by Bob Aloisio
3. April 2012 09:49
Running great media on the Internet or in more traditional methods of television, radio, print and mail is just the start. Once the creative and placement is completed and decided on you’re only 2/3 of the way there. That last third is making it easy for the consumer you’re targeting to respond – to find you.
Many leads “fall through the cracks” because they aren’t being coupled with a proven method of giving the consumer an easy, fast and efficient manner to find you.
Just adding your web site is limiting your potential response. Believe it or not, not everyone likes or trusts online transactions. Research shows that the older demographic group doesn’t respond well to offers that only have a www response mechanism. The simplest and most efficient way to allow your audience to respond back to you is by adding a toll free number.
Using a toll free number allows your potential customer to:
· Call and speak with a real live person whenever they feel like it.
· Questions that are keeping the consumer from buying can be answered, objections can be overcome and sales can be made.
· Additional products and services can be “upsold” to your audience.
Sometimes your best bet to handle these incoming, return calls is to outsource this part of your marketing plan to a U.S. based professional inbound call center service provider.
Utilizing an inbound call center allows you to:
- Be available anytime your potential customer wants to reach you. Using a 24/7 center allows you to run media any time, any day.
- Handle higher volumes of calls that may be higher than what your internal group can handle.
- Courteously and professionally answer questions and end any confusion that your potential customer may have.
- Generate additional revenues by selling additional products and services.
Good Luck and Continued Success in All of Your Marketing Ventures!
by Mark Silet
20. March 2012 07:24
How are you paying for your inbound call center services? We talk to a lot of prospects at trade shows that are frequently surprised by how flexible we can be with pricing our service. Most prospects seem to think that they are required to pay a per-minute charge in order to use a U.S. based inbound call center provider. We can bill clients a straight per minute rate that is competitive with any U.S. based call center, but we are also willing to work on a performance model. We have many clients that pay us based on a lead generated, sales closed or a call transferred. If a metric can be measured, we can charge based on only those actions. We do ask for a modest setup fee that includes campaign setup, agent training, and a set number of inbound call minutes in order to gather a baseline of performance metrics. Once the initial number of minutes has been reached, we can agree on a price per sale, per lead, per call transfer or any per other desired action a client sees as a success in their marketing program. Do not assume that you need to pay stateside call center a straight per minute rate. If you are looking to work with an inbound call center that is comfortable in their ability to deliver results, give us a call and see how we can help you meet your marketing goals.
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 Mark Silet
4. November 2011 05:29
What is a call verified lead? A call verified lead is a lead in which the consumer has provided some or all of their information online in response to an offer and then confirmed and/or expanded answers to qualifying questions over the phone during a verification call. The strength of these types of leads can be two-fold. First off, the phone numbers on these leads have been verified not only to connect to a household, but also to the proper name on the lead. You can run all of your online leads against the myriad of data verification companies out there, but none of these are as accurate as picking up the phone and calling to verify the information and the intent of the consumer. Secondly, these leads are essentially double opt-ins. The consumer provided at least their contact information in response to an offer online and then verified that information along with their interest in the same offer over the phone. The number of qualifying questions answered online or over the phone can vary depending on the offer and the price points of the lead.
The call verification process screens out a significant number of leads either due to bad contact information or for lack of interest in the offer – both of which are in the best interest of the lead buyer. This process leads to the lead buyer spending less on leads and spending less paying for follow-up on the leads. Call verified leads can typically add a cost-effective additional lead source to your sales funnel. In addition to providing cost-effective, highly contactable leads, the phone conversation for call verified leads are typically digitally recorded in case any additional questions arise or a lead buyer simply wants to audit the conversations taking place with the consumer.
by Mark Silet
21. October 2011 07:00
One outbound telemarketing strategy that I have seen tested many times over the years is whether to use a one call or two call close for telemarketing sales. Let’s define the difference between a one call close and a two call close. A one call close is a telemarketing strategy in which a single group of telemarketing agents will both qualify a prospect and close the sale. A two call close is typically set-up with a group of agents that qualify raw data or generate leads for a second group of sales agents that will call on these leads to close the sale.
