Telemarketing vs Cold Calling: What’s the Difference?

Mention telemarketing and many people immediately picture someone working through a long list of numbers, making unsolicited sales calls.

In other words: cold calling.

But telemarketing and cold calling aren't quite the same thing.

Cold calling can form part of a telemarketing campaign, but professional telemarketing and customer contact can cover much more — from following up existing enquiries and reconnecting with previous customers to appointment setting, customer surveys and lead follow-up.

Understanding the difference can help you decide what type of telephone support is right for your business.

What Is Cold Calling?

Cold calling generally means contacting a person or business that hasn't previously expressed an interest in your product or service.

The aim is usually to introduce the business, identify whether there may be a need for its services and, where appropriate, create an opportunity for further conversation.

Cold calling can be useful in some business-to-business campaigns, but because the recipient isn't expecting the call, the approach needs to be professional, relevant and respectful.

It is only one type of outbound customer contact.

What Is Telemarketing?

Telemarketing is a much broader term.

Rather than simply calling completely new prospects, a telemarketing or customer contact campaign can involve speaking to people who already have some connection with a business.

That might include:

• following up a website enquiry

• contacting an existing lead

• reconnecting with previous customers

• arranging appointments or demonstrations

• carrying out customer satisfaction calls

• conducting surveys

• following up quotations

• gathering information

• updating customer records

• contacting businesses as part of a targeted outreach campaign

The objective isn't always to make an immediate sale.

Sometimes the most valuable result of a call is simply finding out what happens next.

The important difference is intent.

Good customer contact isn't simply about making as many calls as possible. It's about having useful conversations with the right people and creating a clear next step.

Why Businesses Use Outsourced Telemarketing

For many small businesses, the problem isn't knowing that they should follow up.

It's finding the time to actually do it.

An enquiry comes in while you're busy.

A quote gets sent but nobody follows it up.

A previous customer could potentially buy again, but they're sitting untouched in your database.

Or you have a list of prospective businesses you'd like to introduce yourself to, but your team simply doesn't have the time to work through it.

Outsourcing some of that customer contact allows those conversations to happen without taking your own team away from their day-to-day work.

It can also form part of a wider business support service, giving smaller teams additional help without employing someone specifically to carry out the work.

It's Not About Reading a Script Like a Robot

A good telephone conversation should sound like exactly that -

a conversation.

Scripts and call guides can provide structure and make sure important information is covered, but callers also need to listen.

The person on the other end of the phone might ask an unexpected question, explain why they're not interested right now or reveal an opportunity that wasn't anticipated.

That information can be just as valuable as an appointment.

Good call notes allow the business to understand what happened and decide what to do next.

Telemarketing Doesn't Have to Feel Pushy

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding telemarketing.

Nobody enjoys receiving an aggressive sales call.

But professional customer contact doesn't need to involve pressuring somebody into buying something they don't want.

The purpose of the conversation may simply be to establish whether there is an opportunity.

If there isn't, that's useful information too.

A polite conversation can leave a positive impression of the business even when it doesn't result in an immediate sale.

What About Warm Leads?

This is where telephone follow-up can become particularly valuable.

Someone who has filled in an enquiry form, requested information, downloaded something, asked for a quotation or previously spoken to your business isn't necessarily a cold prospect.

And when those enquiries begin with an incoming phone call, a professional telephone answering service can make sure the opportunity is captured in the first place.

They already know something about you.

Following those enquiries up promptly can make sure potential opportunities don't simply disappear because everyone was too busy to make the call.

How That's My Call Can Help

At That's My Call, our Telemarketing & Customer Contact service isn't limited to traditional cold calling.

We can work with businesses on customer contact campaigns including lead follow-up, appointment setting, customer care calls, surveys and targeted business outreach.

We work from agreed instructions and record the outcome of conversations so you know what's happened and what needs to happen next.

And because every business is different, the approach can be tailored around what you're actually trying to achieve.

Could Outsourced Customer Contact Work for Your Business?

If you have enquiries that aren't being followed up, customers you'd like to reconnect with or a contact campaign that keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list, outsourcing the calls could help.

The first step is simply deciding:

Who needs contacting?

Why are you contacting them?

What would a successful outcome look like?

From there, we can discuss the best way to approach the campaign.

Ready to Start a Conversation?

If you'd like to discuss a telemarketing or customer contact campaign, we'd be happy to talk through what you're trying to achieve.