We’ve all been there. You generate lots of hype about your event, and everything for the big day has been well organised. But all you end up with is a big space with lots of empty chairs, and piles of uncollected registrant name tags.

It’s not a good look for attendees, and it certainly doesn’t feel good as the event organiser. So, how did you get there?

What you did right

Right event:You had a good reason to hold an event and a compelling story to attract the attention of your target market. It may have been a new product release, a seminar, a webinar, a value-added networking event, a conference or a business celebration.
A good list:You had a list of people to invite. You made sure that they were the right people to contact and you had all their current details.
Meticulous organisation: You completed a run-sheet with all the event tasks, from the venue, catering, speakers, giveaways, agenda, flights and accommodation for out of town speakers, email and/or mailed invites, promotion on social media, a landing page on your website to accept attendee registration, automated reminders,etc. And then you organised it from beginning to end.

So, job done? Well, not quite.

Where it started to go wrong

Using your excellent organisational skills to make sure the event is run seamlessly and professionally, is only half the challenge. The other half is all about getting enough bums on seats to realise a return on investment.

Let’s talk numbers – important ones.

You’d like to have 100 well-qualified attendees turn up on the day. If you expect one person in 10 to accept, your database needs to hold 1,000 targeted contacts. And unless it’s an incredibly compelling event that will attract out-of-towners, they need to be all in the same geographical area to reduce the disinclination to do battle with traffic and travel costs.

Unless you’re Ed Sheeran, you should also anticipate that a staggering 25% of your registered attendees will be no-shows on the day. Even if they’ve paid for their tickets.

While event success can look like a straight numbers game, there are tricks of the trade to improve turnout rates.

So, how do you increase your odds of a good turnout?

We recently worked with The Taupō District Chamber of Commerce and Industry to generate attendees for their first ever large-scale motivational event featuring iconic and inspiring speakers.

The Chamber holds regular after-5 networking events which typically attracts 40-50 attendees. However, this new event was to be something special and pave the way for more.

As well as sending out email invitations, they decided to invest in telemarketing to drive registration numbers and to make follow-up calls the day before to reduce attendee attrition. This was their first ever foray into using telemarketing services.

And it worked a treat.

From a member list of 160 and another 128 non-member contacts we helped them generate an impressive 197 attendees on the day.

But it wasn’t a high-risk strategy for them, as they trusted our abilities and capabilities.

Our 3 secret weapons

One – Software: Unlike lots of other lead generation businesses who are wedded to spreadsheets, we use dedicated software which provides real-time reporting, so our clients can see how their event numbers are tracking. This gives them time to source more contact lists and step up activities if there aren’t enough registrations.
Two – It’s what we do: While you’d like to think that your sales team or admin staff have the bandwidth and enthusiasm to contact every client and prospect on your invite list to generate committed attendances, it’s not often they have the time to do so on top of their normal work. But for us, it’s our business, and we do it well.
Three – Our people shine. But don’t take our word for it. The Taupō District Chamber of Commerce and Industry got unsolicited feedback from their members on how much they enjoyed talking to ‘the nice lady on the phone’ and that they appreciated the reminder call the day before the event. “In a semi-rural area, it’s that polite, friendly and personal touch that impresses people. More so than an easy-to-ignore email. Thanks, Hot Leads!”

If you’d like to find out more about how we helped The Chamber have a successful and ‘event-full’ day you can read more here.

April 30, 2018/by Lisa Barker

So, you’ve done one successful lead gen campaign. That’s no excuse to relax!

Blog posts, Cold calling, Lead generation, Telemarketing

One of the most short-sighted things you can do in business is to rest on your laurels once you’ve completed a successful sales campaign. And it’s also a waste of the time, money and effort you’ve invested in getting that far. Rather than making a cold start each time you get worried about sales revenue, it’s easier to build on the momentum you’ve already achieved.

Doing it right

The Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand are an organisation who know how to do things the right way. As they’re a registered charity, and reliant on the kindness of corporate sponsors and empathetic individuals, they are careful to only invest in activities which help them meet their objectives. So, when they signed up in 2015 to become part of the global Steptember initiative they had a tight marketing budget, and an ambitious fundraising goal firmly in mind.

