I’ve published my first marketing book; Telemarketing kills kittens. It’s an evidence-based guide. Now you can make informed decisions about one of the most controversial marketing tools in the digital age.
I was a late convert to the benefits of B2B telemarketing. In common with many marketing executives, I was unsure if it was part of the sales or marketing department. And like many of my colleagues, I thought it seemed a bit old-fashioned. The transformation came when I witnessed first-hand the power of telemarketing when it is done well.
All of this, combined with four years as Marketing Director of a telemarketing agency, drove me to write this book and redress the balance. I want to give CEOs and marketing/sales executives the evidence they need to make informed decisions about a potent tool.
Marketing professionals acknowledge the most effective marketing is omni- or multi-channel, yet it seems there is a certain prejudice against using B2B telemarketing. Telemarketing does not kill kittens, but listening to some commentators, you would think it was a marketing leper. I believe that is partly because of the reputation of its B2C cousin and partly because we have all received B2B telemarketing calls that have been done badly.
Telemarketing prejudice
This prejudice seems to be reserved only for telemarketing. We have all received plenty of spam emails, yet email still figures strongly in most B2B marketing plans. I believe it’s also true that B2B telemarketing is seen as not very creative. You are unlikely to win an award for your next telemarketing campaign.
The sum of this judgement about telemarketing is that the average marketing executive feels they are unlikely to land their next job by mentioning a successful telemarketing campaign. It’s not what hiring managers want to hear in a job interview. They want job applicants to talk about their social media or digital campaign or an event they organised.
So what qualifies me to talk about this subject? Well, 40 years in marketing for a start (left school at 18 and landed my first job in TV advertising), plus as you can see below, I am a member of the Direct Marketing Association (spending three years on one of the Councils) and recently a member of their GDPR Task Force. I am also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Do I believe that telemarketing should be included in every B2B campaign? No. Do I believe it should be excluded because it is unfashionable, not digital and will unlikely win you an award? Also No.
You can preview a few pages from ‘Telemarketing kills kittens’ on Amazon.
‘Telemarketing Kills Kittens’ made it to the Best Telemarketing Books of All Time
I’m happy to announce that my book, ‘Telemarketing Kills Kittens’, made it to BookAuthority’s Best Telemarketing Books of All Time.
BookAuthority collects and ranks the best books in the world. It is a great honour to get this kind of recognition. Thank you for all your support!