Telemarketing Strategies

One outbound telemarketing strategy that I have seen tested many times over the years is whether to use a one call or two call close for telemarketing sales. Let’s define the difference between a one call close and a two call close. A one call close is a telemarketing strategy in which a single group of telemarketing agents will both qualify a prospect and close the sale. A two call close is typically set-up with a group of agents that qualify raw data or generate leads for a second group of sales agents that will call on these leads to close the sale.

 

I have seen this strategy work extremely well when the agent that is qualifying leads has the ability to transfer calls directly into the second group once a prospect has been qualified. This of course begs the question – if I can transfer the call and get the lead to stay on the phone – why not always go with a one call close. Typically this comes down to the price point of the sale and the comfort level of the consumer with the company selling the product or service. You will need a two call close for higher price point sales or for lesser known companies - a consumer may not have not had enough time or contact to establish a comfort level with your brand. If you are generating inbound calls – you may be able to send the consumer direct to your sales group as the consumer had enough of a comfort level with your marketing message to initiate the call to your company.

 

An outbound telemarketing rep that can qualify prospects is more than able to close a $30 or $40 sale, but this is not typically the same agent you want trying to close a loan or a several hundred dollar product.

 

I have seen online lead gen forms that ask a couple of qualifying questions act as the 1^st call of the 2 call close in which case you can typically have a sales person make these follow-up calls.

 

Depending on the amount of branding you have done and based on the price point of the sale you are working with you are likely to find a 2 step process will yield better results in the end. You need to test and re-test your own process, but you can find efficiencies in keeping your lead generation distinct from your sales.