The Difference between Telemarketing and Telesales

Are you aware that 69% of buyers accept new calls from a salesperson regarding their products and services?

For a long time, the terms “telemarketing and telesales” have been frequently used interchangeably. 

The two practices are, however, very different in terms of their values and services. The difference between telemarketing and telesales is unknown to the majority. Therefore, many fail to take advantage of either one effectively. 

Today pretty much everything that involves cold calling. Telephonic surveys and research, generating leads, etc. are considered to be a part of telemarketing. All of this makes the difference between telemarketing and telesales even vaguer.

In this article, we will explore what is telemarketing and telesales and what makes them different.

What is Telemarketing?

There is no great mystery surrounding the definition of telemarketing. But, its function is what should be understood well. So, before defining what is telemarketing, let’s take a moment to talk about marketing.

‘Marketing’ can be defined as the action of promoting a product or a service to the masses. It is primarily concerned with building brand awareness rather than directly selling a product or a service.

Now telemarketing is an act of sharing and collecting information, creating opportunities and generating leads over the phone.

In order for someone to purchase your products or services, you must first introduce your company to them. Moreover, you must share relevant information with them, and arrange a meeting or demo if necessary. Basically, telemarketing sets the stage for actual selling. 

The advantages of telemarketing include being cost-effective and reliable. Most importantly, it is a more personal way to reach out to your target audience.

What is Telesales?

While telemarketing generates prospects, telesales converts them into sales. Telesales is the act of selling products or services directly over the telephone.

Telesales is about enticing your potential customers to make a final purchase, while telemarketing is about promoting an offering. There are two types of telesales – inbound and outbound. 

In inbound telesales, your representatives receive calls from prospective and existing clients. While in outbound telesales, representatives make outbound calls to generate sales. Both cases require patience, persuasiveness, and perseverance to be successful.

What is the difference between Telemarketing and Telesales?

As evident from their definitions stated above, both of these approaches involve using a phone. However, the fundamental difference between the two is that telemarketing involves generating interest and telesales involve selling directly.

Now, we will examine the differences between the two in regard to their job responsibilities. Let’s examine those of a telemarketing executive versus that of a telesales executive.

For a better understanding of telemarketing and telesales, consider their functions:

The Responsibilities of a Telemarketer

A telemarketer’s responsibilities include:

• Reaching out to prospective and existing customers to provide information regarding your business offerings 
• Creating an interest in both customers regarding the brand
• Assisting the telesales team by identifying and qualifying leads for them
• Providing your telesales team with accurate and actionable data to help them increase their efficiency
• Helping the sales team in their work by pre-qualifying prospects
• Promoting new offerings to your customers in order to generate repeat business
• Creating sales opportunities out of customer inquiries
• Conducting market research through outbound calls
• Assessing customer satisfaction by collecting feedback from customers

The Responsibilities of a Telesales representative

A telesales representative’s responsibilities include:

• Connecting and engaging with the leads generated through various marketing campaigns
• Generating highly qualified leads
• Researching the leads to obtain a better understanding of each
• Converting your leads into paying customers
• Promoting new offerings to your customers in order to generate repeat business
• Cutting sales costs while boosting conversion rates
• Making sure that your prospects’ and customers’ queries are answered and they are provided with excellent service

Combining Telemarketing and Telesales

Even though telemarketing and telesales have very different approaches, they don’t have to be isolated from one another. On the contrary, these two methods should be combined in order for your company to be more profitable.

To obtain accurate customer data, you need excellent telemarketers. The information the telemarketers gather is crucial for your telesales representatives to sell your products and services successfully.

Why there is a need for a clear division between these two approaches is due to the fact that not everyone is excellent at both. It may be that you are excellent at selling, but not very adept at marketing. Each of these strategies requires a certain skill set and methodology.

Telemarketers must have a comprehensive understanding of your company. Moreover, they should possess the necessary statistics and industrial information. Additionally, telemarketers should also be aware of the latest and emerging trends in the market.

On the other hand, telesales reps should be adept at predicting their prospect’s and customers’ needs and pain points. Your telesales representatives should also have excellent business instincts alongside excellent communication skills.

Here’s an article that elaborates on how marketing and sales can work in unison to qualify leads better.

Skills needed for Telesales and Telemarketing

What does it take to be an excellent telemarketing or telesales representative? Listed below are some factors to consider to be successful in both roles:

• Ability to listen, communicate and build rapport effectively
• Pace, pitch, tone, and a conversational style that doesn’t seem scripted and artificial
• A strong conviction that you can provide something valuable to those you contact
• Detailed knowledge of the product, but not an overly feature-laden sales pitch.
• Firm understanding of the target market
• Ability to filter out the right prospects
• Knowledge of the target audience’s problems
• A talent for posing thoughtful and engaging questions
• Ability to handle and resolve objections
• Effective time management skills and consistency
• Determination and willingness to keep trying even when faced with rejection

In the end, it is great communication skills paired with a great deal of enthusiasm and dedication that are most valuable. These skills together make for effective telesales and telemarketing. 

Otherwise, nothing will work and the goal you set won’t be met.

Wrap up

Now, what exactly is the difference between telemarketing and telesales?

Telemarketing is a marketing strategy that employs the use of telephone calls to market goods and services. Meanwhile, telesales is a sales strategy that employs the use of telephone calls to sell your goods and services.

They may be separated by the words “marketing” and “selling” but these approaches have distinct purposes. Moreover, it is necessary to understand that the two go hand-in-hand, i.e., telemarketing serves as a precursor to telesales.

Thus, choosing among the two is not the real concern at hand. Rather, how the two can be used together effectively to help your business flourish should be your priority.