Affordable Telemarketing Solutions For Small Business

Writen by Ira Spere

Imagine a flood of new, quality leads flowing into your business as the result of a bank of telephone sales professionals. Your virtual sales team pursues individuals and companies who would be genuinely interested in your business offerings, if they only knew that your company existed. Imagine this service as being affordable for everyone, including small business owners and professionals like you. Telemarketing, Inbound and Outbound Call Center Services are no longer reserved only for the large companies who can afford to hire expensive telemarketing services. Any business or professional office can hire a professional telemarketing firm who will be able to market their product or professional service at an easily affordable price.

Many entrepreneurs start their companies in the hopes that just hanging their sign will bring in big sales. Although displaying your shingle plays a role in marketing a new business, actively making personal contact with potential clients and customers is the only sure way of generating sales. Small and medium sized businesses have traditionally relied on the frustrating and sometimes intimidating method of cold calling to make the essential first contacts with their market. Solo business owners often wake up early in the morning, make their first pot of coffee and flip through the local Business-to-Business Directory in hopes of generating new business leads before key decision makers get caught up in the routine of a busy day. Many new business owners, and even seasoned sales pros, hate this process. Some newcomers also find the cold calling process intimidating, while others thrive at it and discover sales skills that they didn't know they had. Even the best cold-calling expert finds that taking a couple of hours out of the day to create new business can be an obstacle to actually starting the rest of the day's projects. In slightly larger business organizations, dedicated sales staffers take the initiative on all sales activity. Sales departments sometimes have the benefit of being able to track down potential business customers through purchased lists and lead generation programs. When hot lead sources experience temporary dry spells, sales staff resorts to thumbing through the B2B Directory to generate new sales. Regardless of the size of your business, the law of averages rules the cold calling process: the more individuals called, the greater the likelihood of getting the successful sale. Common wisdom among cold callers states that you will get ten receptive listeners for every hundred calls, and perhaps one sale. Often, smaller businesses need dedicated sales representatives to focus on key customers, and do not have the resources to use their professionals for lead generation. At other times, a company wants to remain small, and wants to outsource their lead generation needs to another company who can accomplish these tasks more effectively and cost efficiently than hiring a dedicated sales force.

While there are many mammoth-sized telemarketing firms targeting behemoth corporations who need their services, many smaller telemarketing companies specialize in offering their range of services to smaller businesses. Smaller telemarketing companies have honed their processes to make their services easily available at an affordable price that makes sense to small businesses who are working within a limited marketing budget, but who demand verifiable results for their investment. If one small business owner, working alone, can generate 100 calls during one business day, what would happen if she could affordably double, triple or quadruple her efforts? What if she could contract with a telemarketing firm who could assign her cold calls to five operators, or ten, or twenty? The small business owner increases her marketing reach for a very minimal cost.

Call centers that specialize in inbound and outbound telemarketing verify their results to their customers in several different ways. Business to Consumer (B2C) Sales numbers speak for themselves: clients can review sales reports, call response rates, hang up data and all information about the call in a series of reports. These reports are often instantaneously generated through internet web-based applications that you can easily access through your own internet connection. Telemarketing services are also able to qualify leads: they are able to conduct research to determine the principle decision maker for a company or department, follow up with your sales pitch and set up appointments between you and receptive leads. Telemarketing service companies will generate detailed reports so that you are familiar with the results of every single step of the lead generation process. Other telemarketing services have the capability of creating complete market research solutions for their clients at a very affordable price. This range of marketing services used to be the domain of the larger marketing firms who set prices far above the reach of the typical small business owner. Smaller telemarketing companies are small and medium sized businesses who know their clients' needs and concerns, and price their services within the budgets of businesses just like themselves. Choosing a smaller telemarketing services firm creates a personal link with another small business owner who is eager to help his or her clients succeed.

Telemarketing Services are an increasingly affordable solution to generating new sales leads for your company when you need to extend your business reach. Easy, customizable solutions within your budget are available from smaller telemarketing companies who can help you generate hot leads and solid sales with minimal effort, leaving you free to focus on your key projects.