Building up the steps

Steptember challenges everyday people to walk 10,000 steps a day for 28 days over – you’ve guessed it – September of each year. The programme has already raised almost $9.5M worldwide through corporate sponsorship, with our wonderful Kiwi corporates contributing nearly a million dollars to that total.

To start with, the Society allocated us a small part of their Steptember marketing budget to provide telemarketing support for their other activities. This was the first time they’d ever used a lead gen company, so they were happy to start with a conservative approach.

And it worked. We made our 10% of their budget go a long way!

For every dollar the Society spent with us, we raised $10 of corporate sponsorship for their cause. In fact, telemarketing turned out to be the most successful tactic in the Society’s Steptember marketing kit.

As you can imagine, they were happy and impressed and could see the strategic value in enlisting our services on an ongoing basis.

Let’s do it all again!

By the end of last Steptember’s campaign (see what I did there?) our telemarketing efforts had raised almost $15 for each dollar the Society spent with us. That equals 53% of their total Steptember revenue for 2017.

While we’re always happy to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, we credit the success of Steptember in NZ to the Society’s ability to look beyond their year-by-year success. They accurately measured the results of their marketing activities and saw how they could continue the fundraising momentum gained through previous telemarketing efforts. And they built on it.

As I said, they’re smart – you can Steptember

Takeaway

“It’s easier to grow your business by building on existing success. And if you’re not successful to start with, then find better a better toolkit.”

And you can quote me on that.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

PS: If you’d like to give the Cerebral Palsy Society of NZ a helping hand then step right up! You can make a donation here, or preregister your interest for Steptember

March 19, 2018/by Lisa Barker

Why telemarketing works for Jane

Blog posts, Lead generation, Telemarketing

Last week you met John. He reckons telemarketing doesn’t work. But if that’s the case, why do so many other business owners, sales and marketing managers, and entrepreneurs swear by it as a highly successful lead gen activity?

Meet Jane.

She runs her own successful business and sees telemarketing as a smart strategy for growing her client base. She already outsources several of the key business processes, like the day-to-day accounting and digital marketing activities. She says that for her, these tasks are more cost-effective and efficient when given to professionals.

Jane’s keen to gain more clients. She’s going to do a lead gen campaign which combines social media and telemarketing to introduce prospects to her services and products.

As we did with John, let’s think of Jane’s telemarketing campaign in terms of a running a race. An event which generally requires training, strategy, and commitment.

On your mark, Jane

First off, Jane needs a list. She already has a great, up-to-date client list in her CRM (because she recognises the value of keeping her data valid and current), but it’s new clients she’s after.

Jane has a plan. She’s going to:

a. Establish who she wants to attract as new clients. Jane’s had considerable success converting the owners of medium-sized businesses into clients, and she understands their needs and the tangible benefits she can offer them. So, she’s going to look for prospects in similar industries, and around the same size. As she likes to visit her clients regularly and in person, she’s going to stick to her immediate geographic region to minimise the cost of travel. She’s also going to target the same prospect list through a LinkedIn campaign to help boost response rates. Great start, Jane!

b. Work with a professional list procurement company to buy (or rent) a fully detailed database rather than potentially waste hundreds of hours building her own list. After all, that’s time she could profitably spend elsewhere in the business.

Get set, Jane

Then, she’ll put together a team of people to represent her business and her valuable brand to the world. Jane’s already worked out how she’s going to do that. She runs a lean internal team, and needs them to keep their eyes on the business-at-hand, so she’s going to outsource.

She’s going to:

a. Do some research. Ask around, look for verifiable references and quantified proof of performance from small, medium and large customers.

b. Meet with several lead generation companies. Ask some hard questions about set up fees, where the team is based, their local business knowledge and skill base, how long the campaign should take, and how it can be improved. She’s looking for value, advice and performance.

c. Choose a partner who reflects her own approach to doing business. Someone who takes pride in their business, and invests time in understanding her business. A partner who has people who don’t parrot a script, but instead deliver well-qualified (and therefore high-value) opportunities through intelligent and engaging conversations. And someone she can trust with her most important asset – her brand.

d. Establish and agree on clear campaign objectives and outcomes, and insist on regular reporting and account management. She’s also make sure they will work closely with her external digital marketing consultant to align their efforts.

And go, Jane, go!

Once Jane’s got her list, and her team sorted, there’s the campaign strategy. For this campaign, she’s already decided that she wants more clients who are ‘like’ her top 20% existing clients.

