Dialing for Dollars

Follow Up

2009-02-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

You might be losing business because your follow up system doesn’t work.

Nearly 30% of those prospects who ask for a follow up call or email become long-term customers. Problem is, many sales reps forget. In the never-ending quest to find new business, their system falls apart.

To make more money, invest in a sales tracking program such as ACT or Goldmine. It will provide you with every detail of a sale from first contact through closing. The system will prompt you who to call, when and what is to be discussed next.

If you are already using one of these tracking software programs, make sure you are doing so effectively, taking advantage of all it offers, including software updates. It will illuminate your sales path and help you close more business.
If you sales tracking systems are broken, fix them. You’ll be surprised at what you’ve been missing—prospect who want to become customers.

Dust Off Those Sales Resolutions

2009-02-18T20:30:00.002-05:00

Sales resolutions, like fitness and diet self-promises, are already starting to lose their grip. Selling professionals have fallen back into the same old rut of not prospecting, not filling pipelines and doing anything to avoid paper work or worse, making a cold call. And when it comes to organization and time management, most good sales people lack the skills.

Don’t despair, the year is young and you can get in touch with your resolutions once again and make this a great sales year.

Here are 8 steps to get your well-intentioned sales resolutions back on track:

Get out of the comfort zone, really! Tackle the tasks you hate without much thought. Pick up the phone, prospect and handle paperwork efficiently and timely.

Quit talking. Quit talking about you. A prospect wants to buy from you if you’ll only let them tell you why and they will, if you just start listening.

Forget the close. If you’ve been selling for anytime at all, you remember the ill-taught closing techniques. Forget them. Closing is a natural part of the sales conversation. Don’t push it.

Take time to research your prospect. Find out what it is that you may be able to help with. Far too many sales reps fall down here. You are not too busy to skip this.

Get in the Game. Many a sales rep rearranges drawers, handles personal errands and does anything but work a sales system. Quit putting it off and get to work.

Enough with the dumb questions. Ban the following questions to prospects: How are you? What’s new? Ban the following statements: I was just calling to check in (substitute touch base). Have a nice day.

Deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. How many of you spend far too much time dueling with gatekeepers while the decision maker remains elusive.

Track, track, track your efforts and results. If you don’t have a CRM or sales planning system like Goldmine or ACT, get one now. You’ll learn a lot about what efforts pay off most and you’ll be more organized than you ever thought.

If your sales are suffering, look in the mirror. Better yet, look at your 2009 selling resolutions and commit to them. You made them for a reason. Remember?

I'm Not Making The Cold Calls!

2009-01-07T14:34:00.004-05:00

At a holiday party, a well-dressed, articulate woman and I engaged in conversation. She said she was a former account executive for a top marketing company and I told her my company makes prospecting cold calls and sets sales appointments for a variety of companies.

She looked at me and said, "I get it. What a great idea. When I was a sales rep there was no way I was going to make cold calls, in person or on the phone!" She went on to say that she relied on internal leads from an inside sales appointment group and referrals.

When I asked if she could make more money by prospecting herself she said, "absolutely, but I did well enough. I didn't get rich, but did OK."

Her former company, that wanted the sales force to prospect, but didn't enforce it, is now out of business. Maybe too many sales people were happy to do just enough to be OK.

The Real Cost of a Sales Appointment

2008-07-16T19:49:00.003-04:00

Using an outside sales appointment setting group is expensive, or is it?

At first glance, with fees upward of 30 bucks an hour, it seems real expensive and maybe even cost prohibitive. A second look will show that this might be the best investment you ever made.

Let's assume that you've been enlightened with the idea that using an appointment setter(s) to make your sales reps more productive is the right thing to do. Let's further assume that you've at least thought of using an outsourcing firm to perform this task for you. In-house or outsource? Which one makes more sense?

An inside sales appointment setter might make you feel better because you will see him every day, toiling away at his desk dialing and smiling. It only costs $8-$10 an hour with a few spiffs thrown in for good measure. The appointments he schedules are fair at best but you think he's getting better.

What about the other costs though? The desk space, phone and computer line, taxes, insurance and training. What happens when the appointment setter doesn't show up one day for an important calling project and there is no one to take his place and he doesn't show up the next day or the day after that? Now you have the cost of recruitment and training on your shoulders again.

If you are working the in-house appointment center right, you also need to hire someone to compile sales and call reports and gauge effectiveness of different campaigns. That reporting is one of the most important tools you have to know that you are calling on the right prospects with the right message at the right time.

The right outsourced sales appointment setting firm will perform as an extension of your sales group, dialing more and setting more appointments than your inside callers. They are well trained, professional, and articulate and they come along with a support group that will furnish you with meaningful reports that tell you a lot about your market and sales effort. Your sales reps productivity will double!

The right outsourced sales appointment setting firm will streamline your sales process and take away the management, training and recruitment hassles while providing you with a steady stream of highly qualified appointments with prospects who will buy from you.

If you are thinking of using in-house sales appointment setters, think long and hard. Is it cheaper? In the short term: maybe. Long term it will cost you more than you ever imagined and could in fact, derail your sales future.

The Fallacy of Pay for Performance Appointment Setting

2008-07-16T19:42:00.005-04:00

by Brian Grinonneau

If a deal seems too good to be true, you can bet it is.

When searching for a sales appointment setting firm, some clients are tempted by the pay for performance model. It is intriguing. Have the appointment setting/ telemarketing firm only receive pay if appointments are made. It seems risk free. It is not.

Most pay for performance models are hatched in offshore call centers. The problem, aside from a language barrier, is these performance based companies push too hard, don’t disqualify poor prospects, use sub-par callers, waste a lot of your time and leave an indelible ugly mark on your company image.

A pay for performance telemarketing company oft-times is poorly equipped to put your best business foot forward. It makes haphazard calls from a noisy room with no real structure in place. The only goal is to get lots of appointments with no regard for quality or planning. The caller who is working on your account today may not be tomorrow and on day three it is someone different again perhaps with no knowledge of the intricacies of your project.

