When we first launch a new product, start a new business or employ a new sales person we lay into our database with all of the fervour of a world title contender. We make notes, schedule call backs, send out proposals and as a result close a lot of business. However as time goes on and our businesses develop, it's likely that we will spend far more time serving existing clients than developing new ones. I have seen this happen many, many times. Sometimes you don’t even realise that it’s happening until you notice that the Startup competitor round the corner is employing twice the number of staff that you are, with treble the turnover.
It’s an accepted fact that in the region of 80 percent of the contacts on any one company's CRM system are left to stagnate, whilst the 20 percent that are active are maintained. How can you achieve any growth in this situation? Are you in this situation and giving away up to 80 percent of the business you could have?
We have a strategy of each team member spending at least one day per week cold calling for us. That’s an average of four days for each team member per month, or 48 days per team member per year, which totals (if you have ten staff) 480 days per year. This strategy has worked continually for the past nine years.
Not all companies are in a position to spend time on new business development, or lack the skill, persistence or mind set needed to develop new business. If you are one of these, then do call us. Telemarketing is a fantastic method of driving new business, and also maintaining your database (if you don’t maintain your database in the region of 40 percent will be out of date in less than six months) People move jobs, new contacts start and relationships need to be maintained. Telemarketing does all of these things and more.
In conclusion, if you’re not spending time on new business, you should start. If you do not, your business will not be sustainable in the long term.
TPS Checking
Remember that if you hold any data at all you must register with the information commissioner’s office and also TPS check your data every 28 days. If you don’t and call a barred number you could face a six digit fine. Just to clarify, it is a legal requirement that EVERY business that holds telephone numbers MUST TPS check its data every 28 days. If you can’t do this, don’t worry because we can.
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How much business are you giving away to your competitors?
22 April 2014
Ian Titchener, Director of Telemarketing Matters, writes: If you’re looking at this and thinking nothing, then how about answering this question before you answer the last one: How many of the contacts on your database have you spoken to within the last 12 months? I’m willing to bet that the first question now has a different answer!