B2B Telemarketing: 7 Ways to Get the Best from your Lead Generation Team
There are a whole host of ways you can get the most out of your B2B telemarketing team. It’s not about just working hard- it’s about working smart, and this is arguably more important than the former.
If your team is using their time efficiently, this can lead to significant results in the long term. Working hard, on the other hand, could just lead to your team getting burnt out, without many results to show for it.
In today’s blog, we’ll be breaking down the ways that you can get the most from your B2B telemarketing team.
Encourage Your B2B Telemarketing Team to Collaborate
Sales can be a demanding field, so the more you encourage collaboration amongst your team, the more you’ll be easing the pressure on each individual member. If your sales team are working together, rather than in a bubble, they’ll consistently be learning from each other.
Collaboration means that your team will be working towards a common goal. This is likely to make them far more productive in the long run than if they were just working on their own. That’s not to say a bit of healthy competition should be avoided, though- a weekly leaderboard can be a great motivator for salespeople trying to be the best.
Embrace Up to Date and Relevant Technology
Supplying your team with the most up to date and relevant tech is vital. If the tech they’re using isn’t relevant, you could be wasting valuable time and money. It could also mean that your team is unable to meet certain demands from clients, in which case they would need to improvise alternatives.
It’s also important to replace or upgrade any tech that is falling short. If a member of your team has been complaining about specific problems they’re having with a software and you don’t address those problems, it won’t just be bad for that person, it’ll be bad for everyone- including your clients.
B2B Telemarketing: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Praise
Strong company culture is important, and so is team culture. The leader of a sales team must cultivate an environment in which the members of that team are motivated, even if they’re not quite meeting their individual targets. A supportive team paired with encouragement from management will usually be enough for an individual salesperson to jump back on the saddle. In sales, bad days are par for the course (and sometimes, so are bad weeks). A team that builds each other up will be the difference between a bad day feeling like it’s the end of the world, versus feeling like what it actually is: a minor setback.
As the leader of a sales team, you should be letting your team know when they’re excelling, and when they’re struggling, giving them a helping hand.
Use Your Digital Calendar
There are a range of tools available to help your sales team stay on track every day. Even something as simple as Google Calendar, for example, will mean that they can precisely plan out each day. It’ll also mean that their team leader will be able to see what each individual’s priorities are, and whether they might be too busy.
The entire team being able to see everyone else’s calendars means that scheduling conflicts are largely a thing of the past. If everyone’s spending less time asking when everyone else is free, that’s more time they can dedicate to calling prospects.
B2B Telemarketing: Gamification
Gamification can be a great motivator for a sales team, and there’s a range of ways to execute this depending on which you think would suit your team best. It’s a way to give your team autonomy and make sure that even if individuals are being outperformed by their team, they’re still hitting their own personal goals.
Qualifying Questions
An effective lead generation team must be aware of the protocol when it comes to qualifying leads, taking leads seriously, and then booking in appointments with sales. For each product or service there should be a set number of questions which need to have been answered before your team decides whether the prospect is likely to go anywhere. The better your team can get at determining what those prospects look like, the less their time will be wasted on the phones.
B2B Telemarketing: Best Practices Driven by Data
Your team’s techniques should be based on best practices driven by data, typically from the sellers on your team who are getting the best results. Clearly they must be doing something right, and they can spread this knowledge throughout the team while also developing their leadership skills. Naturally, as a sales leader, you would also be acknowledging and rewarding the work they’ve been doing so well. It’s a great learning opportunity for everyone on the team.
Ryan Whyte is a Director of The Lead Generation Company where he leads a team of B2B telemarketers to deliver high-quality leads for clients. With a strong background in campaign management and a focus on driving results, Ryan is dedicated to optimising strategies that maximise client success in B2B lead generation.