To achieve success when outsourcing your sales appointment setting strategy, you have to select a firm that has a solid management team with a strong sales background. This team will be responsible for putting you in front of the accounts you want most, but also in helping you better understand your market. Leading call centers will know the best prospects on whom to call, why they buy and how to set and appointment with them. The right appointment setting company should be an important, natural extension of your sales department focused on your ROI.

The best way to find the right telemarketing firm is to perform due diligence by asking the following questions:

May I see the bios of your management team?
What is included in your service?
How are your calling agents compensated?
Will I have a caller or two assigned exclusively to my project?
How do you monitor progress on my project?
How do you report results and market trends to me?
How often will you communicate with me and by what form?
May I speak with and confer with the callers assigned to me?

Marketing is an ongoing testing process and a telemarketing center is an important part of it. A call center's ability to be proactive, change direction when needed, and carefully track the strategy will give you a clearer view of your successes.

When you next consider a telemarketing company know that your best results will come from a company that has solid management, meaningful reporting and educated, well-paid callers. Don’t be tempted by the seemingly low priced offerings of pay for performance plans. They will cost you more than you could ever imagine.

Why Should I Meet With You?

2008-06-24T16:18:00.005-04:00

If you want a prospect to meet with you, there better be a good reason--a compelling can hardly live without knowing more reason.

Today’s business world flies at break-neck pace making time the most precious commodity and if a prospective customer is giving up some, he has to get something of greater or equal value in return.

What do you have to give? What is your value proposition? If you don’t know, it’s time to define it.

A prospect will spend time with you if he perceives you have something that will in some way(s), make his life better. You won’t get in the door satisfying a want or need. He can find that satisfaction anywhere. You aren’t the only shop on the block. You do have something that is unique that may entice your prospect to meet though. Figuring it out is the cornerstone of your approach.

Here is a typical approach used by more sales reps than you’d care to imagine:

Good Morning, This is John with XYZ Widget Company and we help our clients streamline production by using our innovative products.

What does that mean exactly? Nothing! Like the blind squirrel finding the acorn, an occasional appointment can be had with this below average attempt, but it sure won’t fill a sales pipeline.

To really attract attention, give examples of what your product does for named clients and how they feel using it. Be specific. Talk about cutting expense, adding more dollars to the bottom line and customer experience. For instance:

Good Morning, This is John with XYZ Widget Company and we have a process that has helped ABC, DEF and GHI companies increase sales by more than 30%. They also cut labor expense by 20% and the managers, like you, received nice cash bonuses and were able to stay home weekends.

Be specific. If you want a prospect to spend valuable time with you, give him a reason—a real reason to do so.

The Two R's Of Appointment Setting

2008-06-13T17:46:00.001-04:00

You have to get two basic steps right to successfully set a sales appointment. You have to call the right prospect and deliver the right message.

Brilliant, huh?

You might be surprised how difficult it is.

Most business owners, big and small, Fortune 500 and entrepreneur, spend the majority of their energy calling the wrong prospects. People who will never do anything but waste the sales reps’ time. This isn’t an intentional strategy, but one born of poor planning and sometimes outdated management thinking.

Any given company has prospects that fall into a scant few SIC codes or categories. A superior sales organization takes the time necessary to identify the prospect most likely to buy from them. Not the prospect whose need can be filled or want sated, but the prospect that does buy the service or product the company sells.

Want to drive more sales? Work on your list of prospects. Throw out those that have been in your database too long. Be liberal in tossing to the curb those that don’t fit your narrow profile.

Once you’ve identified a list of prospects that deserve to be called, you need to craft a smart introduction script. That script will keep you from deviating from the main points you need to make and with very little practice will sound as natural as if you are talking to a friend.

Cover the basics. Begin with your name and company name.

This is Brian Grinonneau with the appointment setting firm MaSM.

State the purpose of your call and develop some interest.

We’ve set high-level, qualified sales appointments for ABC and DEF companies with the accounts they wanted most resulting in a good deal of new business being closed.

Ask for an appointment.

If you are considering any new options in your sales strategies I would like the chance to introduce myself and my company to you and if there is anything you hear that you like maybe you would think of us in the future.

Would you have time in the next week?

Schedule the appointment.

Your script is used to set an appointment, period. You are generating enough interest in your offer for the prospect to take some of his most valuable commodity, time, to meet with you. Take your time and develop the script with precision. Make sure that every word is right and conveys the meaning you want. The results will be worth the time invested.

If your prospecting is off kilter and your sales pipeline isn’t full make sure that you are calling the right prospects with the right message. Build the list. Develop the words. Work a system. Smile and dial. Set more sales appointments and close more deals.

You've Got Mail

2008-04-08T18:36:00.002-04:00

You need a medium that is immediate, personal, trackable and talks with those who are anxious to hear from you. That medium is email marketing. It is the strongest and fastest growing marketing tool available today. Big companies are moving money away from TV, print and radio and moving it into email campaigns. Why? Because it works. Consider this:

82% of email users have purchased a product because of an email offer.

US online agency Doubleclick predicts a rise of 17% in email marketing budgets in the US. TV, print and radio and predicted to decrease.

Microsoft sends out more than 20 million email marketing pieces every month.

Permission based email marketing campaigns can provide marketers with reports on their markets they only dreamed of before. This allows them to cut down on wastage and niche more meaningful offers with the obvious benefit of better returns for effort and investment.

A Price Waterhouse Coopers survey found 83 percent of Internet users felt email was their primary reason for using the Internet. Given the choice, an overwhelming majority turned down books, radios, and televisions in favor of an Internet connection with email on a desert island.

Ask a different research company and you will get a different answer for the average response rate of opt-in email campaigns. Jupiter Communications will tell you 5 to 15 percent. Forrester will tell you 14 to 22 percent. Ask a different email marketer and get a different answer. Some are getting only 3 percent and some are getting 40 percent. But they all agree on three things: It's not very expensive, it's not very hard, and it's got a better return on investment than other marketing and advertising techniques.

Quit trying to win a new game with old weapons. Build an email list, watch it grow even bigger, use it to share useful information and watch your profits grow.

