Ian writes:
Therefore in this blog entry I thought that I would do something different and outline the reasons that telemarketing may not have worked in the past, and conversely why you should give it another go.
Fail #1 Your telemarketing partner's staff
This is the most common, and as the owner of a telemarketing agency the most annoying! Picture the scene, you have investigated several telemarketing partners, one sounded great on the phone and said all of the right things so you arrange a meeting. Mr Slick of Slick Telemarketing turns up to your office in his snappy suit and shiny shoes and tells you why he is so great. You, being convinced, sign an order for three months of telemarketing and are totally disappointed when the results don’t appear! The reason the campaign was a failure was that when Mr Slick got back to his office he gave your campaign to an inexperienced junior who has never done a day of sales work in his or her life. But hey they’re cheap and Mr Slick can improve his margin.
Lesson: Always ask if the person you meet will be doing the calling and preferably hold the intro meeting at their office so that you can see and hear their team. That way you can make sure they are what they say, meet the person carrying out your campaign and check out the atmosphere at the same time. Always insist on a pilot and do not sign up to anything you don't feel comfortable with.
Fail #2 Payment by results.
You have decided to use Mr Slick. He operates a payment by results policy, and by golly you will get results. Mr Slick is charging you £100 per lead and £175 per meeting. If he doesn’t make the meetings he doesn’t eat. He doesn’t look like he’s going hungry does he? You on the other hand are losing lots of weight, time and money whilst you’re running all over the country attending pointless meetings. Oh dear!
Lesson: If your telemarketing partner gets paid by results then believe me you will get results, just not results that will make you any money. Choose a telemarketing partner that operates on a reasonable set daily fee. They are motivated by quality and not quantity and are not out to make a quick buck. Companies that are confident in their ability will give you an easy ‘out’ clause in the contract, that way if it doesn’t work out they’re history, and you don’t waste £££ you haven’t got to spare.
Fail #3 Your product is too cheap and your sales cycle is too long
You’re selling your widgets at 50p a go, Mr Slick will get you so many appointments with high fliers that will buy millions of them that it is clearly worth investing in the campaign. Great, let's book a huge campaign, sign here! Mr Slick organises you five meetings at £175 per meeting. How many widgets do you have to sell to make that money back, or make a profit? Oh dear! The meetings you go to may want to buy a few widgets, but not just yet, probably In a year or two. Ouch!
Lesson: Telemarketing works best for products or services of a medium to high value with a sales cycle that is not impossibly long! Unless the product is valued at seven figure sums then the sales cycle may take a little longer (we have worked on these campaigns ) Mr Slick should have told you that it was unlikely to work and advised you to cold call for yourself or offered you some basic training. He should have told you to keep your money, but unfortunately he likes your money more than he likes you or your business!
Fail #4 You have a very successful campaign but either you or your team don’t follow up the results properly.
Lesson: Make sure you follow up properly!!
At Telemarketing Matters we have always used qualified field sales people to carry out all of our calling. They have been out doing it for themselves. We also pay our staff very well and take care of them. We have a great team here. We’re in the game to help our clients, not take their money. We sometimes turn projects away if we believe that they will not be successful; we always tell the client why and offer advice. So the biggest lesson here I guess is that if you want a reputable telemarketing company with great results you should call 01223 459550 right now!
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