In every business, there are mundane tasks that need done, including telemarketing. These consume a lot of energy, resources, and time but are better handled by someone else so you may focus on your core business. The question is, how do you go about hiring a virtual telemarketer?
It’s hard to find an on-site telemarketer so imagine how much harder it is to find a remote one. Their salary may not be the costliest part of your payroll but making a poor hire will cost you. You’ll miss out on your best leads with the wrong telemarketer.
Why you need a professional virtual telemarketer
Telemarketers play an interesting role in the business world. Some companies insist upon them while others frown upon them. People may have varying opinions about being called during inconvenient times but telemarketing does work—and here’s why you must hire a virtual cold-caller to do the job.
First impressions last
When you receive a call from a company you’ve never heard of, the first few seconds of the call form the impression you have of them. You might deem them as worth looking into or an annoyance to your everyday life. This is why you need an expert to represent your enterprise.
Unlike with emails or blogs where you may link people to certain pages for more details, calls have to include all the information within a 5 to 10-minute window. A specialist knows how to be both informative and concise given the limited time.
Cold calling is challenging
Though there are negative connotations related to cold calling, it remains an effective means of marketing today. Research from the Rain Group reveals that 69% of buyers accepted calls from salespeople in 2019. 75% of prospects even scheduled meetings or attended events based on cold calls.
These findings reveal that cold calling is a specialised task that must be done by a virtual telemarketer with proper training and possesses a certain skill set. Just as people are turned off by heavily promotional content and clickbait, they also dislike calls of poor quality.
Competitors are doing it
It’s not enough to have a brand identity but you must also stay informed of the activities of the competition. Understand that some of your rivals have bigger marketing budgets than you so they have a wider reach. To compete with them, use every resource at your disposal including telemarketing.
Avoid having your target audience stolen by your rivals but leveraging cold calls. Hire a professional to connect with your prospects and convince them to choose your company over others. While there are other ways to beat competitors, don’t miss out on this medium.
Existing customers like it
Remember that your existing customers are your best buyers yet so you must take care of them. According to research by Semrush, you’re 60% more likely to sell to an existing customer. In comparison, the probability of selling to a new customer is only 20% at most.
The same research shows that existing customers are 50% more likely to try your new products and/or services. They are also 30% likely to spend more on their average order than new customers. They like to hear from your company so cold calls often go through with them.
Feedback is immediate
Since your virtual telemarketer in the Philippines will be engaging with prospects and customers, they are the first to know about feedback and opinions about your offerings or brand. These are necessary so you know which areas need improvement or modification.
Telemarketers may compile the data and submit it to the marketing team for analysis. Your marketers may then evaluate buying trends and needs that the company might address in their next product. Surveys or feedback forms are useful for this purpose.
Tips for hiring a virtual telemarketer
Before you go on and post a job listing for a virtual cold-caller, let us provide you with advice on how to find the most suitable candidate for your business.
Plan for your recruitment
Think about the kind of people you want to hire. Decide how many you need to meet your objectives, be it one or a dozen. Plot out what their responsibilities are and what their work hours are going to be like. Of course, you want to consider your budget too.
Access the global workforce
It’s nice to hire locally but realise that you’ll only have a limited talent pool. You have better chances of finding a good virtual telemarketer when you consider multicultural and multilingual employees. They won’t have to follow local holidays which is great for seasonal promotions.
Learn to manage expectations
You won’t be able to find the perfect candidate immediately so don’t be too hard on yourself. Give it some time but also know what skills to look for. You’ll want your list of requirements to include:
- Broad knowledge of the target buyers
- Strong belief that your products benefit whoever they’re calling
- Understanding of issues that target audiences face
- Excellent listening skills, especially when asking for feedback
- Ability to deal with more close-minded prospects
- Willingness to keep going in the face of rejection
- Consistency with their calling hours
- Aptitude in filtering prospects in the initial calling list
- Capability to ask engaging and insightful questions to follow up
- Good tone and pitch to sound conversational and natural
Invest in the right tools
Your virtual telemarketer has only a few minutes to win over a prospect and close a deal. The least you may do is prepare quality tools so their calls proceed as smoothly as possible. Paying for software like CloudTalk or contactSPACE is a great place to start.
Need help to hire a virtual telemarketer?
Even with all the tips we have provided above, understand that finding a virtual telemarketer in the Philippines is going to take a lot of work. You’ll have to create an informative job listing and decide on which sites to publish it. Next, you have to conduct the initial screening of so many applicants.
Make your life easier with our help at Remote Workmate. We possess a large talent pool of virtual workers, including telemarketers. We’ll separate the wheat from the chaff for you so you only have to face candidates who we believe meet your requirements.
Let’s have a chat about what you need in a virtual telemarketer.