
- Learn from Past Customers and Interactions
- Apply Propensity to Purchase and 4a. Segment and 4b. Get the Timing right
- Collect and Act on Operational Data
Please look out for Part 2 of our Expert Round-Up – Ways to Drive Outbound Telemarketing Sales.
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Notes:
Industry Experts – 10 Outbound Telemarketing specialists and veterans from the following countries: Singapore, Australia, Netherlands, Thailand, and South Africa.