Many marketers have a hard time mastering the fine art of the conversation, especially when it comes to B2B lead generation.

We are so excited when we get our prospect on the phone we tend to flood them with information. We want them to know all about our business and what we can do to help them reach their goals.

Sure, that will give them a lot of details. But, sure are you that they want to know that much that quickly? Truth to be told, they will most likely hang up the phone.

That’s because we used a sales pitch on them.

A sales pitch is useful in guiding the conversation. Some companies even insist that their TSRs follow the sales pitch verbatim. However, this rarely works in today’s highly information-dense audience. Our prospects are deluged with information every minute of their day. Adding a zippy telemarketing sales talk will not help matters. This may cause them to resent us. They may close their ears and their doors and turn your B2B lead generation campaign into a failure.

Even if the prospect is willing and actually needs your service, you turned them off. They will not buy from you because you just flooded their minds with gibberish. There’s got to be a better way….

Simply Start a Conversation

According to telemarketing consultant Belinda Summers, the best solution is to simply start a conversation. It does not have to be long. It just has to be easy and social enough to compel your audience to listen to you. Remember, in B2B lead generation you are not telling them all the details yet. You are gauging reaction and feeling them out. For example:

You: Hello, I’m (your name) from (name of your company). Is this a good time to talk?
Prospect: Yes (or No).
You: I see. Well, I’ll make this short. IT companies call us to help increase their visibility in their target markets through offline means. May I know how your company is doing this?

This is a good conversation starter for appointment setting. It does not really need to tell everything at the start, but it does set the stage for you and your team to continue the conversation. Ask them the right questions and get the information you need. From what you learn here, you can then craft an effective solution to their problems. Just take it slowly and let the conversation take its course.

Building Rapport

In B2B Lead Generation, build rapport first and establish your relationship with them. The Master of Direct Mail Copywriting, Herschel Gordon Lewis always talks about building rapport to create that direct mail dialogue. Building rapport on the phone works the same way.

Once you have that rapport, it becomes much easier to ask your prospect for more information so you can ask for the sale. Don’t rush the process. B2B lead generation can take several calls or conversations before the final stage is reached.

Want to read more about successful B2B Telemarketing campaigns? Click HERE

Be Smart and Scrub

Even though you are dialing businesses, make sure your data is scrubbed against the Do Not Call.