วันศุกร์ที่ 30 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2555

Cold Calling - Cold Calling Techniques That Really Work!

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Call it cold-calling; call it telemarketing; call it sales; telesales; call it lead nurturing. At the end of the day one thing remains common: you want to connect with the person at the other end of the line and sell them something.

Now I'm in a unique position as a marketing professional. Not only do I have the pleasure of working with "inside sales" and developing programs, scripts, etc., I also have the pleasure of receiving many of these "cold calls". As such, I feel a kinship, heck even empathy, for those folks who are on the other end of the line/email when it seemingly appears out of the blue.

I have made it a personal rule over the years that if I don't recognize the incoming phone number, it goes to voice mail. If I do happen to pick up the phone, in a momentary lapse of judgement, you'd better be on the ball. I can promise you, no matter what time it is, I DON'T have a few minutes to spare right now. Offer to book a time and send me some information in advance.

If you REALLY want to talk to me then I need to see the value in it. How will you make my job easier, my day better or my campaigns more successful? Know who you're talking to, both from a business perspective and a persona perspective. Understand my challenges and offer a differentiating alternative.

On the other hand, I do tend to sympathize more than others, since I too am measured on the success of outbound marketing and lead conversion. This means that yes, I may fill out your survey, I might listen to your pitch, I will review (skim) the material you send me and I will probably visit your website.

So if you want to elicit a response from me, here are my top tips:

Do speak slowly and clearly. Spell your name and/or company name if you have to. And for goodness sakes don't whiz through your phone number!Do tell me why you're calling.Do send me a proper calendar invite when I agree to a call. Make sure your contact details are included should I need to reschedule.Do spell-check your email and any attachments you send me.Do have a compelling subject line for your email and make sure the 1st paragraph supports it.Do make sure you know my name and the name of my company.Don't leave a voice mail that says you want to discuss an "opportunity" without giving me some clue as to what it's about.Don't leave your whole pitch in a voice mail. If 10 seconds has passed and you're still droning on, I will hang up.Don't tell me you have done work with IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, etc. Apparently everyone has. It doesn't differentiate you.

Finally, if it sounds like you're reading from a script, if there are lots us "umms" and "errs" then, you guessed it....CLICK.

But here's the good news. If you impress me with your approach and if I see a fit for your product/solution, chances are very high that I will give you an opportunity to quote for my business. And once you win me as a customer, and deliver on your promises, then not only will you have a repeat customer, but you will also have a loyal recommender to a vast network of colleagues and friends.

About Joanne Gore

Joanne Gore has nearly twenty years of enterprise marketing and communications experience, including corporate and small office environments. She is a talented and creative marketing professional, always positive and able to see the big picture. She possesses the organization/prioritization skills which allow her to manage multiple projects from inception to implementation, meeting deadline demands and budgetary constraints.

A true mentor, Joanne marries her passion for marketing with clear, creative feedback and inspiration. Joanne develops lead generation and conversion programs, re-brands product lines, implements social media strategies, manages PR and media relations campaigns, overhauls websites, develops highly targeted marketing campaigns, and delivers results.

Joanne is a marketing geekette by day, a fitness instructor by night, and a mom 24-7.

Email: joannegore@rogers.com
Blog: http://joannegore.wordpress.com/



วันอังคารที่ 20 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2555

Voice Mail As a TeleSales Tool

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Does it seem like voice mail is the bane of your inside sales existence? As inside sales people, we want to be able to directly speak with our decision makers. When we get voice mail after voice mail, it can seem as though we are wasting our calling efforts. Voice mail, however, presents us with some unique opportunities.

For some telesales personnel, the opportunity to say something - anything - to a live person is all that counts. This can be an unwise and wasteful attitude. Used effectively, voice mail is a powerful addition to our telesales toolkit.

The subject of how to handle voice mail effectively is a particular favorite in my training classes. One of my favorite questions to ask a group of people about voice mail is "How many people have received unintelligible or incoherent voice mail messages?" Without hesitation, every hand in the room will shoot up. Here's the rub: it stands to reason that if we all get unintelligible voice mail messages, we are all leaving unintelligible voice messages.

Let's take a look at what make a voice message unintelligible. Many voice mail messages are spoken too quickly, leave no return telephone number and consist of a rambling message. Prepared for properly, there is no reason to be incoherent or inarticulate.

There are steps to take which can help ensure a greater return on your telesales time investment.

Slow down. Probably the biggest offender of poor messaging is speaking too fast. You want people to be able to comprehend your message - and in some cases write it out while listening - the first time they listen to it.

Make sure you leave your first and last name as well as your telephone number twice during the voice mail message. Give your name up front, leave your message, give your telephone number, repeat your telephone number. This allows people to get the pertinent information without having to listen to the message a second time.