So, what to offer them?

a. More of the same! Although there are plenty of options, Jane already knows what her most appealing products/services are for the group she’s targeting. She’s confident that once she makes a new sale, she’ll develop a long-term relationship with that client and have lots of opportunities to cross-sell. Jane’s a pretty smart cookie.

The after-race party

Jane will cross the finish line in great time, then drink champagne and dance on the after-race party podium.

And I can predict that her takeaway lesson after the event will be: Telemarketing worked for me. (But then, I put in the effort to define my target market, my offer and find the perfect lead gen partner).

Post-race analysis

Jane doesn’t believe in failure. She believes in reaping the rewards of doing things properly, like her approach to defining her prospect, choosing a team of well-trained, high-performing business professionals to represent her company, and developing a sure-to-succeed offer. And she’s going to end up with a substantial sales pipeline.

In a nutshell

Be like Jane. Give the task to us; you’ll get a winning outcome. And sorry John, but there’s no time for also-rans in today’s competitive business world!

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

December 11, 2017/by Lisa Barker

Why telemarketing won’t work for John

Blog posts, Cold calling, Lead generation, Telemarketing

Meet John. He wants to do a telemarketing campaign. He’s never done one before; he’s not even sure if it’s going to work. But he wants to do it right now, and most definitely on the cheap. So, he’s going to organise it himself.

Let’s think of John’s telemarketing campaign in terms of a running a race. An event which generally requires training, strategy, and commitment.

On your mark, John

First off, John has to procure a list which will be a goldmine of up-to-date contacts, and all their details.

John’s going to:

a. Use that old spreadsheet list. He’s not sure how old the list is, and what permissions are in place for its use. To be honest, John doesn’t really know which companies are still around, if the same people work there – or sadly if they are even alive.

b. Purchase a list from someone who just won’t stop spamming him. Hey, it didn’t cost much so nothing to lose.

c. Extract a prospect/client list from the CRM or finance software. No-one has actually kept it current, but he reckons it can be updated on the go.

Get set, John

Then, he needs to put together his team. The people who will represent his business and his brand to the world. How will he source them?

He’s going to:

a. Look around the office to identify who doesn’t seem to be busy and start there. Perhaps his receptionist could make calls, or he could get a high school or university student in over the holidays or after class? And he or his sales guy could write a script.

b. Outsource the calls. He’s heard about a contractor/company who offers very keen prices. He’s not quite sure where they’re based, or how good they are. But does it really matter as long as they call everyone on the list? It’s a numbers games, he reckons, so the odds are they have to make some wins.

And go, John, go!

John’s got his list, and his team, but then there’s the campaign strategy. He wants to generate sales and appointments.

So, what to offer them?

a. Everything! The perfect prospect will want to know all about what John’s business does and buy every product and service he offers. Or at the least be interested enough to listen to a long call to find the one thing that could be of interest. Yeah, right.

b. A super-hot price or giveaway. How about a cut-throat, never to be repeated offer? Sound too good to be true?

c. Sell ice to Eskimos. Can never have enough, right? And don’t forget, it’s a numbers game, so the telemarketer will have to strike it lucky eventually.

The after-race party

Well, we can guarantee that John won’t make the after-race party. He’ll barely get off the starting block. And his takeaway lesson (the one he will share with everyone who cares to listen): Telemarketing doesn’t work.

Post-race analysis

John is doomed to fail. Without a decent list he’s wasting time and effort. With poor quality and/or inadequately trained low-cost resources his prospects won’t engage. And by not thinking through an offer carefully tailored to his target market, the campaign conversion rate will be low. Instead of saving, he will waste time, money and effort doing a lousy job.

You know where I’m going with this. The results you get from telemarketing are dependent on the investment you make. And that isn’t just a financial investment, but doing the research and planning to make every campaign a winning one.

In a nutshell

Give the task to us; you’ll get a different outcome! We’re fleet of foot, nimble and always get to the end in great time! And we leave the Johns of this world to eat our dust.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

December 5, 2017/by Lisa Barker

We set our recruitment bar high. Would you make the cut?

Blog posts, Cold calling, CRM, Lead generation, Telemarketing

We are the best paying lead generation company in New Zealand. Our clients have high expectations of us, so naturally, we have equally high expectations of our people. It will come as no surprise that we’re super picky about who joins our team.