Finally an advertising form that tells you what your customers think of you and what’s important to them. You have to do this.

MaSM Now Offers Powerful Email Marketing Programs

2008-04-06T12:31:00.005-04:00

MaSM, The Marketing and Sales Management Group has partnered with the world leader in email marketing, Constant Contact, to provide its customers with full service email programs.

MaSM is a sales appointment setting, consulting firm that focuses on direct response marketing. Constant Contact is the world leader in email marketing programs that not only help attract new customers, but build long-term profitable relationships with existing clients.

In making the announcement, MaSM COO, Elizabeth Duggan said, “Email marketing makes perfect sense. It is the most direct way to reach customers in a timely manner. The tools we now offer build sales volume and long term client relationships. Email marketing is immediate, inexpensive, trackable and much more effective than other strategies.”

MaSM staff can develop full email marketing campaigns to include: e-newsletters, product announcements, surveys, brand building, loyalty programs and direct response sales.

Don't Listen To Others

2008-03-28T08:08:00.000-04:00

Quit Cold Calling

2008-03-23T08:27:00.003-04:00

If you can’t cold call, don’t! It’s that easy.

How, you now ask, can you get qualified prospects on whom to call and turn into your new customers if you don’t cold call? Let someone else do it.

The typical sales type will do anything to avoid dialing the phone to try to convince someone they don’t know to meet and listen to their pitch. It is uncomfortable bordering on painful.

Watch your sales pro during “phone time”. He will rearrange papers on his desk, take extended restroom breaks, work feverishly on an email, chart or other paperwork, dial and hang-up quickly claiming to get a busy signal, doodle, stare into space, take calls from customers he must service, get extra coffee, meet with other staffers who need his attention right now and on and on it goes. A sales rep will do almost anything to avoid the dreaded cold call.

The downside, of course, is very few calls get made, no new rocks are overturned and the sales pipeline remains empty. Sales projections are missed, money is lost and unhappiness reigns supreme.

Turn this highly important task over to a phone sales professional and watch your fortunes rise. A sales appointment setter or telemarketer will dial the phone 30 to 50 times an hour and talk with a fair number of qualified prospects, scheduling appointments and gathering important competitor information. This prospector goes about the job cheerfully, never losing sight of the goal of setting meetings with qualified potential customers. He is a craftsman—an artisan who never gives up.

Using these phone pros builds your business by canvassing targeted SIC codes, demographics or geographic locations. More meetings are scheduled, more presentations made and many more sales closed.

Quit fighting the obvious. If you can’t cold call, DON’T.

Doing The Job For Free

2008-03-21T10:46:00.002-04:00

Making the decision to use sales appointment setters isn’t really so hard. If you consider all of the facts, the choice is simple really. Separating sales appointment setting from the actual sales process is plain and simple, smart. It fills anemic pipelines, evens out revenue droughts, provides meaningful reporting, improves morale, greatly reduces oversight, helps you make more money and it can be done free.

The word free has lost its meaning over the years. Free means something with a lot of strings attached that may really cost more than if you would buy the item outright. To be fair, in the case of sales appointment setting, the better term might be zero net cost rather than free.

Imagine your company has a staff of three outside sales reps. (Good salespeople all but lacking the time or desire to prospect and cold call. It isn’t unusual. In fact, there is nary a company exec who doesn’t echo that very complaint on a daily basis.) You make the decision to employ a sales appointment setting firm to schedule sales meetings. The hook is, the sales reps will pay for the service—pay for their new appointments.

Management usually gasps at this suggestion saying the sales reps will refuse, complain profanely, quit and take their book of business to a competitor. Yes, they will complain loud and long. No, they won’t quit. As the program is explained, they will understand that this makes their job easier and in fact, helps them make more money—money that dwarfs what they will pay for an appointment setter.

The typical sales rep spends 80% of his day servicing, schmoozing, following up and involving himself in non-sales activities. It leaves precious little time to prospect and cold call to find new clients. Before long it cuts into his earnings and the company profits forcing him into frenetic activity to try to make quota and maintain the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. Frenetic sales activity is a poor substitute for the orderly sales process prospects demand.

The sales appointment setting firm, statistically, will improve selling activity by 30% on average. It provides a regular, steady stream of prospects on whom to call. Moreover the appointment-setter becomes an inside sales rep helping his outside counterpart sell more by providing, in addition to appointments, leads, requests for information and valuable insights about competitors. He becomes the keeper of the calendar, the follow-up man, and the cheerleader. Before long your sales rep is happier, much more productive and there is little need for sales management.

Free appointment setting or zero net cost appointment setting. You pick the term but know that it will change the face of your sales organization in the most positive way ever. You may even rethink your take on the word free.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

2008-03-05T13:47:00.004-05:00

By Brian Grinonneau

Here's an idea hatched in the minds of short-sighted corporate cost cutters: "Let's hire an overseas call center to handle outbound sales appointment setting and inbound service issues". In the immortal words of Johnny Mac, you've got to be kidding me.

Want an example? Try doing business with Spirit Airlines. That's the company with cheap fares but lousy customer service. A recent problem with a boarding pass resulted in on the phone hold times of up to an hour, only to be greeted by a representative named "Roger" who sounded a hell of a lot like Rameesh. Listen to this guy pronounce Seattle.

Let's get smart here. People in the U.S. (your customers and prospects) want to talk with someone who speaks pretty flawless English. Long Island nasal and southern twang is ok but a "no trace of an accent" midwestern dialect is preferable. Put an overseas caller on the job and blow this deal and all future deals once and for all.

Why do businesses with good street cred use call centers from India, Pakistan and other far away places? Think. It's in the bottom line. Man, you can have that job done for pennies on the dollar. Problem is: the job is so poorly done that you have killed a sale and taken customer care to new lows.

Next time you get a come on email or sales call from an overseas call center, ignore it. Or if you prefer, hire the company and put them to work. It makes it so much easier for smart companies to use professional U.S. telemarketers and show you what ROI really means.

Sales Appointment Setting: A Matter of Geometry?