Ira Spere is a writer for EFLS . com where you will discover a wealth of resources on Telemarketing and other related information.

Telemarketing Service The Answer For Your Company

Writen by Christopher Luck

Is a telemarketing service the right way for you to promote your business? I am as guilty as anyone of complaining endlessly about telemarketing services calling at the worst times. After all, telemarketing is probably the most controversial advertising technique ever. However, sometimes a good telemarketing service, believe it or not, can help your business. We know that telemarketing can be effective, but there are now many legal concerns about using it. With that in mind, there are some things you should do to ensure that a telemarketing service will be the right way for you to promote your business.

Any telemarketing service will know that there are many new laws in place. These laws regulate the use of phone calls as a means of marketing based on the time frames. One of the big complaints with regard to telemarketing is that they either call too late, too early, or during family time. The other concern is that your telemarketing service calls only individuals who have not said they don't want to receive the phone calls. Make sure the company you decide to use is of high standards and pays close attention to detail.

There is good reason to select carefully when going with a telemarketing service. For one thing, you want to keep your company from a bad reputation. If customers are bothered by your phone calls, then the image hit is a hard one. It can terribly tarnish the name of the company you have worked so hard to build. However, there are good, smart, and effective telemarketing services that will allow you to promote your business effectively without killing your image.

What it comes down to, then, aside from finding the right telemarketing service whether or not you want to go that route. Some people are just fundamentally opposed to telemarketing in any form and thus would not use it no matter how effective it may be. That decision is one you will have to make for your business based on your personal feelings about such a controversial means of marketing a business. In addition, you should factor in the cost of using a telemarketing service versus how much money it can help you make as well as how efficiently the company works. The overall use of telemarketing can be effective, but you need to decide if it will be in your situation and under your feelings.

For many businesses, big and small, telemarketing services can be a necessity. They can be used with a lot of success as well. If you do think you might use a telemarketing service to advertise your company or your service, make sure you use a company that will screen employees as well has hire and train them effectively. If you keep those simple things in mind, a telemarketing service just might be the way for you to promote your business.

If would like to find more of my personal articles on telemarketing services, please feel free to visit my website on telemarketing!

Control Your Sales Calls From The Start

Writen by Shamus Brown

Sales calls that you control are what all salespeople want. I am a big believer that questioning is the most important skill for sales professionals. In order to stay in control of your sales calls, whether by phone or in person, you need to be the one asking questions most of the time.

To be the one asking questions most of the time, you have to get to questioning right from the start of your sales calls. This issue's tip is about how to make this transition quickly with finesse, whether you are calling by phone or are in person.

To accomplish this, you will need to eliminate beginning your sales calls with long-winded "presentations" about your company. This may seem counter-intuitive. You may have reasoned that your prospect doesn't know who you are, and needs your introductory "presentation" as background for a sales discussion.

Although this is the mode many of us are used to, the reality is different. If you politely give your customer a valid business reason for you to ask questions from the start, you will find that virtually all of your customers will let you do this. You will then be able to spend most of your valuable time investigating what your customer wants and needs.

OK so here's how you do this. Once your sales calls have started and you have established rapport, you say something like the following:

"Mr. Jones, I am with XYZ Company, and we help companies to [insert your benefit here]. What I would like to do today is ask you a few questions to see if it makes sense for our companies to do business together. How does that sound to you?"

You can modify the above to your own style, but let me first show you what makes this opening work. In reverse order, you are asking permission to ask questions, you are stating that your purpose is to see if it makes sense to do business together, and you are suggesting a common benefit of doing business with your company.

By asking permission to ask questions, you establish the format of your sales calls, and put yourself firmly in charge. In stating that you want to see if it makes sense to do business together, you are saying that this is a mutual decision, and that you aren't just out to sell them something that they may not need. By suggesting a common benefit of doing business with you, you are giving a prospect, who may not know much about you, a reason to continue with the sales call.