Why? Well, we recruit people who differentiate us from the big, impersonal New Zealand-based or offshore call centres, and help us achieve results our clients can count on. They are the ‘face’ of our business, so we can’t afford to settle for the wrong person. We also like stayers, people we can invest in.

Every time we place a recruitment advertisement we receive hundreds of applications. But volume doesn’t mean quality, so there have been times where we’ve hired no-one at all.

What do we look for?

Great communicators. Our people have impeccable oral and written communication skills. They talk clearly and very confidently, and are easy to understand. They enjoy engaging with prospects; it’s not forced. Their maturity and professionalism shines through – these are people you can trust. And when they need to send a follow-up email it’s always grammatically correct and professional (yet friendly).

Keyboard ninjas: As part of our work we collect a lot of contact names, email addresses, phone numbers, job titles, mailing addresses, etc. These can be for lead generation or database cleansing projects. Data accuracy is crucial in our business, so excellent alpha and numeric keyboard skills are a must.

Attitude adjusted: We don’t hire students. They may be bright, lovely and enthusiastic, but we prefer our team members to come ready seasoned with exposure to the world of business, and with the EQ you only get from years of successful adult interaction and negotiation. With that knowledge comes a natural confidence and genuine empathy that you just can’t fake. Our people usually have a background in business sales/telemarketing, so they have the skills and aptitude to hit the phones running.

Self-starters. Being self-motivated is a biggie. Our team members work from their own homes, so they are disciplined and focussed. We expect our people to be at the top of their game all the time, so our working week is just 25 hours. Traditional call centres operate 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, but you can bet that their efficacy in generating opportunities goes down the longer they are on the phone. We prefer to avoid burnout – fresh is best!

Flexible and fabulous: Sometimes we need to switch campaigns at short notice. Our team members have to jump on to a new campaign, or split the effort on a project someone else is working on. The ability to absorb information and get up to speed on the spot is critical. Our people not only need to act as motivated individuals but as supportive team players.

IT’s so hot right now: Many of our team have experience in the IT sector – the technology sector is one of our sweet spots. So, while not vital, IT’s nice to have!

As with anything in life, it’s people who make a world of difference. And our guys all have an awesome attitude. As a team we celebrate each other’s wins, share experiences and take on board lessons learned. We’re all about making every client campaign the best it can be.

PS: If you think you’d make the cut, feel free to reach out to me.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

November 22, 2017/by Lisa Barker

Get Santa’s elves busy on your New Year’s pipeline!

Blog posts, CRM, Lead generation, Telemarketing

I know I blogged on this just a few weeks ago, but seriously, given the time of the year this is a topic worth revisiting.

The New Year period can be sluggish and stressful for many businesses. Staff holidays and shutdown time can take a big toll on company finances, so it’s always critical to get back to business-as-usual as quickly as possible.

With your sales team back in the office and feeling invigorated after a break, there couldn’t be a better time to have a pile of appointments ready and waiting for them to attend. Or a 100% accurate and complete list of prospects to start off your first lead gen campaign for 2018.

Dust off your data, now!

Many of our clients provide us data which has, to be honest, seen better days. For example:

Existing client and prospects lists that haven’t been consistently loved and maintained. People change jobs, businesses move, expand or even stop trading. If you did an audit on your CRM today, how accurate do you think your data will be?
Purchased lists. OK, we know you paid good money for this, but how long ago? And was it a ‘good’ list to start with? Does it have the right contacts, are the companies the right size and sector to make great prospects? If the data is full of holes you need to make a hard call – will your investment ever pay off, or should you walk away and start afresh?

While I may sound like a broken record when I talk about data, it truly is the star on the top of the Christmas tree, (or the Central Otago cherry on top of the trifle). It’s just likely that it needs a good polish up before it pays off!

Existing lists

This is a great example of how to do it right!

We maintain a fund-raising list for one of our not-for-profit clients. When we run the telemarketing component of their annual corporate sponsorship campaign, they realise a $15 return for every $1 they spend with us.

That makes them very happy. And our team love working with clean, up-to-date lists.

We’re not wasting precious campaign time on cleaning up their database. When we start calling it’s all business – and it’s paid off big time for them and the New Zealanders they support.

