by Mary Shanley
1. February 2012 06:17
We receive phone calls every day from prospective clients who are interested in our Inbound Call Center Services. Most of the time they are running DRTV, Radio or some type of online marketing that uses an 800 Number for the call to action.
The first question I am usually asked is, "What kind of conversion rates will you be able to generate with my traffic?" Though we have 28 years of experience taking inbound lead generation and sales calls from 800 Numbers I can't of course give a 100% answer. I can and do work with some tried and true estimates.
The better the quality of the DRTV or radio ads with clear offers and good terms the higher the conversions will be at the Inbound Call Center level. We see lead generation offers that convert as high as 70% providing complete quality data for our clients. On the sales side the lower the price of the product and the simpler the offer, the higher the conversion rates will be at the Inbound Call Center level.
Keep in mind that everyone expects some type of free trial or money back offer. If you are asking the consumer to move into a continuity then you will need to do a very aggressive low cost on the first month. We have converted consumers into a continutiy at rates of 10% to almost 50%. Again the higher converting programs are typically in the $20 per month cost with the lower converting at monthly charges of as much as a $100.
Bottom line customer satisfaction and back end strength rely on providing clear sales terms from the beginning of the process through the Inbound Call Center contact to the customer service handling of returns and exchanges. Everyone understands businesses are in business to make money but the most successful, long term companies communicate clearly to their prospects and customers. Your Inbound Call Center Service partner will be most successful when we start with good offer terms and quality product.
My next blog will focus on building great sales presentations and tweaking processes to improve conversion rates.
by Mary Shanley
10. November 2011 08:00
WHY YOU MUST ADVERTISE NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO
“You can’t advertise today and quit tomorrow. You’re not talking to a mass meeting. You’re talking to a parade.”
—Bruce Barton, 1930
Bruce Barton was a famous Advertising executive and the 2nd B in BBDO. He died in 1967 after a long career as one of the most successful advertising experts in the early 20th century. I came accross his quote many years ago and found this very simple message one of the most important marketing and advertising rules of all time.
Take out advertising and replace it with generating leads and the rule still applies. You are not marketing to a mass meeting. You are marketing to a parade. People come and go in your neighborhood, region and vertical. People die and people are born. Your advertising, marketing and lead generation efforts must be an ongoing effort, or the parade will pass you and your company right by.
by Mary Shanley
10. October 2011 11:11
Cross Marketing with non-competitive Partners.
My last post was about the cost to generate leads and how to budget lead generation. Certainly every company would like to reduce the cost to generate new leads and new business. One of the most creative solutions for lower cost lead generation is by cross-selling with non-competitive companies so costs are shared and reduced for both.
You may have personally experienced this and not even given it any thought.
Have you called into a call center to purchase something or even call in for a customer service issue and then when your business is finished be told something along the line, "As a thank you for your business today, we do have a special offer from our partner XYZ company who is offering a discount price this evening. Would you like details of this offer?"
This is a great way to extend your marketing reach and only pay for interested prospects who want to hear more about your company. The cross-sell offer can be made over the phone during a sales or customer service call or it can be done through a cross-promotional direct mailing or as an add-on to an email communication.
Clearly this works on a consumer level but it also works for B2B companies. Here are several ideas of both that would work.
- Office Supplies Company partnering with a Computer Company.
- Local Doctors office partnering with a local Dentist.
- Diabetic Supplies company partnering with a Mobility provider.
- Local Caterer or Restaurant partnering with a local Wine shop.
- Travel Agency partnering with an Insurance Company.
- Kitchen remodeler partnering with a Roofing company.
- Replacement Window company partnering with a Flooring Specialist.
- Accounting Firm partnering with an Insurance Company.
The list is endless and does not have to be reciprocal. You can reach out to multiple companies that are non-competitive and make an offer to pay for either, each new customer or each prospect that is transferred to you or asks for a quote.
Think about it. Let's assume that you have determined that for every 4 prospects you talk to you typically close 1 new customer. You also have determined that a cost of $100 per new customer is good for your company. Now, if you spend let's say $1000 for an advertisement you have no upfront assurance that you will receive enough leads to meet your $100 cost per customer or $25 cost per lead goal.
But if you reach out to non-competitive companies and offer to pay $25 per lead or $100 per new customer, you have just provided assurance to meet your goal numbers. Just like any other new advertising medium like radio, print or direct mail, expect to test multiple sources to find the best quality and the best pricing.
by Mary Shanley
4. October 2011 12:24
I am frequently asked how much should a company spend on generating a new lead or how much should be budgeted on lead generation overall.
Certainly those are 2 great questions and each have a million right answers depending on your vertical and your product or service cost. But here are some guidelines we use and have recommended our clients consider when trying to answer this question.
I first suggest asking a series of questions to get a handle on where you are right now so you can then figure out where you want to go.
- How much you are spending on lead generation efforts right now? If you really don't know then it will be difficult to answer the next question.
- What is your average cost per lead per week or month and what are the individual lead sources costing you for each new lead?
- What percentage do you want to increase your lead flow? Keep in mind you want to answer that realistically so you don't generate more leads then you can follow up and manage effectively.