2008-03-01T11:45:00.007-05:00

by Brian Grinonneau

Amazing isn't it, the number of smart business types trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with their approach to sales management. It doesn't fit! It never will. Open up to some new options.

A sharp sales rep wants to sell. That's all. No cold calls. No prospecting. No scheduling meetings. No paperwork. He wants to get in front of the client and perform. (see: close the deal) Problem is: overwrought sales management thinks that you need to push the cocky sales staff to build a skill set that focuses more on the mundane tasks of sales planning. Ridiculous! Delegate the job to someone else.

Before you say it costs too much to bring on new staff to work for the sales reps, you need to really consider the ROI. MaSM studies in late 2007 show that sales productivity can more than double and cash flow is akin to ocean waves when using appointment setters.

A sales appointment setter is an introvert who prefers making a connection by phone and setting the stage for the performer. The sales star is an extrovert focused on the gratification of the sale and the money and bragging rights it brings. Two distinct halves of the sales equation that make for one hell of a result.

Sales appointment setting brings real meaning to the most overused word in business today: synergy. Pair up sales appointment setters and even the most average sales reps and you've got a team that will blow away quotas and projections. ROI will finally mean something.

Doing what you've always done and expecting different results just doesn't work. You know that. It really is the square peg, round hole theory.

Don't Make Sales Reps Schedule Appointments

2008-01-23T18:33:00.001-05:00

By, Brian Grinonneau

Having sales pros cold call and prospect is like having a star baseball player stock the concession stand. It’s a lousy use of talent and terrible waste of money. Sales stars shine when selling. Let them sell!

A sales super achiever wants to meet with prospects, determine a fit, suggest solutions and close the deal. It feeds his competitive nature. It assuages the hunger to perform.

A sales super achiever hates making endless calls to find the right prospect with whom to meet. The process dampens the spirit and kills motivation.

Those who think a salesman should be a prospector and sales genius can stop here. The paradigm shifted a few turns back.

In today’s sales world, an account rep must exploit strength--not work on weakness. Forget about a well-rounded rep, focus on a super star that closes the deal and brings home fists full of cash.

Appointment setting, telemarketing companies will set any sales staff on a course for success. Highly qualified sales appointments are scheduled with those who have an interest in your solution and have the ability to buy from you; appointments that are the result painstaking prospecting and hours of dialing.

A December 2007 MaSM study found that appointment setting firms can double the productivity of a sales staff because it can concentrate only on selling and not the mundane associated tasks. When qualified sales appointments are scheduled, closing ratios climb and cash flow improves.

Don’t make sales reps schedule their own sales appointments. They hate doing it and aren’t very good at it. Leave the job to professionals who love doing it and are good at it. Sales stars shine when selling. Let them sell!

90% of Some Marketing Budgets Spent on Appointment Setting

2008-01-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

By Sally Johnson

It’s important enough to focus on and I can’t stress it enough… Telemarketing is used to set appointments because it works!

Some businesses are so aware of how effective this is that they spend as much as 90% of their marketing budgets to have telemarketers set appointments for their salespeople. Getting their sales reps in front of the right decision maker increases the liklihood of a sale, and businesses know it!

That’s because the sales person is able to have an uninterrupted and exclusive time with the prospect. This undivided attention gives a good sales person the chance to present the features and benefits of the product, answer objections and close the sale. It’s much harder for the prospect to say “no” when they are face-to-face with the presenter.

In fact, it increases the sales rate dramatically and businesses know this. Cold calling is a drudgery compared to having a standing appointment already set for an in-person meeting with the decision maker. Telemarketing is used to set appointments and businesses have found it to be worth the expense.

Sally Johnson has been in the telemarketing business for over 20 years and now enjoys written and researching new industy trends.

Outsourcing some sales efforts can boost the bottom line

2008-01-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

Hotel & Motel Management, by Howard Feiertag
Lots of outsourcing is going on these days in all areas of hotel operations, so why not take a look at what could be helpful in this area with regard to sales?

We all can offer suggestions on how salespeople can be more productive with their time. After all, the most important role of a salesperson is to make more sales, and that relates to bringing in more business, not making more sales calls.

But at many properties, we see job descriptions referring to the number of sales calls that need to be made. If it's not reflected in a job description, we know about managers telling salespeople to go out and make more calls. However, it is not the number of calls we make that creates profit for a business, but the dollar amount of business actually being collected.

In order to bring in more profitable business, we first need to know who to call. This is where we get to the term "prospecting," which means finding out who is in a position to provide business to a property. The most successful salespeople are those who concentrate only on calling qualified prospects. Sales personnel would be more productive if they spent their time making contact and building relationships with those who have been qualified to book business with them.

All too often, salespeople spend a good amount of time making "cold calls." This term refers to calls being made on just about anyone to determine if that contact could be considered a prospect. The cold calls are made to "qualify" if that contact would have any business for a property. These calls are made by phone or in person.

We need to consider if the amount of time spent by a salesperson making cold calls to find qualified prospects is as productive as that person spending the time making calls on only those already qualified. Most sales personnel already know the answer to that question. So, the next question is, if they do not do the cold calling to find qualified prospects, how will that get done so that the salesperson has only prospects to call?

This is where outsourcing comes into play. Companies that will do cold calling for a property--often at a much lower cost than having a salesperson do it--are becoming more prevalent.
In addition to prospecting (lead generation), some companies provide a variety of sales activity functions, such as database cleansing, sales missions, trade-show follow-up services, direct mail follow-up programs, customer satisfaction surveys, customer opinion polls, internal employee surveys and mystery shopping.

Howard Feiertag is on the faculty of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va. He can be reached at howardf@vt.edu.

Embrace Rejection

2007-12-28T08:28:00.000-05:00

The Hottest Marketing Trends for 2008

2007-12-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

The Hottest Marketing Trends for 2008 Learn about the hottest new marketing trends plus the best ways to increase sales in 2008.

By Kim T. Gordon

Marketers nationwide are setting their plans in motion for 2008. Big-name brands will embrace new technologies and adjust their budgets in some surprising ways. And as an entrepreneur, you can use some of these tactics to reach your own audience in the coming year.

