Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Success or failure in inside sales, or telemarketing, often comes down to the ability to properly nurture leads. Most companies have some way of gaining leads, whether they buy them or collect them. What they do with these leads next will determine the success of their sales initiatives. When leads are put into the hands of people who don’t have the skills to nurture them through to conclusion, they become worthless. Telemarketing software can go a long way toward helping companies ensure that inside sales teams are treating leads with the care they require.

In a recent blog post for VanillaSoft,  Christina Mlynski wrote that the extended nature of the sales cycle makes lead management one of the most critical aspect of any sales organization, particularly for business-to-business (B2B) companies.

“Leads may spend months considering whether they’ll make a purchase of your products and services thanks to fierce competition in the B2B space,” she wrote. “Ultimately, it’s critical to nurture leads during this time so you can keep your company at the forefront of their considerations. The goal of lead nurturing is to help progress leads from initial interest toward purchase intent – it truly is about the journey, not the destination.”

Lead progression, or moving leads along the sales cycle toward purchasing behavior, is one of the most important aspects of lead management. It’s helpful to use telemarketing software that will remind inside sales personnel what steps need to be taken and when, with multiple reminders. When it is time to take action, inside sales teams need to be able to produce creative content that encourages lead progression. Lead capture is great, but what you do afterwards will determine whether the lead becomes a sale.

“You will need to create different lead nurturing tracks based on various criteria such as size, industry and role in the buying process,” wrote Mlynski. “The tactics employed and the frequency of touches will depend on how you choose to engage customers with your content marketing strategy.”

The trick will be to tailor content to your customer’s buying journey, which can be better mapped with telemarketing software. You need to consider: are your customers using smartphones to investigate purchases? If so, when and how often? Do you have enough mobile marketing content to fill their need? Are they watching videos to learn about your products and services? Where are they seeking these videos, and do you have enough fresh video content there? Are your customers using social media to investigate or engage others who have purchased your products and services? Are the members of your sales team familiar with these sites and the people who post on them?

Good inside sales professionals should also understand the pace at which customers need to move. Not every customer moves at the same speed, and rushing the can sour a sale.

“Sometimes the journey can be long and challenging,” wrote Mlynski. “The only job is to make certain you’re nurturing your leads along the way and directing them toward the right and best decisions for their needs. It’s encouraged to walk at the buyer’s pace – even if that means taking a detour or two. If you hurry them along, you might exhaust the process and turn them to rely on one of your competitors.”