So let's say you are an Insurance Agent who is generating $500 in direct revenue to you on a new policy. Certainly you want to leave room for a profit but many companies would be willing to spend their entire first year profit on a new customer with the expectation they will make money down the road. That doesn't work for everyone and isn't always necessary.
Also many companies use more social media and referral type activities to generate new business. Clearly that works but your time has an off-setting cost and you need to be aware of it and account for those "free" efforts.
Finally, if you are new to lead generation and are not generating enough leads then you need to a think about how much can you afford to spend per week on direct mail, email efforts or advertising on the internet. Couple that with some of the free social activities and test, test, test.
by Mary Shanley
7. September 2011 09:52
Professional Services still have a tough time figuring out how to advertise to generate new business. Many small firms don't have an advertising budget to spend on marketing and advertising. Or even more likely these small, sometimes 1 person shops don't have the expertise to know what is the best use of their ad spend to generate leads.
No problem. One of the best, easiest and cheapest ways to generate business leads is by utilizing a really strong referral program. Referrals can come from current or former customers, they also come from friends or family. What many people don't realize they can even come from people you hardly know and even prospects who did not chose you for their needs!
Unfortunately most small business owners think that they just need to sit back and wait for unsolicited referrals to come through the door. Not so. You need to be somewhat assertive in asking for referrals and you need to do this consistently. Every contact you have, whether its' with a customer, prospect, vendor, friend, or family member, end the call or conversation with a really nice, low key "ask". Here's some examples of what to say to different kinds of people in your life.
To a current customer say something like this, "By the way, Tom did I mention to you that we are always looking for great new customers, just like you. If you know of anyone who needs a (reliable/helpful/low-cost/fill in your own best description) Accountant, I would really appreciate if you would pass on my name and phone number. Okay?
Now it's really important that you ask the Okay at the end of the referral. That word gets them to commit to an action for you and will reinforce this request. Also if you have a reward system that makes sense for your business tell them about it too.
It's not that much different to ask for referrals from non-customers. I have had situations where I talked to a prospect who ended up not being a good fit for us but I still asked for a referral and received them. Here's what I said. "Well Tom, it's disappointing we won't be able to work together but we are always looking for new customers who can use a Call Center that specializes in Lead Generation. I would really appreciate if you would pass my name and phone number to any company that you think would be a good fit, Okay? Great and thanks again."
Good luck and good prospecting.
by Mary Shanley
23. August 2011 08:02
Typically our clients are larger, consumer based companies who have TV, Radio, Direct Mail or Internet marketing budgets that drive huge volumes of inbound traffic or leads. But frequently I receive calls from small, Professional Service companies who are "desperate" for new business who ask for our help. Even if we can't work with them directly because of their size I like to share some ideas that we have found to be effective at generating leads that then turn into new business.
The very first thing I talk to with these professionals is, what is their sales message going to be? In an earlier post I talked about being prepared every time you talk to a prospect. That preparation included having a prepared sales message that clearly explained why you were better, stronger, faster, than your competition. So step 1 is pulling out that message and then practicing it, so you can be certain when you have that $$Million dollar prospect on the phone, you are totally ready to give your best presentation and close the deal.
Many Professional service people ( Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Financial Services, Insurance Brokers) work primarily from referrals. That's a great way to find new clients and in my experience those leads typically close at much higher rates than any other source. I would much rather ask my sister who her doctor is than risk going to someone out of a google listing. Personal recommendations are always going to be your hotest lead and should be prioritized when calling back.
So what can you do to increase referrals? One of the best, cheapest and most effective ways is to say Thank You to the referrer each and every time you receive a referral. Send a hand written note to the person who took the time to basically say, you were the best and they were willing to give a personal recommendation. You want that person to know you appreciate what they did for you and quite frankly you want those referrals to continue to flow to you.
Yesterday I was talking to a Plastic Surgeon who rewards his clients who refer new business to him with Spa services. He also sends a hand written note and finds they are very flattered he took the time to say thanks.
Next I will give you some ideas on how to ask for referrals.
by Mary Shanley
9. August 2011 12:23
In an earlier post I suggested the importance of "scripting" your message in all sales presentations regardless if you are a newbie sales person or a seasoned professional and then practicing and honing the message till it's perfect. My 27 years of experience has proven time and time again that we need to document what we want our message to be and practice the best way to say or present it, in order to always give the best, possible presentation.
I believe it was Andre Previn the incredibly accomplished pianist who said, If I miss a day of practice, I know it. If I miss two days, my manager knows it. If I miss three days, my audience knows it. What does that tell you about the importance for every one of us to continually practice our craft?
One of the best and most simplistic example of the importance for scripting was reinforced to me just weeks ago by an 18 year old neighbor and recent High School Graduate. Have you heard of Cutco Knives? It seems they recruit and train kids looking to earn money for college. We received a phone call from this young man we knew who asked if he could please come by for an appointment. He promised there would be no pressure but that he was earning money for college and he was paid by the appointment.
Now, I'll be honest. I'm not much of a cook and neither is my husband. The knives we have are sufficient to cut the few steaks I grill or to butter our toast. So quite frankly I had no intention of buying any knives, no matter how wonderful they were.
