The Lead Generation / Telemarketing Blog: Lead Generation Company

Understanding The Fundamentals Of Selling

Generating leads is a vital part of the sales process. To help you get a better understanding of how to generate profitable sales leads, here are a few words to help you get a better understanding of the fundamental elements of selling.

Prospecting

Prospecting is essentially planning and researching. There are plenty of tried and tested clichés batted around warning you about the perils of not planning. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” is my favourite. But however worn out that saying is, it offers concrete advice.

The first stage in the selling process is research. Or prospecting.

This pre-sales research can be done from your desktop. It involves gathering as much information about your prospective client as possible. You can use search engines, news stories and social media to gather insight and background information on a prospect.

When prospecting, pay particular attention to how your product or service can provide a benefit to your potential customer.

Does it help them streamline a complicated process, saving them money?

Does it help them gain market share by doing something their competition doesn’t?

Once you’ve established how you can specifically help your prospect, the next part of the research stage is discovering who the key decision makers are. Make sure you aim for c-level and directors. It is far easier to be referred downwards than upwards.

Here’s an acronym to help with your prospecting:

MANACT

M – Money. Does a budget for exist? Can you create a business case for one?

A – Authority. Who is the key decision maker? Who will sign off on your proposal?

N – Need. What specific business need are you helping to fix?

A – Action. As the sales person, what future actions can you prepare for now?

C – Is the deal competitive?

T – Create a series of time bound events, leading to the sale being closed.

Presentation

Now you’re fully prepared with your business case, supporting facts and figures and an appointment with the relevant people within your prospect’s organisation, it’s show time.

The presentation really has three main functions.

It provides you with an opportunity to learn more about your prospect’s business needs, in a face to face environment.
It allows you to overcome initial objections immediately.
You can establish a commitment from the client to move forward.

Be sure to keep your presentation concise, relevant and interesting. Focus the content on how your product or service provides the benefits you researched in the prospecting stage.

Also, your prospect will have questions. Lots of them. Prepare sound responses with facts and supporting documents ahead of time. So when you’re prospect says, “we’re looking to move our customer database over to web-based technology, how does that affect what you do?” you can be ready to say, “Yes, we knew you were thinking about this when we read your press release last month. Our product is already compatible with a web-based CRM, in fact we’ve already helped Company XYZ implement a web-based system and they’ve reduced customer complaints by 15%”.

No doubt you’ll agree, it sounds a lot more impressive than, “Erm. Not really sure. Can we get back to you on that?”

Negotiation

Picture the scene… After delivering a series of well oiled, faultless presentations, you’re given the good news that you’ve been selected and your prospect wants to proceed with your company.

It is time to prepare yourself for the next step in the sales process: negotiation.

To minimise the impact of giving aspects of your service away for nothing, try to identify areas your prospect will perceive as high value that you perceive as low value.

Where possible, if you are forced to give something away, get something in return.

Closing

Now the negotiations have been finalised and both you and your prospect are happy, closing the deal is the only thing remaining.

And considering all the hard work that’s gone into making a deal perfect for both parties, it should be relatively straightforward.

So here are 3 simple things you can do to help close your new deal:

Stay in control. Make sure it is you driving the contact and next steps.
Don’t let the conversation go quiet. Always have a ‘reason to call’ and keep momentum
Invite the CEO to close the deal; they just love doing the final deal!

August 6, 2010 – 7:35 am

By Gary | Posted in sales leads | Tagged sales leads | Comments (0)

10 Things You Can Do To Maintain Momentum In Your Sales Cycle

So, you’ve had your first meeting with that sales prospect you’ve wanted to speak to for a while. You think the meeting went well and your potential dream client was saying all the right things. You left feeling confident but…

Now what?

What Actions Can You Take To Drive The Sales Process Forward?

There are many things you can do to build on the momentum of a successful initial sales meeting and avoid the dreaded, “We’re waiting for the client to get back to us” sales-sapping blackhole of no-return. But here are our 10 favourites:

1. Establish a reason for a follow-up meeting

Don’t just follow up with an email to answer your prospect’s questions. Instead schedule a meeting where you can teach, show or demonstrate your answers.