In 2008, you can expect major marketing trends to include:

A shift from traditional to "alternative" media

Advertising in newspapers and magazines, and on radio and TV will continue to be marketing staples, but spending in new media will show the biggest growth as advertisers move money into online, mobile and alternative out-of-home advertising. Many marketers are finding alternative media the best way to reach audiences effectively and to yield a measurable ROI. A communications industry forecast published by Veronis Suhler Stevenson predicts alternative advertising spending will increase more than 23 percent from 2006 to 2011, while traditional advertising will have a compound annual growth rate of just over 1 percent.

A growth spurt for interactive marketing

Interactive marketing spending will more than triple over the next five years, reaching $61 billion by 2012, according to Forrester Research. To put this into context, interactive marketing, which currently accounts for just 8 percent of all ad spending, will increase to 18 percent of marketers' total advertising budgets in five years.

Interactive encompasses new marketing channels such as e-mail and search marketing, online video ads and social media. Mobile marketing, also a form of interactive media, is getting hotter as consumers become increasingly comfortable using personal computing handsets. Other emerging channels, including game marketing, podcasts and RSS feeds, will claim increasingly larger shares of marketers' budgets.

More off-line support for online campaigns

Here's where the value of advertising synergy hits home. In 2008 and beyond, the trend toward using off-line media to drive customers to the web will continue and pick up speed. Traditional media are increasingly relied on to support new interactive campaigns. Display advertising, in particular, will be the workhorse that Forrester Research predicts will reach $14 billion by 2012.

TV is another traditional advertising medium that will increasingly be used to pique consumer interest and point prospects to a website where they can find more in-depth information. Once there, entertaining online video ads may be used to tell a longer, more involved story. Consumer adoption of online video is growing, and most age groups are expected to step up its use in 2008.

Taking Advantage of the Trends In 2008, the major marketers who set the trends will help consumers adopt new media consumption methods. And they'll pave the way for small business owners to follow suit without the risk or heavy financial outlay.

Here are four ways to increase sales and your advertising ROI by capitalizing on the hottest trends for 2008.

1. Engage the customer. The move toward alternative advertising versus some of the more traditional methods coincides with the emergence of technologies that enable a one-on-one dialogue with customers. For example, follow the trend of social media by posting your products on sites that encourage customer or peer reviews. Social media add an element of impartiality and are increasingly looked to as reliable sources of information.

2. Integrate your off-line and online campaigns. Look for ways to use off-line media to drive traffic to a website with specialized landing pages that tell a deeper story. Use print and TV ads to start the customer education process and direct potential buyers online to learn more and take the next steps in the purchase process. And direct an e-mail campaign to your current customer database to offset the cost of direct mail. Simply alternate e-mail and postal mail for a cost-effective one-two punch.

3. Move some off-line dollars online. Online advertising now offers a strong alternative to some traditional media, such as print yellow pages. Consider moving some of your traditional directory advertising dollars into online directories and search engines. The vast majority of Americans research their products online before making purchases, so a paid search campaign is an ideal way to make sure you turn up at the top of search results.

4. Follow your customer. Alternative out-of-home advertising opportunities let you place your message wherever your customers go. You can put your name and company logo on the umbrellas used by urban street vendors, or name hiking trails in wilderness areas. The key to using these new opportunities effectively is to place your message where it will appear in the proper context and reach your potential customers when they are in the right frame of mind.

The new year comes full of high-return marketing opportunities. By closely watching the hottest trends, you can make smart choices that let you step ahead of your slower-moving competitors.

Kim T. Gordon is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson. Over the past 26 years, she's helped millions of small-business owners increase their success through her company, National Marketing Federation Inc. Her latest book ,Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars, is now available.

8 Powerful B2B Sales Lead Generation Techniques To Help You Reach Your Sales Prospects

2007-12-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

By M. H. "Mac" McIntosh, President, Mac McIntosh Incorporated

Most of the fastest growing B2B companies do not rely solely on just one sales lead generation method. Sat Feb 3, 2007

Most of the fastest growing B2B companies do not rely solely on just one sales lead generation method. They have a complete arsenal of sales lead generation tools at their fingertips, that they can use at any given time.Here are my eight proven B2B sales leads generation techniques gleaned from helping over 170 B2B companies reach their sales prospects:

1. Sales lead generation using relationship marketing

Relationship Marketing is the approach underlying all of the "sales-lead-generation-success" methods. Relationship marketing simply refers to cultivating a personal, sales-winning relationship with your prospects. It’s about developing longer-term relationships with customers rather than individual transactions. During my 20+ years of experience in B2B sales lead generation, I've discovered the key to picking up sales others leave on the table is to keep in touch with your prospects via a series of ongoing communications and offers throughout your prospective customers' consideration processes.

2. Sales lead generation through complementary partner referrals

By joining forces with complementary partners, you can instantly multiply your sales lead generation pool and make it easier for companies to engage in doing business with you. Out of all the sales lead generation programs available to you, complementary partner referral programs can generate the highest qualified B2B sales leads.

3. Sales lead generation using search engine optimization and Internet marketing strategies

Business buyers are more sophisticated and getting harder to reach than ever. Studies show that about 90% of business buyers start with research on the Internet, therefore it’s critical to have a well-tuned sales lead generation program that includes search engine optimization (SEO)/Internet marketing strategies to attract prospects at the beginning of their buying cycle.

4. Sales lead generation via telemarketing

Even though many people despise the thought of telemarketing, when executed properly it is a very effective sales lead generation tool. Telemarketing is a personal marketing and sales lead generation technique that offers a cost-effective, efficient alternative to field selling. However, it can be significantly more expensive than direct mail or email. By including telemarketing in your B2B sales lead generation marketing plan, you can reach up to thirty decision-makers a day at a cost of $15 to $20 per contact. In contrast, with field sales you can reach only four or five decision-makers a day at an average cost of $392 or more per contact. Direct mail may cost as little as a dollar, and email is often much less. However, if you consistently prospect and nurture leads via phone, you will consistently generate qualified sales leads.

