Is Telesales the same as Cold Calling?

Telesales and cold calling are often used interchangeably, and rightfully so. They are indeed the same concept, though telesales is a newer term and one seen in more of a positive light than cold calling is. This form of marketing can assist your business in growing and strengthening leads. Let’s delve into the specifics and benefits of marketing telephonically.

What is Cold Calling?

Cold Calling is another term for telesales. In short, it refers to the selling of products or services via a telephonic call. It is one aspect of telemarketing. This form of communication is direct and has a sales driven focus. The purpose of the cold caller is to illicit interest and to ultimately convert the lead.

The cornerstone of cold calling is that it is not an expected call on the receiver’s side. This is a tough job to conduct and often requires a certain finesse, as it is expected that out of every 100 calls, there would be 3 or 4 converted leads. This is largely due to the fact that you are reaching out to people without there being an indication of interest in what you have to offer - yet. There are certain region-specific regulations limiting the ability to cold call people, but people often seek these contact details on social media, in phone directories or from purchased contact lists.

This aspect of telesales or cold calling has garnered a bad reputation, as naturally these calls can be unsolicited and interrupt one’s day. Therefore one needs to have a strategy in place and this needs to be planned and coordinated with the overall telemarketing strategy. There are certain telephonic etiquettes to keep in mind, such as avoiding immediate, repetitive calls if a phone goes unanswered. In the digital era, where messaging and social media interactions are more prevalent, the telephone call certainly has its value with customers, even today. Phone calls require interactions to be had among people that can be perceived as more genuine than texts. It communicates that your business is taking active steps to reach out and build personal connections with your clientele.  It therefore makes sense to delve into telemarketing as a concept at a deeper level, especially if you're considering it as a medium to generate leads for your business.

What is Telemarketing?

Telemarketing is an umbrella term for marketing which happens telephonically. As mentioned, this encapsulates telesales, though there is much more to it than that. It refers to all sorts of sourcing for information that could benefit a business. Think about all of the exchanges your business could have with someone and how this could influence your business. Your business should ideally have a cohesive telemarketing strategy along with telesales. There is so much information that can be generated this way, including:

• Conducting market research: This allows you to gain accurate information from reliable sources, for example when you’re conducting product research.
• Prospecting: Finding out what kind of product or service someone is interest in and then directing them to a salesperson who can assist further.
• Follow up: The process of contacting an interested potential customer to assist them in moving along the sales funnel.
• Inbound telemarketing: This refers to when a customer contacts you in response to a form of marketing and would like to get more information or assistance with a sale.
• Telesales: Cold calling is part of telemarketing, as this can be an effective way of selling or generating interest in a particular product or service.
• Awareness: If you have a new product or service available, or perhaps a particular offer, reaching out to your database to let them know improves your awareness in a direct manner.
• Lead generation: Since cold calling is all about directly aiming for sales, it goes without saying that it’s based in generating leads.
• Reconnection: Reaching out to established customers can improve your relationships with helpful and friendly reminders and check-in’s

The Tele-strategy

When telemarketing and telesales are used in conjunction effectively, your business can benefit from decreased costs per lead. This is because making a successful phone call can cost you less than actively pursuing your customer in person, for instance.

In order to achieve this, you need to be persuasive, provide reliable information and come across in a professional way. The telemarketing team will be making contact to discover interest, while the cold callers will aim at converting people who had no known interest in the product or service before.

So, is your business using the phone in a way that’s beneficial to your company? Through an effective telesales strategy, your cold calls can generate leads. By incorporating this with telemarketing, your business can be on its way to building better bonds with your customers.

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