Anouk van Deurse
We often get the question: why should I outsource B2B phone acquisition? And quite honestly, sometimes it's better not to. Outsourcing telemarketing is often rightly well considered and in some cases it is better to do it yourself, or not do it at all. In this blog, we outline when we think outsourcing B2B phone lead generation is just not a good fit for your organization.
In general, we are approached by organizations that have already made the well-considered choice to actively approach their target market through telephone acquisition and to outsource this acquisition to a specialist like us. However, we also sometimes encounter organizations that are still in doubt and are not sure whether outsourcing telephone lead generation is wise for their business. We often get the question: why should I outsource B2B telephone acquisition? An interesting question for another time, but today we like to turn the question around. Because why should you NOT outsource lead generation? In what cases does it pay off more to engage in other marketing strategies? Or when does it pay off more to do phone acquisition yourself?
Your target market is too small for cold acquisition
In our opinion, it only pays to hire a party to do cold acquisition when there is a large market to explore. Do you have 100 potential customers of which your own account manager already has 60, then that market is too small for us to work with it structurally. Setting up a foolproof process for cold acquisition and sales funnel management, which in our view are essential for an effective lead generation campaign, takes effort, time and effort. It does not pay to set up this process for just 40 prospects. So in this case, we recommend: approach these companies yourself!
Also read: ‘5 tips for writing a good sales pitch’.
You have no capacity for new customers
‘New clients? I shouldn't think about it! Way too busy!’ Do you recognize yourself in this? What a position of luxury! If you do not see this situation changing within 6 to 12 months (meaning: customers usually stay customers for a long time and/or you work with multi-year contracts), we do not recommend going all out in a B2B lead generation campaign. After all, you won't have the hands to pick up any resulting new orders.
Not sure where you will be in 12 months and you may need new customers by then? Then it is well advisable to start with telephone market approach. In fact, in our experience, it takes some time before you can capitalize on the efforts from telephone acquisition. Especially when long-term or complex sales processes are involved.
Your online channels are not in order
Of course, cold acquisition is extremely effective when done structurally and professionally, but in general we are also fans of lukewarm and warm acquisition. For example, follow-up contact requests, website visitors, blog readers or Linkedin connections are hooks for us that we like to work with. These prospects all come into view through online channels, which is why the advice is: get that base in place first. Don't have a website yet, or a seriously outdated website with no traffic? Don't have a brochure or white paper that you can refer prospects to? If so, we recommend getting this in order before actively acquiring. You'll find that a strong online presence and effective B2B telephone acquisition greatly enhance each other. Until then: commit to current network and word-of-mouth advertising. And, of course, work toward a strong online presence!