Can telemarketing stand up against the challenges of the times? Is this method still useful today?

No doubt this question is constantly floating in the heads of entrepreneurs and business executives in need of an effective means for direct marketing. In the first place, professional telemarketing is becoming a rarity these days. Telemarketers at present are constantly at the mercy of consumers, government watchdogs, as well as competitors who want to gain an edge against each other. In addition, professional telemarketers have lost their charm and glorious reputation with the entry Also, newer and much more modern methods of marketing and advertising has been developed to cater to the ever-changing lifestyles of customers. These are just some of the issues facing companies today and probably the future as well.

Fortunately, there are still reasons why telemarketing is still regarded as the best method for attracting customers. There are two factors that influence this trend and why some businesses still use this method.

The first one is in the area of lead generation services. Marketing leads are the lifeblood of any business, and companies place a huge importance on leads that can be converted into a sale or a closed deal. This calls for the expert handling of telemarketers who are familiar with the market that they will work with, or employ telemarketing methods that will encourage the production of sales leads. Take note that getting in touch with prospects can be a difficult activity, especially if these targets live miles away from the company. For cases like these, it is best to leave the job to those who know best-namely, telemarketers.

Another area that telemarketing has made a good reputation in is with regards to appointment setting. Some of the best deals that a company can hope to have relied entirely on being able to set an appointment. That is the reason why plenty of telemarketing companies also offer appointment setting services to their clients, as their people have the experience, as well as the expertise, in persuading prospects to meet with the client. Once this is done, then the client can go ahead and pitch their offer. If this is successfully done, then a company can expect to have a closed deal or an actual sale itself.

Of course, there are some companies who prefer using the more modern methods of advertising, like television commercials, radio announcement, and even print advertising. Of course, while these methods can produce the desired results, nothing beats the reliability and cost-efficiency that telemarketing provides. If one thinks about it, the cost of getting a new customer can be higher using the above-mentioned methods than just simply making a phone call to prospective clients. There are also cases where people are more receptive to a phone call because they can then ask questions with an immediate reply. Telemarketing also has a faster feedback system so that their clients can react faster to trends.

In any case, if a company wishes to work with a telemarketing firm, then they should be prepared to look for only the very best. With the world peppered with various companies that offer varying degrees of service, it pays to be smart in choosing the right one. A good telemarketing firm should be one that is respected even by its peers, recognized as a legitimate company by government agencies, has a good track record of providing for the needs of their clients, as well as the firm of choice by many companies. There are only a few of those around, so it won't be a hard thing to do.

Author's Bio: 

Belinda Summers is a successful lead generation Coach helping IT companies generate qualified sales leads. For more insights on b2b sales lead generation, Belinda recommends that you visit: http://www.callboxinc.com/industries/it-and-software.html.