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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/
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