Most B2B marketers are used to writing benefit-oriented bulleted copy for direct mail postcards, or solutions-oriented text for case studies. However, I find that many marketers are not experienced at writing telemarketing call guides (AKA scripts, though I don’t like that word). So, here’s a little outline to help you develop successful, action-oriented call guides for your outbound B2B telemarketing efforts.

1. Introduction/Credibility Building. It’s critical to introduce yourself and build credibility right off the bat.
2. Problem Identification. No matter why you’re calling, it is critical to discover a problem that you can help solve. Do some probing on your prospect’s pain points (now say that tongue-twister three times fast!).
3. Present Solution. Explain to your prospect that you have a solution for their biggest challenges. You know, the ones that keep them up at night.
4. Offer. This vital step is often overlooked. You must have a compelling offer for your prospect. A ‘free infrastructure analysis’ or ‘complimentary ROI assessment’ should do.
5. Close: Typically, you’re trying to set an appointment or asking your prospect to take some sort of action, right? Now is the time.

That’s the top-line stuff, but be sure to include some objection responses, a way to verify contact information and gather opt-in e-mail address. Did I leave anything out? Do you have any horror stories about bad call guides?

B2B marketers spend tens of thousands of dollars every year purchasing prospect lists to “mine” for new customers when what they’re seeking may be right in front of them– in their own database. Here are some real-life examples of how a simple phone call uncovered several golden opportunities:

Data Cleansing—A distributor of products perfect for use in government stimulus projects recently did telephone prospecting to clean up an in-house list of municipal, county and state contacts. They not only obtained up-to-date info on key decision-makers, but during the process discovered several open bids and acted on them. 

No Customer Left Behind—A service provider found that a significant number of customers had opened accounts but were no longer purchasing from the company. An outbound call program uncovered and activated an astonishing number of these accounts.

Survey—A technology company used an old company list to conduct a survey. The information obtained regarding the prospects’ needs, budget and purchase timing was actionable, providing an opportunity to set many sales appointments.

Do you have an old prospect list? What do you do with all the leads you gather from advertising, direct mail, websites and tradeshows? Do you outsource calling programs?

In this day and age, we have the ability to automate a lot of the processes that we previously did manually. But did you know that you can automate your marketing communications? It’s true! With marketing automation software, you can implement automated lead nurturing programs that play in the background on websites, e-blasts and other online communications. You can even be notified automatically when a prospect is ready to buy.

Sound far-fetched? Here’s how it works:

Say someone finds your website through a Google search. If they find an item of value that they’re interested in on your site (say, a research report on cloud computing), they type in a few bits of information like their name and e-mail and then the asset is ‘automagically’ e-mailed to them.

Once they raise their digital hand and volunteer this information, you are able to use marketing automation software to track their activity on your website and their responses to e-mail communications.

You can also send them automated marketing campaigns based on their behaviors. For example, if they visit the section of your website related to cloud computing, you can set up an automated e-mail invitation to a webinar on (you guessed it) cloud computing. You can also find out if they attend the webinar and send an e-mail to have them evaluate the content.

Now here’s the best part. As they’ve been exhibiting these behaviors, their activity is not only being tracked, but scored, so you have a quantitative measure of how likely they are to buy your cloud computing product based on their web track record. In addition, all of the follow-up e-mail communications happen ‘automagically’ so you didn’t have to manually set up these campaigns, view the tracking reports, assign them a lead score based on their behaviors and pass the lead on to a sales rep. The marketing automation software did this all for you. For more information, contact me and I can show you more amazing things you can do.

Are you using marketing automation software? Do you need help selecting the right marketing automation software for you? Do you have any marketing automation success stories?

The recession has been a sobering reality for many businesses this past year. While we would all love to see things pick back up, there are inconsistent reports coming out daily that indicate a clean bill of economic health may not be within reach.

It’s no secret that when the economy declines, it is customary for businesses to pull back spending – particularly on marketing and communications. The fact is that in times like these, it is imperative for your business to provide even more distinction for its brand, its products and its services.

Now more than ever, your customers and prospects are being cautious about their purchasing decisions. The good new is that you can take control of the situation by providing clear, differentiating information to steer the decision-making process of potential buyers in your favor.

Organize Your B2B Marketing Approach

Focus on basic tenants to guide your marketing program:

1. Don’t get discouraged. Although our economic engine is getting a tune-up, there are still endless miles left in it. Opportunity is out there, but you will need to find new ways to manage the demand for your products.

2. Recognize your challenges. Take an honest look in the mirror to determine where your company can improve. Taking the time to uncover your pain points will help you to know where and how to invest your marketing dollars.

3. Understand your strengths. When was the last time you asked your customers what they uniquely value about your company? Figure out what you do well and use those things to your advantage.

4. Find out what your customers care about and start there. B2B customers need help making informed buying-decision for their business. Learning first-hand what customers value will help you generate marketing programs that will engage your customers well after the economy stabilizes.

5. Don’t get left behind. Reports show that one-third of B2B marketers have planned to increase their marketing investment this year. Those who are continuing to invest in marketing are sure to emerge as champions in their respective industries. Conceding market share and opportunity to your competitors, is not a risk any business should take.

It’s Ok To Seek Marketing Counsel
Of course there is still a need to be pragmatic in your approach. The best first step is to ensure that you have quality professionals leading the charge. Regardless of your industry, you should engage with marketing counsel who can help you drive business with thorough market assessment, well-grounded recommendations and tenacious management of your marketing and communications concerns. Engaging with an agency that demonstrates unending enthusiasm for the work will not only get your marketing program on the right track, it will also surely result in a positive upturn for your business.

What new marketing techniques have you adopted to propel your business forward?