Purchased lists

List buying is an art.

There are plenty of options, and the quality of information ranges dramatically from one source to another. (Tip: Only use highly reputable list procurement companies who invest in maintaining their data – that way you get a higher ROI. We can help you with this).

If you’re unsure about whether it’s worth pouring more money into a list you’ve purchased, spend an hour doing random calls to check on the quality of the data. This will give you an overview of how much work is required to get the list to a useable standard before committing to using it. You may decide to dump the data, but that’s a decision better made at the beginning of the process than the end.

Quick tip

Don’t put off dealing with your data until after Christmas, do it now.

Start 2018 as you plan to continue, with a strong pipeline well fueled with accurate data. While you may not be keen to work over the traditional Christmas holiday period, we are – and experience has taught us that the people we call at this time are more relaxed and chatty. We have better conversations with them, which leads to better 2018 pipelines for you.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

November 22, 2017/by Lisa Barker

How can you turn lead gen ‘speed-dating’ into a lasting relationship?

Blog posts, Lead generation, Telemarketing

We’ve all seen it happen. Your best friend is newly single, and they embark on all sorts of knee-jerk strategies to quickly find a new beau.

And we see businesses do it all the time too. They run a short-term lead gen campaign to find an instant solution for a current problem.

For example, there’s the ‘I’ve been keeping myself so busy redecorating my new apartment-for-one, that now everything is done, I don’t have anything to look forward to’ problem (aka: “I’ve been so busy doing ongoing work that I took my eye off the ball – and we have nothing new in the pipeline”).

And the ‘I’ve spent all this money on expensive tickets, a designer outfit and a stretch limo but I don’t have a date!’ moment (aka: “We’re running an event, but hardly anyone has accepted our invitation, and we urgently need to round up more attendees to make all the money we invested worthwhile”).

Then there’s the all too common ‘I’ve kept myself so wrapped up in a whirlwind of work-sports-family that I haven’t made room for my old friends, let alone let anyone new in my life’ scenario (aka: “help! I’ve been so focussed on just one client that I’ve neglected my loyal clients and don’t have any prospects lined up”).

And of course, there is always the ‘hey stranger, do you know anyone who would like to go out with me on a blind date?’ challenge (aka: “I’m new in town. How do I meet new clients and establish credibility and profile?”).

A quick fix

While I am being a bit tongue-in-cheek, using a professional lead generation service is a great way to quickly get your message out there and get fast results (think of us as your speed-dating gurus). And of course, the more defined and refined the list of prospects, and the more targeted your messaging and offer, the better outcome your campaign will have. We’ll have you run off your feet with new dates in no time at all.

But we can add even more value by helping you take it that bit further. For example, over the last few years, we’ve worked with the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand to help them raise engagement and sponsorship for their Steptember annual fundraiser. After the first campaign, back in 2015, we rounded up so many ‘dates’ that the project was deemed a complete success. The lead gen budget for 2016 was increased, and we used the 2015 list of prospects and clients to drive even more sponsorship revenue. By taking a more strategic view of dating, and applying contact continuity, the Society was able to revisit old suitors on good terms and happily re-engage with them.

It’s all about timing

You see, just because someone doesn’t want to date you right now, it doesn’t mean they won’t reconsider you further down the track when their circumstances change. Especially when you show that you’re interested, serious, persistent and committed – and have something attractive to offer. That sort of behaviour impresses.

A short-term lead gen campaign is a stepping stone to a long-term relationship if your contacts are nurtured, loved and talked to at regular intervals. By having a team who do nothing but help your prospects (or neglected clients) feel the love, you build a pipeline of new and exciting possibilities, rather than leave behind a trail of broken hearts and missed opportunities.

November 13, 2017/by Lisa Barker

Is running an in-house lead gen team costing you more than you think?

Blog posts, CRM, Lead generation, Telemarketing

We get it. It’s tempting to bring your lead generation activities under the one in-house umbrella to help drive down expenses and maintain control. But before you race out and start recruiting, there are two things you should consider:

1. What is the actual cost of having internal resources that you pay week in, week out?

2. What is the measurable value of building up an in-house lead generation team?

Cost – an internal resource vs. outsourced resource $ checklist

The table below identifies all those costs that are easy to forget about. It’s never just about salaries. Anyway, do the math for yourself.

