FAQ About Business to Business Telemarketing

Business to Business telemarketing can increase a businesses contacts, income and keep a company from going under. Although most businesses don't enjoy these sales calls, they are and should be an expected way for others in the community to advertise their services.

What is B2B Telemarketing?

Contacting businesses to generate awareness about your business, service or to sell a product or service that the business you represent offers. It is different from outbound telemarketing, because it is businesses targeting businesses and not individuals.

How do I start a job telemarketing from home?

Set up a home office. You will need a computer with highspeed internet, a printer/fax/copier and a land line telephone totally dedicated to your calls. I recommend a cell phone you can dedicate to your leads returning calls, you can forward them from your land line phone, when you run errands. You will want to find several headsets that you like and purchase two or three to start. Finding a land line phone (corded), that will allow you to use a headset is sometimes difficult. If you purchase a cordless phone, make sure you get a set of two, incase the battery dies in one.

Find a job. Look on Craigslist to start. Don't worry about location, go through and apply to every "good" job in each city listed. A good job will list a salary or hourly wage, plus give you all of the details about the position. You can work for hourly plus commission or more often you will find just commission positions. I advise staying away from commission only positions, especially if you aren't experienced. You will also find that more of these commission only positions will be less likely to pay you, when you make a sale or forward a lead. Only work for a company that offers a service or product that you are happy to promote.

How do I find leads?

Look in the phone book, visitors bureaus and search for lists of businesses on the web. For example: if you are trying to collect leads for a commercial cleaning service, cut and paste leads from an online phone directory into a spreadsheet program. You can call any business for this service, so start with anything that is located in a professional office atmosphere.

How do I manage my leads?

There are online content management programs, which are useful if you have an older computer or if you don't backup your computer each day. I recommend these, because you can access them from any computer. There is also content management software, such as ACT you can purchase to manage your leads.

How do I write a good script?

Only write a script that fits your personality. Use it as a guide, but have it memorized. Don't say the same thing to each person you call. You will start feeling and sounding like a robot. Rather, you want to highlight details about the product or service and have them taped to your desk or the side of your monitor. If you don't know your product or service, you won't make the sale. Memorize all of the details and be able to answer all of the hard questions a business might ask you. The most important question you should always answer is: Why should I do business with you?

How do I close a sale in two calls?

Prove to them that they need you. The first call is an introduction, tell them who you are, why you are the best and why they need you. The second call you simply ask them to commit. If they say "no", let them know why they should reconsider, and how much it will benefit their business. End the second call with you leaving them your number and move on, don't recall. They will call you when they need you, but if you are a pushy sales person, they will never call you, even if they need you.