The simple truth is that as with all marketing campaigns, the success of your telemarketing is mostly down to you.

Telemarketing is not a sit back and see what happens strategy, it requires planning before the campaign, monitoring and feedback throughout, followed by an end-of-campaign analysis and assessment.

At each stage, everyone involved needs to be open to new concepts by analysing what worked and – having to admit – what didn’t.

Below we have listed some of the core reasons why campaigns can falter and what can be done to turn them around.

Data quality

Data is the bedrock, foundation and cornerstone of all telemarketing campaigns. If you supply the wrong data you are setting yourself up for failure before you have even begun.

Good data is properly segmented and contains the information that the dialling teams need to manage the campaign, ideally it should contain the following –

• Contact name
• Company
• Phone number
• Address where they are based
• Industry type
• Job title/type
• Email address
• Website
• Turnover of company
• Number of employees

There is always an element of the unknown with data no matter how carefully it is reviewed, for example; phone numbers can change, job titles change, roles change and people leave companies. A good dialling team will gather all they can in these situations to update the records as appropriate, leaving you with stronger, up-to-date lists.

Flexibility

Sometimes the approach just isn’t working and this can lead to a classic situation of “doing what you have always done, gets you what you have always got”. If the approach is wrong and leading to nothing, then change it. Look at where it may be going wrong – if you are using a scripted approach then review the script. If the team are unscripted, listen to the calls – are they missing out a key detail? Does the USP solve a problem the prospect is perceived to have?

Maybe the offer is simply not competitive.  Always look to get feedback from diallers because they will be privy to a range of reasons why the prospect has rejected the offer. This information can be essential in helping you to define your product presentation and understand potential pains elsewhere in your marketing.

The agency environment

This is a hard one to evaluate because, as a client, your exposure to the inner workings of the agency is always going to be limited. However, anyone that you engage for telemarketing should be as open as possible in their methods. Always ask questions, try and visit the company offices and see the operations floor for yourself.

Another factor that can affect the long term ROI of a campaign is how they are paid, what is the incentive scheme in place?

Many agencies operate on a pay-per-appointment basis. However this can lead to appointments being effectively forced or incorrectly qualified to make the numbers up – leading to poor-quality leads or low lifetime value of the sale with poor ROI.

Staff and training

This leads on from the agency environment but in telemarketing the people are key! Telemarketing is a human-to-human marketing channel. So every agency or in-house team needs to ensure that they are delivering the campaigns as professionally as possible and are both motivated, and in a position to deliver the campaigns as effectively as possible.

As standard, there should be a regular training scheme in place that allows the teams to develop and review their performance. This can be in a one-to-one format or a more open format that includes role playing and confidence building exercises that can work on building rapport, getting past gate keepers, objection handling and effective closing.

Staff training is shown to keep motivation high and through sharing knowledge the teams feel they are truly a team and can help each to deliver results.

Setting goals and managing expectations

Whenever we start a new marketing campaign as marketers and business owners we are naturally excited by the potential it offers. It is the responsibility of your account manager (or team manager if in-house) to let you know what can be realistically delivered.

Sometimes this may mean delivering the news – both good and bad – but the reports presented need to be delivered accurately to allow the right people to make the right decisions at the right time.

Remember to keep analysing the data, especially if results aren’t proving as fruitful as expected. It can be easy to panic when the numbers don’t match predictions. But through thorough analysis of what isn’t working, almost all issues can be corrected – your desired results will follow.