Until a prospect has decided that you understand their business problems, a simple benefit of doing business with you suffices to get your sales calls started. If your company is a known quantity in your market or to your prospect, you can skip the benefit completely as the prospect already has a reason and context for the discussion.

There's no need for long-winded openers on your sales calls.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

How To Make Cold Calling Opportunities Out Of Voice Mails

Writen by Ari Galper

Turn voice mails into a cold calling journey of discovery!

Most people who still use the traditional cold calling mindset look at voicemail as a dead end. They say to themselves, "Oh well, I may as well leave a message and hope he calls me back."

This almost never happens, and we know it. But we're often so relieved not to have to talk with someone, that we leave a message anyway. We avoid dealing with another person's potential negative response to us and we avoid being challenged by the receptionist as well.

By the time the day is over, we might feel good because we've played the "numbers game" and made a lot of calls. But our productivity has been minimal. And over time that can make us feel frustrated by our experiences in cold calling.

With the new approach to cold calling, voicemail is an opportunity for discovery. It leads us beyond voicemail. Voice mail becomes a starting point for you begin the process of locating the person you're trying to contact.

Our objective is not to pursue people to make a sale in this new way of cold calling. It is to uncover the truth of their situation and to be okay with the outcome, whether it's a "yes" or a "no."

So we can begin to feel more comfortable hitting "0" when we get someone's voicemail. Because we then have an opportunity to go back to the receptionist and begin a dialogue based on asking for help.

Here's how the dialogue might go:

"Hi, maybe you can help me out for a second? I'm trying to get hold of Mike and I got his voicemail. Would you happen to know if he's at lunch, or on vacation, or in a meeting by any chance?"

Here, you aren't just asking to find Mike. And you're also providing possible solutions to finding Mike. This helps the receptionist feel as if he or she is part of the problem-solving process.

The receptionist is likely to offer one of two responses. The first is, "Yes, he's in a meeting (or at lunch or on vacation) and I'm not sure when he'll be back at his desk."

This answer has just given you a lot more information than you would have if you had just left a voicemail. Now you know your contact's whereabouts in real time and you can call back at a more appropriate time.

The second response is, "No, I don't know where he is." In this case, you would reply, "That's not a problem…" This low-key statement diffuses any possible pressure that the receptionist might be feeling about not being able to answer your question.

You can then continue with, "Would you happen to know anyone whose desk or office is near him or who works in his area who might know where he is?" Again, you're offering another option for solving the problem. In many cases, the receptionist will then transfer you to a colleague of your contact who can help you determine his or her whereabouts.

The receptionist may also reply, "No, I don't know anyone in his area." You then say, "That's not a problem…" and offer, "Would you happen to have a paging system or his cell phone number by any chance?"

If the receptionist replies, "Sorry, we don't have those," then at that point you can say, "Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. And then hang up, and call back another time.

Does the idea of paging potential clients or calling them on their cell phone make your stomach clench up? Are you thinking that you can't cold call people that way because they might reject you?

That fear is only to be expected if your agenda is to sell something to the person. In other words, if you're still using the traditional sales mindset. But once you master the new cold calling perspective, you'll feel comfortable calling anyone, any time, using any mode.

As long as you're 100 percent focused on your potential client's world, you'll find that people will be receptive to you. You can easily navigate throughout an organization with the type of dialogue described above, because you're asking for help in a relaxed manner and you never put anyone on the spot.

Suppose that your efforts to locate your contact in this way fail. At that point you can leave a voicemail, but it should always be your very last option. Here's an example of an appropriate cold calling voicemail:

"Hi John, maybe you can help me out for a second? I'm not sure if you're the right person or not, but I'm trying to reach the person responsible for reporting problems about unpaid invoices. My name is John Edwards, my number is…"

Try this way of approaching the situation of voice mails, and you'll be surprised and pleased at how often it becomes a highway instead of a dead end.

