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So we’re a week into January and the air is still heavy with the promise of the New Year and a New You.

Seems like everyone’s racing into 2020 brandishing New Year’s resolutions, new running gear and alcohol-free beer. The gyms are packed, the pubs are empty (well quieter, anyway), and health foods are flying off the supermarket shelves. Salespeople and business owners across the country are rolling up their sleeves and buzzing with resolve to be more productive, get more appointments, increase sales, and make more money.

Which is great….apart from the fact that we all know that most people give up their resolutions within a month or so. Why? because mostly their resolutions are abstract aims, like “losing weight”, “getting fit”, or “winning more business” and, as such, they’re not really concrete, manageable goals.

If you really want to get a head-start on your B2B marketing strategy this year, then break it down into achievable, specific, DOABLE parts. With solid, achievable plans in place as opposed to well-intentioned resolutions, you’re much more likely to succeed. To get you started, here are 4 ideas to help you build momentum and see results in your B2B marketing in 2020:

1. Take the time to figure out who you want business FROM:

Do the work to find your ideal client and aim in the right direction or you won’t deliver best results. What industry is your target in? What size of business is it? What are they trying to achieve? Why do they buy? When do they buy? How much money do they have? You’ll never do any business if you target the wrong companies, so get a good list with validated data including the right job roles and contacts for the decision makers for your product and services.

2. Organise and execute a specific and tailored campaign to book qualified meetings with those target clients.

Without proper strategy and implementation, a B2B telemarketing campaign won’t provide the results you want. Make sure you have the right tools and structure in place, including a good call structure such as a relevant and gripping introduction, great questioning and a killer close.

3. Capture key information about what prospects are doing this year and when.

By asking the right questions and LISTENING properly to the answers, you will be able to gather invaluable information about your target clients’ plans for the year. This will help you to flag up any prime opportunities and tailor your communication/activity accordingly.

4. Start building a pipeline of new leads to see you through the year.

To keep your sales consistent, it’s vital to invest time at the start of your sales pipeline to ensure a steady flow of opportunities are entering it. Nurturing your sales pipeline to get qualified leads is time well spent, and now is a great time to generate new leads so you don’t miss an opportunity to win the business when the prospect is ready to buy.

So, instead of resolutions, if you’re looking to improve your B2B marketing this year, a better strategy might be to invest the time and resources in a targeted, effective, measured telemarketing campaign that will produce real opportunities and concrete results.

As online marketing continues to develop at breakneck speed, businesses are falling over themselves to keep up with the latest trends and advancements to get ahead of the competition. But, in the rush to embrace the new, many marketers are overlooking tried and tested marketing techniques that really work: in particular, telemarketing.

Telemarketing is, of course, on the more traditional end of the marketing spectrum, and poor practices (think pushy, relentless PPI sales calls) have left a bad taste in the mouth of many business people who believe that social and digital channels are the only way forward.

The fact remains though, that - done properly - telemarketing is still one of the most effect and cost effective tools for lead generation and demand creation. Research has shown that telemarketing offers an excellent ROI, but it has many benefits beyond pure ROI. Here are our top 5:

1. The Human Touch

Ok, so digital is exciting, fresh, unintrusive, and certainly effective, but companies should not underestimate the value of a real human connection. In an age where people are accustomed to conversing across digital media, a telephone conversation can provide a welcome human touch, making your customer feel valued and so giving your company that additional edge to generate leads or close quick sales.

Ignore telemarketing and you risk losing those invaluable opportunities to engage a real person in a real conversation. When it comes to connecting with your customer on a one to one basis, there’s no better way than using the phone to deliver your message.

2. Quicker Turnarounds

Unlike many other customer contact methods, phone calls give a company immediate answers. It’s a direct approach that elicits a direct response, allowing you to communicate with your customers right away, instead of waiting for days, weeks, or even months to realise results. With the ability to actually generate immediate sales, you could see a remarkably swift return on your investment. Remember, a few phone calls to the right people could land you some big accounts.

3. Build pipeline

Whilst lead generation or appointment setting might be the primary objective of a call, telemarketing can also harvest valuable secondary outcomes and information which will enable you to nurture longer term opportunities and feed your future pipeline with a steady flow of leads, including:

• Database updates
• Decision maker names added to your database
• Email addresses captured
• Contract review dates recorded
• Product Feedback
• Organisation and market mapping

4. Discover opportunities in depth

Every telemarketing call provides your business with an opportunity to learn about your prospects - and any opportunities they have - in depth; It’s a two-way conversation, and a good telemarketer can listen as well as talk. The level of insight and information that can be gained through a “real” conversation is so much greater than through any other channel. Getting on the phone to people can be the best way to discover exactly what your prospect’s requirements are and, in turn, demonstrate how your product or service can match those requirements.

5. Enhance other marketing efforts

We’re certainly not denying that digital marketing techniques have a huge role to play in the success of today’s businesses, but utilising telemarketing alongside these methods will increase the overall effectiveness of your marketing. Telemarketing integrates beautifully with other channels, such as email marketing. Used in conjunction with a direct mail campaign, it will create a more lasting impression, develop longer-lasting relationships, and gain invaluable sales opportunities.

It’s having a good mix of multi-channel marketing techniques that will deliver the best results.

So, while telemarketing may have its detractors, or those that feel it’s had its day, there is no doubt that, done well, it’s a tool that will enable your sales team or outsourced telemarketers to uncover genuine sales opportunities and progress those opportunities through your sales pipeline. When it comes to powerful marketing channels for your business, telemarketing continues to hold its own. We may be in the digital age, but telemarketing is a tried and tested technique. And it works!

Every few weeks or so we get asked a similar question "Do you do pay per result/ pay per appointment?" and each time the answer is the same: No.

People are often surprised by this response, after all, business is business, right? Wrong, and there are many reasons why pay per appointment is NOT good business for a telemarketing company, and why companies will struggle to find a good telemarketer to work on this basis. Here are the top 5 reasons why most telemarketing companies avoid pay per appointment like the plague:

The final thing to consider when working with a company such as Outshine, is that you are receiving much more than just results each day. Working with an experienced team who can provide quality data and ongoing support throughout your campaign ensures that their focus is on what’s best for YOUR company: appointments that count, a long-term commitment and intelligent  relationship-building that won’t leave your clients feeling like they’ve just been Tango’d!