INTERNAL RESOURCE	IN-HOUSE COST (PA)	OUTSOURCED RESOURCE
Recruitment costs, including training, and initial downtime until resource is up to speed	$	None. Included in hourly rate.
Benefits load (average of 17% of salary)	$	None. Included in hourly rate.
Facilities – rent, power, furniture, internet, kitchen, and bathroom, cleaning, etc	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Training and certification	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Management overhead – including time taken by managers and sales teams to coach and improve the performance of team members (often at the cost of other sales opportunities)/td>	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Hardware – phone, computer, monitors, etc	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Software licensing – CRM, productivity software, telephone system	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Sick leave and company healthcare schemes	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Paid parental leave	$	None. Included in hourly rate
Annual holidays and paid public holidays	$	None. Included in hourly rate
TOTAL COST PER YEAR	$	None. Included in hourly rate
TOTAL COST DIVIDED BY 2000 WORKING HOURS A YEAR	$ PER HOUR	$ PER HOUR

Once you’ve run through this checklist, we’re pretty confident that you’ll find running an in-house team is going to cost you more.

You may be paying for 2000 hours of lead generation activity a year, but can you guarantee that each and every hour is spent on driving sales and nothing else? What if only 75-80% of those hours are productive? How does that impact your cost of sale and bottom line?

But focussing on just costs can be misleading.

Let’s talk about value

Value isn’t about cost. It’s about the return on investment (ROI) you get for all the hard work that goes into building a successful, motivated and high-performing team who generate consistent and predictable telesales results.

It’s about the times between campaigns when there’s not a smooth transition to the next project, and your team is sitting around, trying to look busy and keep morale up. And the wasted hours you’re paying for when they aren’t working.

Or the effort of ramping up your full-time and part-time resource recruitment programme to tackle an extensive long or short-term campaign, and the expense and heartbreak of downsizing your team if you change sales strategies.

And then there’s the boredom factor. While you may find your own company and products endlessly fascinating, focussing endlessly on the same subject can be exhausting for staff, and burnout in these circumstances tends to be high. The results of burnout include increased absenteeism, waning commitment, falling productivity and effectiveness, more conflict with co-workers, and even disruptive behaviour. It’s not surprising that recruitment is a constant activity for some companies!

In a nutshell

We recruit, train and manage lead generation professionals, so you don’t have to.

Due to the variety of projects we undertake, our people are continually learning, so they remained challenged and interested – and stay longer. We provide real economies of scale, so you can run a campaign that spans weeks months, or even years without increasing your own staff overheads.

And most importantly – we make every dollar count. If you pay us for 2000 hours of effort a year, that’s exactly what you get.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

October 30, 2017/by Lisa Barker

Bad telemarketing vs intelligent lead generation

Blog posts, Lead generation, Telemarketing

We know that ‘telemarketing’ has a bad rep.

It conjures up visions of tightly-packed call centres with clinically symmetrical desks, and perfectly aligned dividers. It makes you think of automated dialling systems, and transient individuals who earn minimum wages and have little enthusiasm for the product or service their client has to offer. And it definitely says ‘paint by numbers’ telemarketing scripts.

I’ve got to say it. In these circumstances, the term ‘dynamic team’ is actually code for ‘high staff turnover’, rather than indicating a collective ability for fast thinking.

I call this the churn and burn mentality. Churning through call after call, hour after hour, day after day, as rapidly as possible to get through the numbers in the hope of gathering a few positive results, qualified or not. This type of calling is sadly a hit and miss process which just collects ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. It doesn’t add value for the client, and burns through data, rendering it useless for the future.

It’s not about numbers

We are all about fast, qualified results. Our absolute first tier goal is always to create as many ready-to-action leads for the client as possible in the allocated time. But as well as focusing on meeting our clients’ immediate lead generation objectives, we care about what’s in their pipeline a week, a month, or even a year down the line. And we do this by establishing if a ‘no’ really is a ‘no’.

Therein lies the difference between playing a numbers game with call centre people who don’t care (and aren’t in all honesty, paid enough to care), and engaging with a team of professional lead generation consultants.

You see, in a consultative situation, we don’t believe that ‘no’ means ‘no’.