5. Sales lead generation with email publications

By creating your own email newsletter, you could send out industry news and tips to suspects in your market. Since you will be on your prospects’ minds more often than your competition, eventually, your sales leads will turn into actual sales. If you subscribe to my e-newsletter, Sales Lead Report, you will see an example of an email publication that keeps my name and business in front of over 8,000 people every month.

6. Sales Lead Generation With Direct Mail

There is an entire industry of people like Dan Kennedy, Bob Bly, and Bill Glazer who are dedicated to business-to-business selling through direct marketing. Sales letters can be an excellent sales lead generation method. But, most sales and business professionals do not know how to use this lead generation technique effectively and efficiently.The complaint is a common one among B2B companies that depend on direct mail and direct response marketing as their only sales lead generation program: "I'm sick of spending a fortune to send out thousands of full-color catalogs and direct-mail pieces only to get a measly 1% response rate. How can I cut costs and find a more practical way to get my target market to respond to my direct mail or catalogs?"My clients have found that the best place to start revamping their direct response marketing is by determining who their best customers are, then trying to target their database marketing efforts at companies and individuals who are similar in nature.

7. Sales Lead Generation Using Print Advertising

When done correctly, print advertising can be a highly effective sales lead generation activity. When using print advertising as your B2B sales leads generation method, you must remember to focus your advertising's message on the benefits and applications of your products or services. Then let the layout and design of your ads enhance your company's image. And, don’t forget to only use publications that deliver messages directly to your targeted audience.

8. Sales Lead generation via Event Marketing

Whether you do it live, through the telephone (teleseminars) or via the Web (webinars), seminars and workshops are a great sales lead generation tool. People who attend your seminar have an interest in the information you are presenting and a need for your product or service. The goal: Connect with customers in a meaningful wayBy using these eight proven B2B sales leads generation methods gleaned from helping over 170 B2B companies reach their prospects, you will capture more sales-ready opportunities for your salespeople to turn into new business, meaning greater sales revenue and profits for your company.

_________________________________________________________

M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is described by many as America's leading authority on inquiry handling and sales lead management. He is president of Mac McIntosh Incorporated, a sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in helping companies get more high-quality sales leads and turn them into sales. To request a free subscription to his newsletter, Sales Lead Report, contact him at: Mac McIntosh, Inc., 601 Pendar Rd. North Kingstown, RI 0-2852-6620

Phone: 800-944-5553 or 401-294-7730. Fax: 800-944-5513.

Email: mcintosh@salesleadexperts.com Web: http://www.salesleadexperts.com/

Attributes of Top Telemarketers

2007-12-20T14:41:00.001-05:00

There are specific attributes the top telemarketing sales appointment setter’s posses. Without these traits, they fall into the “also ran” pack of telephone callers who will help your business to the extent a blind squirrel finds an acorn.

Using a phone to convey value and set an appointment with a qualified decision maker is a skill that is inherent. Learning it is hard, at best. That’s why enlightened sales management separates appointment setting from selling. The skill sets are very different.

Whether you run an in-house call center or outsource appointment setting here are the traits your telemarketer must have:

1. Intelligent. Not MENSA Society smarts, but knowing the regional difference between Kankakee and Poughkeepsie is nice.

2. Conversationalist. The ability to engage in intelligent discourse about the prospects’ business, hobbies, family or pets.

3. Quick thinker. Must be able to react quickly to the hundreds of verbal curve balls that are pitched every day. The answers are not on the script.

4. Driven. The desire to dial and dial again when most prospects tell you no. Substitute the description Fearless in this category.

5. Meticulous. A carefully constructed note about conversations and follow-up activities is the difference between success and abject failure.

6. Punctual. Time waits for no man. Calls to prospects are carefully planned and coordinated and must be made during assigned periods.

7. Proud. The deep-seated conviction that an entire deal is built on the foundation of the first telemarketing call.

8. Competitive. An innate need to win—to set more appointments and make more money for the company.

Finding top sales appointment setters isn’t easy work. They come in many shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. Use the list above to qualify and put the right telemarketers to work for you. It’ll mean the difference between beating sales projections and struggling to make budget.

Your Customers Are Afraid

2007-12-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

6 Ways You Can Use Telemarketing as Part of Your Business Growth Strategy

2007-12-07T16:45:00.000-05:00

By Keith Longmire

Mention telemarketing to many small business owners and managers and you are likely to see uncertainty, doubt and confusion. Many of them confuse telemarketing with telesales. The latter is tainted by the cold-calling, pressure tactics used by some companies to sell everything from timeshare holidays to kitchens and garden furniture. The only similarity between telemarketing and telesales is that they both use the telephone as a communication medium.

Here are 6 reasons why you should be using telemarketing in your small business marketing mix:
Appointment setting - the overriding role of marketing is to gain opportunities for your sales people. The best opportunities stem from face to face meetings. Telemarketing is proven to deliver high quality appointments with specifically targeted, pre-qualified decision makers. In preparing your appointments a good telemarketer will have had numerous contacts with your prospects’ decision makers. They will have built up a rapport and set expectations so that your appointments are geared for maximum results before you get to meet the client.

Lead generation - telemarketing for lead generation is a less in-depth process than appointment setting. The objective is normally to contact a prospect, gauge potential level of interest and to provide you with a profiled database of leads. You may follow up the contacts yourself or you may choose to commission a telemarketer to set appointments with the best prospects.

Database building and cleansing - most companies acquire extensive lists of contacts and prospects. Telemarketing is an excellent way of reviewing, updating and building your contact database.

Follow up - if I had to pick one key to successful small business marketing it would have to be a comprehensive, robust follow-up process. In the normal course of business just about every one of your staff will make contacts and maybe receive enquiries about your company. In a marketing sense, every such contact is manna from heaven. Following up every contact has been shown to improve sales in company after company. Telemarketers can provide a truly professional service in contact follow-up further multiplying the benefits of following up.

