Yes I admit it I’m a telemarketer. But I hope I’m one of the good guys, I don’t sell windows, siding, doors and lawn services. My company does not think bothering people at dinner is a good thing. We might bother you at lunch, but then why are you eating lunch at your desk anyway. Get out enjoy the sunshine. Besides for years sales people using the phone to establish connections and make appointments has been a legitimate way to do business.
But there is the dark side so as a “Telemarketer” my industry has to deal with the pros and cons. We have proven quite effective for years, and marketing managers have reported feeling more valued through telemarketing compared to other less personal options of direct mail, mobile marketing and oh yes email marketing. Did you know the Spam museum up in Austin. Minnesota is free of charge, but I regress. Now some say in this wonderful digital era with all this twits, the 3 F’s of Friends Family and Followers and shares and likes and all that stuff it, Telemarketing, seems passé, out of date and all too time intensive.
Yet I have found more often than not from business leaders, that the pros of telemarketing outweigh the cons.
If you’re like most businesses you have a handful of smaller accounts with one large account that is over 33% of your business. Life is good if nothing changes but if you lose your big account you have a major problem on your hands and it is very likely that one key account loss will put you out of business. So you want to grow, but how? Social Media Marketing push, online ads, pay for clicks, email marketing, direct mail all with not so good results. You know exactly what kind of companies would benefit from your service, and he wants to target local business only. For this kind of situation, your best lead generation option is telemarketing. You might want to use an email or direct mail in combination with telemarketing but I’ll save that for another blog post.
It is a fact that telemarketing is the only marketing action that goes out and grabs the prospect. All others you are hoping and praying that they, the prospect, will pick up the phone and call. Ya right in your dreams.
Reality is, and if anyone telling you different they are lying through their teeth, on the average, it will take 75 to 90 calls to get an opportunity of some kind and unless you’re a real mud slinger, a good B2B Telemarketer is only going to be able to give you 10 to 15 calls an hour. You or your trained sales staff have that kind of time?
So you have 2 options.
The first: hire your own dedicated on staff telemarketer.
You can try to train them, get a list, create a script, give them a phone, a desk, (coffee, plenty of coffee) have payroll, and all the taxes that go with that and then hope and pray that once they get trained and working good they don’t up and leave, get burnt out, get hired away or any other number of telemarketer agent problems. Think about what this is going to cost you.
If you are not ready to hear: "What is my script?” “How do I handle the call?” “What data should I use?” “Do I send follow up emails?" “Do we have a PDF ready to roll?” “Do we have a mailer stuffed and ready to just address?” Wow. This is the technical side of running a telemarketing lead generation operation for one agent or a hundred.
Second option: You can hire a telemarketing services company like mine Larson and Associates 847-991-1294 www.larsonassociates.ws .
As a telemarketing service we take care of prospecting potential clients, making cold calls, setting appointments and everything else in between.
If you use Larson & Associates, we do the hiring of a dedicated telemarketer for you. One person who is the ONLY person who will be calling for you (as well as one back up person, just in case. Things do happen) Then we get everything ready from the script, the lists or lists (which you might provide or have us down load one from 1 of the 3 list companies we use) to an email or direct mail program to a email follow-up to pre-set mailers ready to go. What you can’t or don’t want to do and have ready and in place we do so when you go live with your program it is as successful as possible.
Larson Notes & Satire: If you choose to use us all you need to do is make a pre-payment for the first two weeks of your program to reserve your dedicated agent and set up a start date.
The hard work of getting new clients will not stop there. Getting good sales results is a hard, process. But you can now have an experienced agent in place and an experienced company watching out for your best interests and to help you on your way to new client heaven. After all, 75% of B2B sales involve some form of human interaction and intervention, be a phone call or a meeting, telemarketing for lead generation is only the first 30% of that.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-1294
howard@larsonassociates.ws
http://www.larsonassociates.ws
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/LarsonAndAssociatesFans
http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsonassociates
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 10 hours a week. Maybe you should add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
Showing posts with label Direct Mail E-mail blasts list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Direct Mail E-mail blasts list. Show all posts
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Lessons Of A Chronic Marketer
Who really runs the show? That’s right your customers. If you’re not listening you your customers you are in deep trouble. If you are reading this you are already well on your way to being a top flight marketer.
Lesson 1: Listen. If you are reading this you are 9 times out of 10 already involved in SM marketing in some way shape or form. So, take it to the next level. This involves listening to what is really being said in the marketplace. Set up forum questions, Make poles. Do what it takes to find ways to get your customers talking and, telling you want they REALLY think.
Lesson 2: You don’t own your product, your customers do. So you’re the boss? Think again. You can be fired; your customers can just stop buying from you. Who are they, what do they want. Try a customer review board. They will tell you if you give them the chance. Be prepared to not like what you might hear so keep your mind totally open
Lesson 3: Values and culture is important but not off limits to change. Just because you have a company culture does not mean you need to keep it right where it is. You are growing and evolving, your company is as so is the world. Ever growing, ever changing. Don’t be an ostrich and get your head suck in the sand. Change can be good. Not change for changes sake but changes for growth.
Lesson 4: Explore new platforms and channels to market in, regardless of age. It seems every week there is some new way to be marketing yourself and your company, or old ways change. Some are tried and true like telemarketing and direct mail; others like the evolving world of twitter, nings and Facebook are only starting to become viable.