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don't know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.Unlock-The-Cold-Calling-Game.com

So Youve Done The Hard Work And Got Your Sales Leads Why Does It All Go Wrong From Here

Writen by Mark Brewerton

Managing sales leads to deliver results

So you've done the hard work and got a stream of qualified sales leads – why does it all go wrong from here?

After much gnashing of teeth and hours spent justifying the investment and calculating your required return on investment, you have spent your hard-earned marketing money to generate a stream of sales leads – whether telemarketing, exhibitions, seminars, online or offline advertising, direct response advertising or directory listings they all have one thing in common, they are expensive and the investment has to be justified.

Now you have your leads

Whatever the source, you are now the proud owner of a stream of (hopefully) qualified sales leads, unfortunately our experience is that this is just the beginning and on its own it does not mean that this will automatically translate into sales.

A CRM system is key building block

Perhaps the most critical task you can do once you have got the leads is to make sure that you capture all the information about these leads onto a database in a way that is going to allow your sales team to easily access and update this information and in a way that is going to allow you to track and monitor the progress of these leads as they are developed. This can be done using any one of the many sophisticated CRM systems that are available or by developing your own database. Now is not the place to evaluate the various CRM systems that are available or to assess the relative merits of using an off-the-shelf package vs. the DIY approach, suffice to say that either way it must happen!

Many companies fall down on this – wasting time and money!

Unfortunately many companies appear to skip this key building block in their sales management process and as a result they are inefficient in following up leads and they lose visibility of progress causing many expensive and hard won leads that could have converted into business to be lost. This is nothing short of a criminal waste of precious marketing resources but our experience is that it happens all too often in organisations of all shapes and sizes.

Not all leads are created equal

You must classify your leads depending upon their potential worth to the business and your probability of winning the business. If you do this you can allocate your resources and prioritise accordingly. There is little point having your expensive field sales people chasing up business that your desk sales people could do or that you have little chance of winning.

Somebody has to be accountable for every lead

You can not fudge ownership of leads, this is where sales and marketing teams come together and it is where they have to work effectively to prevent potentially good leads going cold. In cricketing parlance somebody has to shout "mine" and catch the ball. To some degree it doesn't really matter who does this as long as somebody does and they take accountability Without this clear accountability, the urgency in the follow up will be lost as different team members look to each other and nothing gets done!

As somebody once said …"I didn't plan to fail but I failed to plan"

For all leads you must have a contact plan that is appropriate to the class of lead. Equally important is the ability of your sales team to plan and prepare for the sales meeting or sales call itself - the ability of your sales team to close the business once in front of the prospect is another story!

Keep records so you know where you are

Every contact with a lead should be recorded on your database / CRM system. The status of the lead should evolve throughout the sales development process, accurate records must be kept.

This is in activity where most sales people singularly fail!

By nature sales people are generally not good at administration, they are too busy pushing on with the next prospect or out meeting their existing customers – whatever the excuse this is rubbish - you must hold them to account and make them update the system otherwise you are flying blind and you are reliant upon somebody's memory which is all too frequently selective!

And finally, as somebody else once said …"you get what you measure"

Never was a truer word spoken in sales. If you are to maximise the return on your sales leads you must track and report progress and hold people to account! It is unrealistic to expect all leads to turn into business but we have to know that this is not because we haven't effectively managed that lead. Knowing which leads converted and why and which leads didn't convert and why is precious information for future campaigns – record it, nourish it and cherish it!

About the author - Mark Brewerton is responsible for marketing at Broadley Speaking. We provide a full range of business-to-business (B2B) outbound telemarketing, telesales, sales development, appointment setting and lead generation services for our clients. In addition to our telemarketing and telesales services, where our clients want us to help them further, we also provide sales and marketing consultancy services to support the development and implementation of their sales and marketing strategy. For some of our clients, based on our own extensive experience of effective sales, we also provide sales training for their own internal sales teams. Contact us to see how our intelligent sales approach could work for you on 01822 618537 or by email to info@broadley-speaking.com or visit our website at http://www.broadley-speaking.com