Outbound marketing, today known as traditional marketing, is the method we have loved to hate since the olden days: TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, direct-mail, billboards and cold calling services.
More modern methods like email blasts, banner ads and SPAM mail can now be added to the list.
The truth is, times are changing, and these archaic methods of advertising are just not good enough anymore. According to Harvard Business Review, 90.9% of cold calls end up in failure.
Here is 20 shocking sales stats Jake Atwood compiled.
Telemarketing used to be a great way to market; after all, without a buyer there can be no sale. Applying simple laws of ratio, and input-versus-output, you would assume that if you made enough calls you would eventually make a sale. These laws have shifted and cold calling is not an effective marketing tool anymore.
With the rise of information technology, our clients have huge amounts of information available to them at the click of a button.
Today, the modern consumer is researching products and shopping online and only wants to deal with a sales person at the final stage of the deal.
Caller ID makes it more difficult for cold calling companies to reach prospective clients, and in the event that someone somewhere actually answers the call, the conversation is short lived when the person on the other end realizes that the telemarketer is ‘just trying to sell them something.’
To be blunt: Don’t use cold calling services as a means of marketing.
It is an ineffective use of your sales person’s time. It is demeaning, to say the least, and has become an annoyance to the enlightened public.
In today’s day and age, cold calling companies may even have a negative impact on your company or brand.
If you are under the impression that selling is about the product/service that you are marketing; or about the company that you represent; or about yourself and your sales team; you have it all wrong.
Selling is ultimately about the consumer.
Selling is finding out who your customer is and what they want, instead of trying to talk them into whatever it is that you want.
Selling is about understanding your clients, and taking the time to make them feel like they are the most valuable part of the deal – because in effect, that is exactly what they are.
As a salesperson, you would do well to rather focus your energy on helping your potential client, than on closing the deal.
According to Rick Burnes, the cost for each lead you capture using the inbound methodology on average is 60% cheaper than outbound. How cool is that?
Image from HubSpot.
Let us examine some notable differences between outbound and inbound marketing.
| Outbound Marketing | Inbound Marketing |
| Interruption based: Ads that bombard you whether you want them to or not. | Permission based: Non-invasive advertising that directs, rather than badgers the consumer. |
| Attention grabbing: The biggest, brightest, loudest, cheapest or most repeated ad wins. | Relationship building: Addresses your audience by engaging and educating them. |
| Restricted: Limited number of mediums to choose from and the ad runs for a limited time. | Complete: Websites, social media, blogsites, etc., operate and evolve simultaneously. |
| Confuse: The relationship with the client is compromised in order to be seen and/or heard. | Clarify: The client’s questions are answered and all the information they need is available. |
| Expensive: It is a constant cycle of renewing expired ads and revitalizing ad campaigns. | Cost effective: The start-up costs may be high, but once everything is in place your system continues to work for you. |
| Incalculable: There is no clear way of measuring the success of a marketing strategy. | Calculable: Software programs track your marketing strategy to determine its success. |
Inbound marketing used to be all about SEO’s and content marketing, but it has become so much more than that.
With the dwindling of outbound market audiences, we have to appreciate the rise of the inbound trend.
When the consumer makes the decision to move forward of their own accord, they will be more open to what you have to offer, as opposed to being hassled by a cold calling agent.
Focus on creating quality content that attracts people to your product or company. Consumers like to feel that they have arrived on your site through their own choice, be it through a Google search or an SEO link. Once they click in, if the content is in line with their interest, they will stay. Quickly and effectively give users the information they are looking for or they will go elsewhere.
Visibly include a call to action on your landing page.
A prospective buyer, who is hurriedly searching the web, will appreciate definitive encouragement to help their search go smoothly. Have accessible and inviting links to your social media, blogsites and websites openly displayed on all of your pages, making it easier for your prospective client to remain in your domain.
Encourage them to leave a comment or ask a question so that you have the opportunity to make contact with them.
When it comes to inbound marketing, you treat every contact individually because you have been able to establish their unique needs.
This is very unlike cold calling services where sales agents were given the same script to read to every person they called.
To successfully use the leads you have received from your inbound marketing, you should focus on the following steps:
The secret to effective cold calling is, “don’t do it.”
Inbound marketing is the way forward.
Invest in the future of your product or service by adapting your marketing strategies to something that works.