I have seen this strategy work extremely well when the agent that is qualifying leads has the ability to transfer calls directly into the second group once a prospect has been qualified. This of course begs the question – if I can transfer the call and get the lead to stay on the phone – why not always go with a one call close. Typically this comes down to the price point of the sale and the comfort level of the consumer with the company selling the product or service. You will need a two call close for higher price point sales or for lesser known companies - a consumer may not have not had enough time or contact to establish a comfort level with your brand. If you are generating inbound calls – you may be able to send the consumer direct to your sales group as the consumer had enough of a comfort level with your marketing message to initiate the call to your company.
An outbound telemarketing rep that can qualify prospects is more than able to close a $30 or $40 sale, but this is not typically the same agent you want trying to close a loan or a several hundred dollar product.
I have seen online lead gen forms that ask a couple of qualifying questions act as the 1st call of the 2 call close in which case you can typically have a sales person make these follow-up calls.
Depending on the amount of branding you have done and based on the price point of the sale you are working with you are likely to find a 2 step process will yield better results in the end. You need to test and re-test your own process, but you can find efficiencies in keeping your lead generation distinct from your sales.
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
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 Mark Silet
1. September 2011 06:50
Telemarketing lead generation is accomplished in a similar manner to using online forms. Instead of driving a consumer to answer demographic and qualifying questions on an online form, the call center agents asks the questions and consumer verbally answered. The number one problem with leads generated online is the contactability of the leads – how many of the phone numbers are accurate? Not just working phone numbers, but phone numbers that will connect you to the proper party? One of the main benefits of telemarketing lead generation is the contactability of the end leads. The phone numbers on call center leads are proven to be both a viable number and the correct phone number for the contact. Leads generated via telemarketing should be digitally recorded to verify consumer have given consent to a return call from the client on whose behalf the leads are being generated.
These leads can be generated from call centers placing cold calls to consumers, follow-ups from internet requests for further information, or from inbound calls driven into a call center. Lead generation performed using telemarketing will typically provide much lower acquisition costs for leads than traditional marketing channels and both contact information and any qualifying questions have been not only given by the consumer, but also verified and digitally recorded. The ways in which to place or receive the calls are many, but the benefits are clear: digital recordings of the activity and leads with better contactability than online lead vendors are capable of providing
by Mark Silet
5. August 2011 07:22
We have been in the business of operating call centers and generating leads for quite a while now - more than 27 years. We felt businesses could benefit from what our experience has shown us makes a successful lead gen or call center campaign. We put together a pdf that tackles topics including call center scripting and call center agent training.
by Mark Silet
3. August 2011 08:54
Disclaimer-I am not an attorney and nothing stated in this post should in any way substitute for seeking proper legal advice and guidance on any issues discussed here.
We have a number of companies that approach us about outbound calling to partially completed online lead forms. The majority of the time these organizations do not believe they need to register for a Federal SAN# to scrub any records prior to outbound calling.
A typical scenario is that the owner of a website that generates leads in a particular marketing vertical (for companies such as company abc) wants to call consumers who visited their site and started filling out a lead form to hear back from company abc about service xyz. The website owner wants to outbound call to the consumers who didn’t finish filling out the form in order to get them complete the lead form so they can get paid for delivering a lead to company abc.
The problem is that without specific language that is accepted by the consumer on the website - the consumer has not provided permission for the website owner to call them. If a phone number was provided during part of this process it was in expectation of hearing back from company abc about service xyz not from the owner of the website they were visiting.
All of the compliance information we have been given from numerous different telemarketing attorneys is the same – unless the consumer should expect the call – don’t make it without scrubbing against all relevant DNC lists.
We also have companies approach us to call consumers on their behalf that filled out unrelated online forms giving permission for other companies to call. For example – a consumer is driven to an online lead form and fills out information to receive a call regarding service xyz from company abc. The companies approaching us want to call the consumer back to sell unrelated products/services from an entirely different company stating that the consumer opted-in to receive calls and it is stated in the privacy policy of the website.
Consumer expectation for telemarketing calls needs to be met clearly and conspicuously - meaning that burying it in the privacy policy is not sufficient to prevent scrubbing records against the various relevant DNC Lists.
Subscribe