To message or not to message. There are two schools of thought. One is just leave your name and number, the other is to leave a detailed message so the person will have enough information and/or reason to call you back. Both have their pluses and minuses. I felt that both techniques can be used, but you must be careful how you use them. Avoid leaving a voice mail message the first 2-3 times you call. Really, your goal is to speak with a live person. If you've tried at different times over a few days and can't reach someone, then it's time to leave a message. The pitfall of just leaving a name and number is when you are called back the decision maker will be turned off when realizing this is a sales call.

Be prepared to call back. Do not expect a call back from leaving a message. Instead, think about building a campaign of messages. Over time, you will have made a great sales case for yourself. Voice mail messaging should be thought of as a radio advertising campaign. You have 30 seconds with your target market to convincingly get your point across.

If you are given a choice by a receptionist, ask for voice mail. Remember messages aren't always passed on. Make your calls in a relatively quiet place. Whether you're actually reaching decision makers or leaving lots of messages, you want to be able to concentrate on your activities.

Create a message outline that includes your name, company name, an interest generating statement and call to action. Finish your message by leaving your telephone number, repeat your number again slowly and thank them for listening.

You should develop several interest gathering statements that you can use sequentially over a period of 3 to 4 calls. Each statement while being short, informative 1 or 2 sentences that give people a reason to call you back, should build on each other. Give people a chance to get to know you.

Remember these basic points: Always use your first and last names. It shows accountability and professionalism. Use area codes with your phone numbers - not everyone is using a phone with an incoming call display feature. Messages should be brief. Message should give reason to call back. Make message an opportunity for a 30 second commercial. Finally, before you even dial the phone: rehearse, rehearse.

Voice mail shouldn't be considered the bane of an inside sales person's job. Used properly, voice mail messaging can be an effective telesales tool.

Jo Ann Kirby is president of KRG Communications Group. She has 20 years experience in inside telephone sales/mgmt & customer service; and an extensive background in training & development. As a coach and motivator of sales people, Jo Ann works with a wide variety of sales positions in different industries. She excels at needs analysis and coaching. Find out more at http://www.krgcommunications.com/ Follow Jo Ann on twitter @kirbyjt



วันอังคารที่ 6 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2555

Improve Sales By Understanding The Difference Between Customers And Buyers

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Customer and buyer are two terms used interchangeably but businessdictionary.com defines the terms as follows:

Customer - "A party that receives or consumes products (goods or services) and has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers."

Buyer - "Party which acquires, or agrees to acquire, ownership (in case of goods), or benefit or usage (in case of services), in exchange for money or other consideration under a contract of sale."

With the definitions above, it could be said that there is a very thin line that divides the two terms. Customers buy what they want and from whom they want while buyers buy what sellers want them to buy. Another point to emphasize is that customers are not necessarily your buyers.

Applying the first concept above, we could come up with a marketing approach that would maximize profit potentials. Instead of letting prospects buy what they want, make them buy products that you would want them to buy - those with higher profit margin. That way, you convert them from being customers to buyers.

One approach that could be taken is offering of additional products - products that would complement to the product that they bought. The idea is simply having them to spend more on your products. You could even throw out discounts just to entice them into buying more. It would create an impression that the more they buy, the more they save.

On your part, as a business owner, the more they buy, the higher is your profit. Another approach would be making the prospect interested on some other product instead of the product he is planning to buy. This would seem like marketing against your own product which would then result to higher profit.

This might sound difficult, especially to those who are new in the business world but there are options to get around with that. One is by having a marketing consultant and another option is to enlist the entire marketing task to a company that has specialization and experience over the matter. Yes, it would be an additional expense for your company, but it would all pay off in the long run. Return on investment could even be faster if you could enlist a company that would provide you with an above average service at a substantially lower cost.

Going on the second point mentioned above, we have to make it clear that customers are those that consume the products but it is not necessary that they are the one to personally buy it. This leads to two possible target markets - the customers and the buyers. In such scenario, it is necessary to identify who has the buying power. Buying power here does not only reflect financial capability but more importantly, influence over the decision to buy. There are instances wherein the buyer has the buying power. This usually happens if the customer does not have any specific preference over the product. In such scenario, marketing should be directed towards the buyers. Though, it may also be possible for the customer to have buying power. This is observable on products that don't actually have direct value on the buyer. Education, toys, and gifts are just few examples of products wherein marketing efforts should be targeted towards customers.

To sum it up, it is necessary to identify the profit margin of each product that you are offering and try to maximize your profit by pushing for those with higher profit margin. This would then be supplemented by properly directing your marketing efforts to the right target market.

Sheryse Currey
Data Rich Australia - Business Marketing
ABN: 72 884 886 102

Level 15 Corporate Centre One,
2 Corporate Court Bundall QLD 4217

TELEPHONE: +61-730538014
E-MAIL: sheryse@datarichaustralia.com
SKYPE: sherysecurrey