Customer Information- most small business owners that think of telemarketing tend to think of it as a tool for accessing new customers. However, just about any marketing book you read will tell you it is between 6 and 12 times easier/cheaper/more profitable to sell to existing customers than it is to gain a new one. Telemarketing to your existing customer base is an excellent way to inform them of all your products and services.

Customer reactivation - do you know why old customers have stopped buying from you? You should. Often it is simply because they have not had any contact with you for some extended period. Sometimes it is because they didn’t know that you supplied the particular service they needed. So they look elsewhere. And eventually stop buying from you altogether. Telemarketing is a superb way to make contact with customers as soon as they stop being customers. Sometimes that is all that is required to bring them back into the fold. At the very least you owe it to yourself to know why your customers are leaving. It is the first stage of making sure they don’t leave you at all.

Six ways you can use telemarketing to boost your business. And don’t let anyone persuade you it is expensive. Telemarketing is the ultimate modern cottage industry. All you need is some training, the right attitude and a telephone. You can instantly set up as a telemarketer. And if you are any good you can quickly use telemarketing to sell your own services. Not surprisingly then, there are thousands of small telemarketing businesses many of them absolutely excellent. There are, of course, others that are not so good. With that much competition you can get some outstanding telemarketing services for a very reasonable price. Your challenge is to find the ones that are right for you. Practically any small business is capable of outstanding growth. Breakthrough Business Growth is dedicated to making proven small business growth solutions accessible to all business owners.

http://www.jkl-small-business-marketing-solutions.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Longmire

Bragging on the Blog

2007-12-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Brian Grinonneau
Partner
MaSM LLC

Brian

I just received an email from the international adjudication board of the
www.top10salesarticles.com informing me that your article published in the
www.BestManagementArticles.com has been selected as two of the top 10 sales
articles of the week, namely:

" The Top 10 Reasons To Outsource Sales Appointment Setting" by Brian Grinonneau

Have no doubt about it, this is a prestigious distinction as the choices were done by an international panel of judges from among the thousands of sales-related articles published in the following major article directories:

-BestManagementArticles.com
-ezinearticles.com
-buzzle.com
-ideamarketers.com
-buildyourownbusiness.com
-eyesonsales.com
-ideamarketers.com
-salesopedia.com
-salestrainingcamp.com
-thesalescommunity.com
-thesideroad.com

Further, your having been chosen as a nominee in this prestigious search has reinforced our decision to give you the honor, "Distinguished Author of BestManagementArticles.com".

All the best,

Ismael Tabije
Publisher
www.BestManagementArticles.com

The Fear of Sales Failure

2007-11-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

Find Your Motivation

2007-11-23T12:26:00.000-05:00

Telemarketing Will Ignite Direct Mail Campaigns

2007-11-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

Funny isn’t it? Two marketing forms, direct mail and telemarketing, that fell out of favor with ad gurus years ago, is back on top. Everything old is new again. And while the debate rages on between brand builders and direct marketers, the DM practitioners seem to cut a much wider swath through the commercial clutter.

Now, telemarketing appointment setting firms are joining forces with their direct mail brethren and the result is enough to make you take notice.

A daily newspaper in the Midwest published a special section recently showcasing businesses in the community. These special sections are a fine way of pumping up a sagging bottom line in the newspaper business not to mention building reader interest. A multi-channel ad campaign was launched and a telesales firm was hired to schedule qualified sales appointments for the paper’s ad reps.

Before the first phase of the sales appointment setting calls, the newspaper sales department sent direct mail pieces to a select number of prospects. Calls were placed and the telemarketing firm hit a home run. Those prospects that received the direct mail piece knew about the special section and were receptive to scheduling an appointment with an account executive. It was the closest thing to sales heaven some of these veterans had seen.

The second and third phases of the calling campaign had no direct mail component and the appointments were tougher to schedule. The awareness factor was missing. More education was needed.

When the numbers were tallied and crunched, appointments were set at a better than 2 to 1 margin with those prospects who got a direct mail ad first.

Telemarketing and direct mail work well independently, but when you put them together you’ll really stoke your sales fire.

First We Disqualify

2007-11-19T11:22:00.000-05:00

Disqualifying prospects appears to run counter to everything a sales organization is trying to do. Why would you shut the door and snuff out a possible sale? The short answer is to make a lot more money.

When a telemarketing sales appointment company works for you they must deliver the most qualified prospects for you to meet and sell. The wishy-washy, tire-kickers might help you hone your sales skill but won’t put any money in your pocket. They’ll string you along forever incapable of making a firm decision no matter what. Their name on today’s call calendar will still be there 3 months from now. You don’t have the time. You can’t afford the aggravation

A superior sales appointment setter will ask the right questions to get a firm yes or a firm no. Anything in the middle isn’t acceptable. A prospect, with the authority to buy from you, who gives an emphatic yes to an appointment has a high probability of becoming a customer. Those who say no have given you the second best answer. The prospects that aren’t sure and are very vague about everything may never do business with you, or if they do will cost you more than they are worth.

Prospects who have trouble seeing your value, will have even more trouble paying for it. If, after months of trying to convince them of your worth, they finally agree to give you a “try out”, it will always be for the lowest price and service level. Problem is they’ll want to turn the ignition key in a Cadillac while paying for a Chevrolet. It isn’t a damnation of the client, it’s a finger pointed at the sales organization that won’t decide up-front that this isn’t a business relationship to pursue.

An appointment setting firm’s suggestion to dismiss a prospect early in the process sounds harsh but business is made up of a lot of harsh realities and most of them involve cash flow and sales. Decide now that in your pursuit of new, profitable business, you will rely on a company that will disqualify weak prospects in favor of those that will form long term, profitable relationships.

The Reality of Telemarketing

2007-11-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

Forget what you think telemarketing is and embrace the reality that it is used by the largest companies in the world to introduce new products, gauge customer satisfaction and schedule qualified sales appointments.

Today’s telemarketing is the purest form of direct marketing and direct marketing is the shortest distance between two points for business success. With the overload of messages crashing into consumers, a clear voice that rises above the din must be found. Telemarketing is that voice.

