The telephone has long been an integral tool for marketing, even if its uses have changed a bit. Cold calling can still be effective at times, but teleprospecting is best used in conjunction with other marketing tactics. It can be blended in with various strategies and comes with some advantages that simply can’t be found through digital means alone. Here we take a look at four reasons to use the telephone in your marketing.

Gather Business Intelligence

Calling into a business and networking can help you identify key decision-makers and influencers, but there is more business intelligence that can be gathered. A live conversation can help you learn about different pain points your prospects may be experiencing and uncover whether or not your solution would be a good fit for them. The key is to have a strong call guide and a variety of questions that get prospects to share some details about their needs.

Set Stronger Appointments

Appointments that are set during a live conversation have a much better chance of being kept. A verbal commitment over the phone can be tougher to get than someone filling out a form online, but they also tend to be more binding. You also had the opportunity to ask if anyone else would be attending and send out additional invites. When multiple people are on the invite, you better your chances of at least one person showing up.

Build Relationships

There is no substitute for the live touch when it comes to relationship building in marketing. While a good deal of this can be done now through social channels and email, a live verbal conversation is dynamic and allows both the marketer and prospect to show their personality. Prospecting calls, follow-ups, confirmations, and discovery calls are all great opportunities to strengthen the bond with a prospect.

Qualify Digital Leads

Most leads gathered through digital marketing require a bit more qualification before moving them down the funnel or passing them along to sales. Digital lead forms are not effective if they are too long. A phone call allows you to ask a few additional qualifying questions, determine their level of interest, find out which products would fit their needs, and establish their stage in the buying process.