If you think good marketing is all about email communications, social media presence and viral sensations, you’re not alone. Digital strategies are the go-to tactic for companies of all shapes and sizes these days, leading many clients to raise an interesting question: is telemarketing still worthwhile?

The short answer is yes. The humble telephone is still, even in this age of digital comms, a highly effective lead generation tool. To find out why, let’s delve into the slightly longer answer…

Telemarketing brings big benefits
Telemarketing – or the act of describing your value proposition and generating leads via the phone – delivers some unique benefits. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that it allows you to instantly engage with your audience. Because you’re engaging in immediate dialogue, you can learn more about your prospects and quickly gauge their level of interest (which may vary from ‘yes please, I want to know more right now’ to ‘I might want to know more in the future’ to a polite ‘thanks but no thanks’). This allows you to filter out the good and the not-so-good leads far more quickly than, say, an email or social media campaign. Quick sorting of leads is essential for building a stronger sales pipeline, because it means you focus your time on the strongest leads only.

As an added bonus, telemarketing helps your business stand out. Amidst a near-constant stream of emails and social media messages, the simple act of picking up the phone becomes radical and unexpected.

Making sure your telemarketing pays off
There’s no doubt in our minds that telemarketing helps drive growth. But it takes time. Identifying new contacts, reaching out to prospects, following up with call-backs – all this takes time. For that reason, one of our biggest tips for successful telemarketing is to set aside a regular timeslot for it each week.

Another simple tip? Avoid making your calls on Mondays and Fridays! Check out our free booklet for more practical tips to get you picking up the phone.

Alternatively, if you’re one of the many people who find it difficult to sell yourself and your business over the phone, we can do it for you. Outsource your telemarketing to OCTOPUS and we’ll make those valuable new introductions on your behalf. Chat to us about building your sales pipeline.