To be sure, there are a few firms that still practice boiler room telemarketing tactics of days gone by. The majority, however, are professional organizations committed to your complete success.

When hiring a telemarketing firm, look for very specific attributes:

• Knowledgeable, well-spoken company representatives

• Expertise in telling your story

• Excellence in building the right list of qualified prospects to call

• No long-term contract

• A non-disclosure, confidentiality agreement

• Clear and understandable campaign reporting

• Open, meaningful communication

• Establishment of goals and measurement tools

• Interaction between your sales and management team and the professional telemarketers

• Pricing that is clear and fair

• The ability to analyze, test and refocus campaigns for your maximum result

If you sell any product or service, and want to put it in the hands of your best prospects, you should use telemarketing professionals. If you have a customer base and want to build loyalty and repeat business you should use telemarketing professionals. The investment will pay for itself many times over and become the centerpiece of your direct marketing strategy.

Sales Appointment Setting: What You Should Expect

2007-11-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

A sales appointment setting, telemarketing or telesales firm can bring you more business than you ever thought possible. The best campaigns include a great list of prospects to call, a trained, professional calling staff and strict procedures for following up on leads.

Appointment setters will:

· Make twice as many calls as your average sales rep
· Set an average of (1) qualified appointment per hour
· Disqualify those that will waste your time and effort
· Double the productivity of your sales staff
· Help build a prospect data base
· Provide valuable feedback about your position in the marketplace
· Bring you a strong ROI
· Obtain referrals
· Reduce sales management headaches
· Help you make more money

Appointment setters will not:

· Close the deal--They set the stage and let your pros shine
· Force sales reps to attend scheduled appointments
· Improve a salesperson's presentation skills
· Turn a poor prospect list into a good one
· Provide vast product or service detail--They spark interest

Your success depends on getting in front of the prospect that has the interest and authority to make a buying decision and for that reason you have to learn more about how a professional sales appointment setting firm can help. Those who do make more money quicker than they ever thought possible

Monday Inspiration

2007-11-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down." Mary Pickford

"A smart salesperson listens to emotions not facts." Author Unknown

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

"Two sure ways to fail... Think and never do or do and never think" Zig Ziglar

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity."

Sir Winston Churchill

Sales Tips: Questions

2007-11-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

Questions are your best friend. You need them to gather information, establish trust and build a long, profitable relationship.

Here are some that should be in your information gathering “sales vocabulary”:

What made you want to explore these options now?
What do you expect to happen as you move forward?
What problems do you forsee?
What challenges have you faced in the past?
What successes have you had?
What is the most important outcome for you?
Can you help be better understand that?
What steps will you take next and how soon?
What does that mean?Is there anything else we should talk about?

Asking questions shows you are engaged in the project and tells you how interested in you your prospect is.

Call Centers: Inhouse or Outsource?

2007-11-11T12:54:00.000-05:00

If you are running sales appointment setting and lead generation services in-house, you are leaving money on the table. That’s why some of the biggest companies in the world like Microsoft and Wal-Mart outsource some, or all of their call center functions to professional appointment setting firms like ours. We help you make more money.

Call center outsourcing vs. in-house call center activities:

In-house call centers can’t afford to pay appointment setters enough and performance suffers because of that. We pay our professionals well.

MaSM talks to the right people at the right time. It isn’t about more calls it’s about meaningful conversations that turn into sales.

You need qualified sales appointments set for your staff—not an unlimited number but one that allows your reps to present, negotiate and close.

Appointment setters function much better when working on your project 2-4 hours a day, not 8. It becomes a case of diminishing returns.

Provides a significant return on investment that is trackable.

MaSM professionals dial the phone three times more often than most in-house call centers scheduling many more qualified appointments.

Focuses on disqualifying poor prospects to maximize your closing ratio.

Allows you to do what you do best: close deals.

Drives new revenue without having to expand or provide additional office space, computers, telephones or employees.

Gives you the ability to have trained, skilled and experienced personnel to fulfill your call center needs with the ability to utilize appointment setting; phone sales; lead generation and lead qualifying; list and database scrubbing; database building; surveys; market research; seminar registration and fundraising.

If you have you’re an in-house telemarketing department, we ask that you run a test campaign with MaSM. We are confident that you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome—you’ll make more money in less time.

Sales Appointment Setting: It's Ugly Out There

2007-11-11T12:50:00.000-05:00

Sales appointment setting is an ugly process. Picking up a phone and convincing someone you don’t know to spend time with you sends cold chills down your spine no matter the thickness of your skin. Is it really any wonder cold calling ranks number one with a bullet on the most hated list for salespeople?

Fear and loathing of prospecting and cold calling has killed a bright future for many a shining salesperson. A lack of prospecting leads to a lack of appointments and a lack of new sales. There is only so much you can do with referrals and the accounts divvied up when Joe in the corner office retired.

Weak sales managers, and there are a lot of them, stand over their minions forcing them to do what they hate, call and call more. The basic premise is right that more calls will ultimately lead to more sales, but the methodology is all wrong. It isn’t just quantity; it is quality that counts. Garbage in, garbage out.

Strong sales managers know account execs have to talk to prospects with a problem to solve—those who will invite you to meet them and help make their pain go away. They also know one of the best ways to get in front of these prospects is to use the services of a professional sales appointment setting firm. It makes sense on a whole lot of levels. These pros will dial the phone three times more often than your in-house reps, have more conversations and schedule dozens of high-quality appointments, fast. They use the right lists, use the right words and make your top sales reps twice as productive.

Those who don’t consider outsourcing appointment setting are leaving money on the table. They think that given time, sales reps will learn to make cold calls and set appointments with the accounts you want most. That same line of antiquated thinking would suggest you should always be working on your weaknesses.
Wrong! Work on your strength and find professionals to take care of the shortcomings.

Sales appointment setting firms will bring you a trackable, meaningful ROI. They bring waves of new revenue, build morale, reduce management oversight and let sales reps do what they do best, present, negotiate and close deals.

Outsource cold calling and appointment setting to those that do it best—the ones that don’t think the process is ugly or painful but rather enjoy setting the table for your sales team.