Lesson 5: Sharpen your opperations. What is your biggest weak link? Operations, production, staffing? Whatever it is, where ever it is, find it, examine it, fist it. Then find your next weakest link on a never ending crusade to perfection.
Larson Notes: Nothing stays the same. That much I can tell you. It gets easier and harder all at the same time. For me, I’ll sit down with a cup of coffee and think, where is my market at, where is it going, what does it need that I can UNIQUELLY give it. Write it down, set a time schedule and do it.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
howard@larsonassociates.ws
http://www.larsonassociates.ws
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://www.businessiibusiness.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.P.S. We are offering 2 free (a $75.00 value) ½ hour consultation periods per week to talk about marketing businesses. Call or email to get your spot to pick my brain for 30 minutes today.
Lesson 1: Listen. If you are reading this you are 9 times out of 10 already involved in SM marketing in some way shape or form. So, take it to the next level. This involves listening to what is really being said in the marketplace. Set up forum questions, Make poles. Do what it takes to find ways to get your customers talking and, telling you want they REALLY think.
Lesson 2: You don’t own your product, your customers do. So you’re the boss? Think again. You can be fired; your customers can just stop buying from you. Who are they, what do they want. Try a customer review board. They will tell you if you give them the chance. Be prepared to not like what you might hear so keep your mind totally open
Lesson 3: Values and culture is important but not off limits to change. Just because you have a company culture does not mean you need to keep it right where it is. You are growing and evolving, your company is as so is the world. Ever growing, ever changing. Don’t be an ostrich and get your head suck in the sand. Change can be good. Not change for changes sake but changes for growth.
Lesson 4: Explore new platforms and channels to market in, regardless of age. It seems every week there is some new way to be marketing yourself and your company, or old ways change. Some are tried and true like telemarketing and direct mail; others like the evolving world of twitter, nings and Facebook are only starting to become viable.
Lesson 5: Sharpen your opperations. What is your biggest weak link? Operations, production, staffing? Whatever it is, where ever it is, find it, examine it, fist it. Then find your next weakest link on a never ending crusade to perfection.
Larson Notes: Nothing stays the same. That much I can tell you. It gets easier and harder all at the same time. For me, I’ll sit down with a cup of coffee and think, where is my market at, where is it going, what does it need that I can UNIQUELLY give it. Write it down, set a time schedule and do it.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
howard@larsonassociates.ws
http://www.larsonassociates.ws
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://www.businessiibusiness.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.P.S. We are offering 2 free (a $75.00 value) ½ hour consultation periods per week to talk about marketing businesses. Call or email to get your spot to pick my brain for 30 minutes today.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Direct Mail Works When The Target Is Gone
Direct mail has a cost that you need to be able to handle in this recession, and it is easy to put snail mail and park it as a bad way to market but I beg to differ.
Experience shows that many B2B marketing campaigns actually have a better ROI (Return On Investment) than an email campaign when done as a standalone unit. E-Mail is less expensive so why? Consider this first direct mail lists are more plentiful and generally cleaner that an e-mail list you might get.
Second, most of us are still mush more accepting of unsolicited mail than we are of unsolicited email at work.
Third, direct mail will still get delivered even if the intended receiver is no longer employed with the company. Email gets turned off. If you think of the millions of people who are no longer employed, those in a buyers position probably had an email address which is now a dead bounce back. Btu someone still has a job there (unless the whole company is now unemployed) and is doing the task that was being down by the person you were trying to contact. Good chance the mail, your mail, will go to them.
Forth, is because direct mail features an almost unlimited number of creative possibilities that can allow it to stand out from your every day mail.
Larson Notes: Not everything has gone up in price over the last year. It is a fact that direct mail has actually decreased in the last year as paper mills and printers are struggling to keep their equipment running. If you can, now is a great time to test the market with direct mail and see if it is a good ROI for your company.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
howard@larsonassociates.ws
http://www.larsonassociates.ws
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://www.businessiibusiness.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.P.S. We are offering 2 free (a $75.00 value) ½ hour consultation periods per week to talk about marketing businesses. Call or email to get your spot to pick my brain for 30 minutes today.
Experience shows that many B2B marketing campaigns actually have a better ROI (Return On Investment) than an email campaign when done as a standalone unit. E-Mail is less expensive so why? Consider this first direct mail lists are more plentiful and generally cleaner that an e-mail list you might get.
Second, most of us are still mush more accepting of unsolicited mail than we are of unsolicited email at work.
Third, direct mail will still get delivered even if the intended receiver is no longer employed with the company. Email gets turned off. If you think of the millions of people who are no longer employed, those in a buyers position probably had an email address which is now a dead bounce back. Btu someone still has a job there (unless the whole company is now unemployed) and is doing the task that was being down by the person you were trying to contact. Good chance the mail, your mail, will go to them.
Forth, is because direct mail features an almost unlimited number of creative possibilities that can allow it to stand out from your every day mail.
Larson Notes: Not everything has gone up in price over the last year. It is a fact that direct mail has actually decreased in the last year as paper mills and printers are struggling to keep their equipment running. If you can, now is a great time to test the market with direct mail and see if it is a good ROI for your company.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
howard@larsonassociates.ws
http://www.larsonassociates.ws
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://www.businessiibusiness.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.P.S. We are offering 2 free (a $75.00 value) ½ hour consultation periods per week to talk about marketing businesses. Call or email to get your spot to pick my brain for 30 minutes today.
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