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New Sales Leads are the Life Blood of Business
by: samoprey on
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 Time: 6:05 AM
No matter what business you happen to be in a business can only grow if they gain new business.
The problem most companies face is finding those new customers. Traditionally they use advertising and some pr. The problem most business decision makers face with their marketing is that they know that at least half of their advertising and marketing is working they just do not know which half.
By taking a pro-active approach to sales lead generation with the focus on traceable results you can take more control over your marketing spend and the results it delivers.
In this document we will consider three routes to lead generation:
• Telemarketing / Telesales
• E-mail Marketing
• Online Marketing / SEO
Telemarketing – Lead Generation Advice
With telemarketing you are going direct to the industry decision maker presenting your case, checking the relevance and generating interest. Within one or two calls you could get your product or service noticed and in front of the people that matter.
Often seen in a bad light telemarketing can actually be a very effective way of generating sales leads for your business especially in the Business-to-Business markets. With good data and the right person on the phone telemarketing can get you in front of industry decision makers. When you consider this against advertising or PR, where there is no guarantee the decision maker will read the trade magazine selected for your advert, meaning telemarketing is the more cost effective option. You could advertise with that same trade magazine for months before they notice and you make any return if at all.
You can easily monitor results, expenditure and return with telemarketing. For more information on this contact CBSL today.
Telemarketing does not only have to be about trying to book face to face appointments but it can be used for data cleaning, market research and brand awareness with the aim of generating leads from these processes.
Q: But isn’t telemarketing seen as a nuisance and interruptive marketing?
A: Not when it is done correctly with respect for the person you are telemarketing to. If you talk fluidly around your products or services, respect when the prospect is busy and only want you to send information then you will find that people are a lot more receptive to receiving a telephone call. In the business world people expect it.
Q: But what if my market is Business-to-Consumer?
A: Then consider the next two areas of marketing.
E-mail Marketing - Lead Generation Advice
Fast and almost free email marketing can be a great way to get your message across. If combined with a telemarketing campaign this can bring fantastic returns on investment.
There are though some definite do’s and don’ts with email marketing and there is also the issue of whom do you email to and where do you source your data?
Firstly, and most importantly do not SPAM. If you do not have permission to send the email or you do not have data from a source that has gained permission then do not send an email. If you do send SPAM it is not only against direct marketing rules it can also do significant damage to your brand.
If you buy email marketing data you need to be sure that they have obtained permission from the recipitent. If they have you need to bear in mind that this email list is one that they have probably sold to lots of other companies and that the people on the list have either a dedicated email address just to receive such emails or may ignore emails from people they do not know. So you have to consider how effective it will be to send emails to people on these lists.
The most effective way of building an email database is by data gathering from clients and prospects yourself. This can be done through telemarketing, website data capture forms or simply asking prospects to include their email address when they request information. This way you have a list that is unique to you from people that will at least half expect an email from you. This will increase open rate and effectiveness.
As for technology well you can see we use constant contact which is as effective as any solution. As long as the software you choose allows for mass emailing and gives an opt out option then it should be fit for purpose. Again, this should also provide you with enough data to be able to track the return you are getting from this activity.
Internet Marketing / SEO
Both of the above are excellent examples of push marketing where you as a company would be pushing your product or services towards the client, albeit very gently. Internet marketing is the exact opposite and is known as pull marketing because you are attracting, or pulling, the client to you.
The internet is the best place for this type of marketing because the user types into a search box a phrase or keyword that is relevant to your business which shows they are actively looking for a product or service like yours. If your website then appears in the natural listings or paid for placements and your call to action is inviting enough they will click on your link. The aim then is to either make a sale or gain an enquiry.
The important factor in either though is gathering data. Having a simple but effective data capture form can give you enough information to follow up enquiries with a sales call or email or to offer previous or existing clients with new purchase incentives and offers.
Both pay per click and search engine optimisation can bring in fantastic returns on investment and when combined with data capture and web analytics can provide you with more information on your prospects and more opportunity to market effectively to them.
In conclusion
All of the above are excellent marketing techniques that can bring fantastic returns. If you were to combine all three then you would have a well rounded lead generation stream. Telemarketing to back up email marketing, email marketing from web marketing data and telephone support to follow up on website enquiries.
The important factor for any type of marketing or advertising is that it brings in sales leads and return on investment. No matter what approach you take to market you need to make sure you can trace the rate of response from your marketing activity.
If you are considering telemarketing, email marketing or internet marketing that please do not hesitate to give CBSL Group a call.
Special Offer – Free Telemarketing Trial
Ok here is our call to action!! If you are considering outsourcing some telemarketing, have a data cleaning or market research project then give Sam O’Prey at CBSL a call today.
We are currently offering new and existing clients a FREE 1 day trial of our telemarketing services.
If you have a project in the B2B market place that you are considering using telemarketing to achieve the best results possible then please give us a call today to arrange a free one day trial.
Visit www.cbslgroup.com or call 01743 249 992.
About the Author
Sam O'Prey is the Group Marketing Manager for the CBSL Group in the UK. Providing maraketing, telemarketing and internet marketing services to clients.
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