More often than not, it means “not now”, and that is a hugely different answer. If your lead generation team, whether in-house or externally resourced, don’t pursue a ‘no’ with the same enthusiasm as a ‘yes’ they are essentially destroying the opportunity for a forward-looking pipeline. The value of the ‘no’s’ and the ‘not now’s’ is enormous for a client with vision. Our consultative approach delivers information about competitors, market awareness and above all the ‘when’ of it all.

Double your leads

Through simple, yet brief conversations (as opposed to scripted surveys), we establish a timeline of ‘when’ the prospect may be open to changing or upgrading their current product or service.

We generate immediate appointments, and by also capturing the ‘not yet’ prospects, provide another wave of appointments in the future which, when tracked and nurtured, often doubles the total number of leads generated in the initial campaign. So our clients get twice as much value from their investment in us, and from their data.

Consultation, not churn

After years in the business, I know that the success of lead generation isn’t to do with the volume of phone numbers dialled. It’s about the number of engaging conversations we have with decision makers. We’ve proven time and again that prospects respond more positively to an intelligent, non-threatening dialogue with an experienced sales and marketing consultant who is able to discuss their business with understanding and knowledge than they do to a “5-minute survey” from a script-reading call centre worker.

We believe that our value to you and your pipeline lies in our proven ability to generate instant ‘yes’ results, and our inability to take ‘no’ for an answer.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz

October 14, 2017/by Lisa Barker

What’s the magic number for lead gen cold calls per day?

Blog posts, Cold calling, Lead generation, Telemarketing

The more, the better

There’s the ‘as many as possible’ crowd, who value quantity over quality. We’re talking 100-120 calls per day. And sure, that works, in its own way. But it’s hard work, and apart from a very few exceptional telemarketers, maintaining this call rate is an unrealistic and unsustainable goal unless you are working with an offshore telemarketing sweatshop. And do you seriously think your prospect can’t tell that they are being rushed through a script?

Calling by numbers

Then there’s the ‘based on my careful calculations’ group. This group follows a methodology where time is carefully broken down and allocated to research, talk time, scheduling, adding data to the CRM, scheduling meetings (if that’s the call objective), etc. I won’t bore you with the breakdown details, but this method generally calculates that a telesales person should make an average of 8 cold calls per hour, or around 60 calls a day. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but it places the emphasis on getting through calls as a KPI, rather than getting a higher conversion rate.

Better, not more

Finally, we come to our philosophy which quite simply places the ‘quality of the call over the quantity.’ That’s not to say we don’t get through 50-70 calls a day (because we rock) – but it’s never done by sacrificing outcomes. More often than not, fewer phone calls means a higher level of engagement and longer, more in-depth conversations, equalling a better result. And that’s what we focus on.

Are you getting hung up on call numbers?

Instead of concentrating on the number of outgoing calls, how about turning it around and looking at the number of quality leads generated as your defining metric?

When you’re setting up your campaign KPIs, start at the end of the process. Trying working backwards. Ask yourself what you need to provide in order to make your lead generation campaign more effective.

As part of the process, you will also extrapolate a feel for how many calls potentially need to be made (and therefore your list size), but that should be the upper limit if you ensure that:

Your list is the best it can be. How complete is it? How much time is going to be wasted finding phone numbers or tracking down the right contact? You may recall me saying in an earlier blog on databases that we’ve been provided with lists which are missing up to 30% of the contact phone numbers!
Your offer / product / solution resonates with your target market. Don’t waste time and money on talking to the wrong person, or making an offer which doesn’t fit your target market and their potential needs. Test and refine it if needs be, it’s well worth the small amount of extra effort and expense to guarantee better results.
Your supporting collateral is on the money. Do you have professionally prepared marketing material to support your campaign? Does it reinforce the campaign messaging, communicate the right depth of information to reassure the prospect, and provide them with a mechanism to take the offer further? If someone is too busy to talk, then sending out collateral by email (preferably) or even snail-mail is your second bite of the cherry. It can also measurably boost response rates. And while we’re at it, how’s your website looking? Does its messaging support the campaign, and do you have a landing page where you can allow prospects to ‘buy’ or , and for you to track where your leads have come from?

In a nutshell: There’s more to running a successful lead generation campaign than the number of calls you make. Think better, not more. We do.

October 13, 2017/by Lisa Barker

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