When he sat down at our kitchen table he opened a binder that literally had his entire message scripted out and diagrammed for him what knives he was to show us. He apologized for reading from a script (I think that was scripted too) but explained he was new at this and wanted to make sure he covered everthing properly. Step by step he slowly showed how his knives were superior and then demonstrated how they worked.
Now I won't tell you everything he said because that would ruin the fun of meeting with a Cutco sales person for you in the future. But I will tell you he was incredibly effective. Every line made a strong point, and every question or rebuttal was answered effectively. This was a kid who never had a job before and in 35 minutes had us writing a $629 check for more knives than I've ever owned in my life. (They really are fabulous)
How effective is your sales message?
by Mary Shanley
23. July 2011 08:06
Script a strong sales message for Guaranteed Success!
Clients ask us all the time how good our Sales People are. I tell them, they are as good as the Sales Script we create for them. They are surprised by that response and then question their ability to handle objections and questions and again I tell them, they are as good as the Script we create for them.
I don’t care if you are the best Sales Person in the world selling million dollar deals or a telemarketer prospecting for carpet cleaning, you will be more successful when you script out your sales message and unique selling position in order to insure your strongest words are used every time. You need to think through and document the best sales message possible and craft your lines like a best selling author would. Why take the chance that something that could have been used was forgotten or presented weakly?
Certainly in a sales presentation that could literally go on for hours, you can’t pre write every word that will be spoken, but believe me when I say you will increase your effectiveness when you’ve thought through and provided yourself with an outline or script that delivers your strongest sales message. In addition to all the features, what are the specific benefits that will help this 1 person you are talking to right now? Whenever and however you can personalize your message to each prospect you will be that much more effective.
In addition to that sales presentation you should also think through what possible questions or concerns the prospect might have. Again document your strongest message to respond so that in a moment of stress or rejection, you won’t have to come up with ideas. You will have your best sales message easily at hand increasing your likelihood for success.
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by Mary Shanley
19. July 2011 07:35
New clients come to us all the time asking for help on the Lead Generation side. They tell us their current marketing efforts are not generating enough new business and they are looking at new options including Radio, TV, Direct Mail and Internet with Call Center support behind the new media.
Of course we are very happy to develop new business and provide 24/7 Inbound Call Support to field any calls that are generated.
But honestly we often also tell them that you may not need anything “new” but simply a better lead processing system on what is currently coming in. They are of course surprised to hear our recommendations but willing to listen. Here are some of the details on what we’ve seen with potential clients and our recommendations for improving the process.
Client One advertises on Radio and approached us about generating leads online. We asked details on their current Radio process and found that their current sales team took the Inbound calls live and attempted to make an immediate sale. Non-sales leads were supposed to be called back by the individual sales reps on slow times/days. The best reps of course were doing call-backs, but that was to only 20% of the leads. A full 80% of the leads were never followed up on. We recommended a separate call back team with a slightly different offer.
Client Two was a large B2B company who had offices all over the country. They were planning an aggressive 3 part Direct Mail series to generate new business customers. In our set up stage we determined that they had no idea how many calls were coming in currently to the individual offices from search and local traffic. They also had no formalized, consistent Lead Capture system to track how many new prospects were calling each office, nor how many were then turning into new clients. Those calls were directed to our call center for capture, tracking and better reporting. No surprise they were already generating more calls than they even hoped the new Media would generate. They also found that their local professionals were not following up on inquiries after the first call. They assumed if someone was interested, they would call back.
I can give several more examples of poor Lead Management but the bottom line is make sure you have a formalized system to take all inbound leads whether they come from a phone call or off the internet. You need tracking of the source, who it goes to and then all non-sales should be followed up with on a consistent basis. I would also suggest a newsletter option for inquiries to stay top of mind so when they are ready to buy, they remember your company.
by Mary Shanley
14. July 2011 10:27
Welcome and thanks for visiting our TTC Call Center & Lead Generation Blog. Our Blog is intended to provide valuable information to help you be more effective at generating sales leads for your business. Our company motto is “We make your Business Grow!” Over the past 27 years we have worked for and partnered with over a 1000 companies and we estimate we have generated over 3 Billion $'s in sales for those clients.
The last few years has been so disappointing for so many different companies and of course that down turn in business has eliminated Millions of jobs across the country hurting millions of families. Certainly some of that has been due to problems in the mortgage and financial markets that is out of our control. But personally I believe way too many companies pulled back on their marketing efforts at exactly the wrong time. In an effort to cut costs and protect their bottom line they stopped advertising and marketing efforts which effectively decreased their visibility in the market place.
I plan on sharing some of the most effective and timely ideas we are seeing in our business that can help small, medium or large companies be more efficient, maximize every opportunity and systemize their sales & lead generation efforts to keep the pipeline full, your sales professionals happy and your bottom line positive.
In addition to comments and thoughts from me, you will also be hearing from Bob Aloisio our VP of Sales & Marketing who has over 30 years experience selling and consulting with some of the best and most cutting edge businesses. Mark Silet our Director of Internet Marketing will also provide insights and ideas from an on-line perspective.
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