Why content kills telesales

I’m going to put my cards on the table straight away — I’ve never been a fan of telesales.

You may be a decision maker in your business — if not imagine you are. Ask yourself; when did you last accept a call from a telesales person? Did you hang up after the warning sign of the slight delay from the power dialler? Did you not even bother to accept the call from a withheld or unrecognised number? If you aren’t responding to this approach then why should your prospective customers?

I do understand the appeal, and can see in some industries it has its place, but with so many more sophisticated and incisive targeting options available, telesales seems like a fairly blunt instrument in the sales toolkit.

While you may achieve some instantaneous success — albeit at a low conversion rate — you’re getting zero additional value from the activity, and forgetting the negative perception of your brand you’re creating with all of those who turn you down.

Modern audiences demand a more intelligent and considered approach that aims to give real value to your prospects, not just once but over time. You want to prime potential customers so when you do speak to them, they’re aware of you, have a positive connotation with your business and are more receptive to your proposition. And this contact may be a phone call, if it’s appropriate for that particular prospect. I’m not against phone calls, in fact I actively encourage them, but they need to be used at the right moment in the process.

A content-led approach to business development in our view ticks all the boxes. If done properly you’re creating multiple touch points for a prospect to learn and engage with you. It then provides a legitimate reason to approach them. Additionally, it also demonstrates your capabilities, your position on a subject and authority in your field, and has a series of secondary benefits from growing a social audience to benefiting your website’s findability.

Before you enlist the help of a telemarketing team, stop and ask yourself whether this is really the way you’d like a potential customer to have their first contact with you.

Don’t waste your chance to make a good first impression. They count.