Last week you met John. He reckons telemarketing doesn’t work. But if that’s the case, why do so many other business owners, sales and marketing managers, and entrepreneurs swear by it as a highly successful lead gen activity?
Meet Jane.
She runs her own successful business and sees telemarketing as a smart strategy for growing her client base. She already outsources several of the key business processes, like the day-to-day accounting and digital marketing activities. She says that for her, these tasks are more cost-effective and efficient when given to professionals.
Jane’s keen to gain more clients. She’s going to do a lead gen campaign which combines social media and telemarketing to introduce prospects to her services and products.
As we did with John, let’s think of Jane’s telemarketing campaign in terms of a running a race. An event which generally requires training, strategy, and commitment.
On your mark, Jane
First off, Jane needs a list. She already has a great, up-to-date client list in her CRM (because she recognises the value of keeping her data valid and current), but it’s new clients she’s after.
Jane has a plan. She’s going to:
a. Establish who she wants to attract as new clients. Jane’s had considerable success converting the owners of medium-sized businesses into clients, and she understands their needs and the tangible benefits she can offer them. So, she’s going to look for prospects in similar industries, and around the same size. As she likes to visit her clients regularly and in person, she’s going to stick to her immediate geographic region to minimise the cost of travel. She’s also going to target the same prospect list through a LinkedIn campaign to help boost response rates. Great start, Jane!
b. Work with a professional list procurement company to buy (or rent) a fully detailed database rather than potentially waste hundreds of hours building her own list. After all, that’s time she could profitably spend elsewhere in the business.
Get set, Jane
Then, she’ll put together a team of people to represent her business and her valuable brand to the world. Jane’s already worked out how she’s going to do that. She runs a lean internal team, and needs them to keep their eyes on the business-at-hand, so she’s going to outsource.
She’s going to:
a. Do some research. Ask around, look for verifiable references and quantified proof of performance from small, medium and large customers.
b. Meet with several lead generation companies. Ask some hard questions about set up fees, where the team is based, their local business knowledge and skill base, how long the campaign should take, and how it can be improved. She’s looking for value, advice and performance.
c. Choose a partner who reflects her own approach to doing business. Someone who takes pride in their business, and invests time in understanding her business. A partner who has people who don’t parrot a script, but instead deliver well-qualified (and therefore high-value) opportunities through intelligent and engaging conversations. And someone she can trust with her most important asset – her brand.
d. Establish and agree on clear campaign objectives and outcomes, and insist on regular reporting and account management. She’s also make sure they will work closely with her external digital marketing consultant to align their efforts.
And go, Jane, go!
Once Jane’s got her list, and her team sorted, there’s the campaign strategy. For this campaign, she’s already decided that she wants more clients who are ‘like’ her top 20% existing clients.
So, what to offer them?
a. More of the same! Although there are plenty of options, Jane already knows what her most appealing products/services are for the group she’s targeting. She’s confident that once she makes a new sale, she’ll develop a long-term relationship with that client and have lots of opportunities to cross-sell. Jane’s a pretty smart cookie.
The after-race party
Jane will cross the finish line in great time, then drink champagne and dance on the after-race party podium.
And I can predict that her takeaway lesson after the event will be: Telemarketing worked for me. (But then, I put in the effort to define my target market, my offer and find the perfect lead gen partner).
Post-race analysis
Jane doesn’t believe in failure. She believes in reaping the rewards of doing things properly, like her approach to defining her prospect, choosing a team of well-trained, high-performing business professionals to represent her company, and developing a sure-to-succeed offer. And she’s going to end up with a substantial sales pipeline.
In a nutshell
Be like Jane. Give the task to us; you’ll get a winning outcome. And sorry John, but there’s no time for also-rans in today’s competitive business world!