2. Have a better understanding of your prospect’s procurement process

Does your contact need to go through a complicated buying process? Learn how you can help make it easier. Find out exactly what your prospect needs to allow them to place an order without any hiccups.

3. Get buy-in from the people controlling the purse-strings

Providing a sound business model and examples of the sort of return on investment is how you can make sure the Financial Director is on your side.

4. Engage the C-Suite

Often the CEO or other C-level Director is the key to successfully turning your prospect into a loyal customer. Sometimes you need to target your sales pitch at what interests them.

5. Don’t forget the Techies

Arrange meetings with technical support/Design teams within your prospect’s company. Show them how to integrate your product, make them feel comfortable knowing support is available to them.

6. Drip-feed relevant PR and product news

Has your product just added Chinese language support which will let your customer access a whole new market? Does your widget now work on the iPad? Share these informative news stories with the right people in your prospect’s company.

7. Provide references and case studies

There’s no better way to make a prospective client feel assured you can deliver. Show your prospect how your product helped XYZ company increase sales and reduce their cost per transaction.

8. Invite the prospect to your office

Introducing your prospect to your team and welcoming them at your offices is a simple yet extremely effective way of making them feel they are part of your business. After all, people like doing business with people they like.

9. Use their competitors

Research heavily into what your prospect’s competition is doing. Show them how they could be falling behind, or better, how they can be creating a competitive advantage over their immediate competition.

10. Understand your competitors

It’s very likely your competition is also speaking with your prospect. Never bad-mouth your competition, instead be able to show how your product or offer is superior.

Right, there you have it: our 10 favourite things to keep the momentum in your sales cycle.

Of course, there are 100s more. And a combination of any of them could be what works for a particular prospect.

What Would Be Your Top Ten?

Are there any glaring omissions from the list? What tactics do you use to keep your sales cycle spinning?

Send us your ideas and we’ll showcase them, and your success, right here.

July 13, 2010 – 11:09 am

By Gary | Posted in Lead Generation, sales leads | Comments (0)

6 Reasons Why Outsourced ‘Pay On Results’ Lead Generation Is Easier Than Having An Internal Sales Team.

Some companies we speak to, and in fact nearly all as they mature, will turn to in-house telemarketing and sales lead generation functions.

Why?

It’s probably a control thing.

Most organisations want to shape their own sales destiny, and not leave it in the hands of a third part supplier.

Natural evolution is another reason. As companies evolve, their professional sales departments need to evolve and grow with them. You need a good ‘internal sales‘ learning ground to breed the next generation of field sales people.

Past a certain point in their persuasion we can’t stop companies brining telemarketing ‘in-house’. But we can still present the reasons why we think it might not be the best idea.

Before we can help you understand why outsourced lead generation works, you need to appreciate just how difficult establishing an in-house sales team can be.

Here’s our thoughts on some of the challenges faced by companies looking to develop internal sales lead generation functions. You’ll see the process poses difficulties and problems right from the beginning.

1. Recruiting The Right Internal Sales Person

Okay picture the scene, you decide the way to grow your business is by hiring an internal sales person. There’s just a few hurdles to get over: You’ve got no sales people. You’re not a sales person and you’re not really sure what they should be like.

Sounds impossible from the start, yes?

Well it’s the situation most growing technology and digital media businesses find themselves in when they move from relying on word of mouth and referrals to grow onto creating sales with outbound sales and promotion.

Unless you’ve worked in sales-driven organisations, amongst true sales people, it will be very hard to know what to look for.

In most situations we have seen, the recruitment process fails to deliver the right amount of quality short listed candidates, normally because the job role was written poorly. Right from the start, you’ll have to chose from ‘the best of a bad bunch’ for your new sales person.

So, often the most outgoing and pushy person wins out.

Being outgoing is only one of a much wider set of skills needed. A great sales person should be outgoing as well as confident, systematic, analytical and many others. Being pushy is probably one of the traits you least want in a sales person.

All this means that your company’s leap of faith into the sales world is starting with the recruitment of what seems to be a good ‘sales type’ person. In truth that person is likely to be a long way from what is really required.

(You can see ‘what to look for in a sales person in an upcoming post. Subscribe to our RSS feed so you don’t miss it)

2. Training Your New Sales Person

Just for a minute, imagine you’re the new sales person. And it’s your first day in your new telesales job.

“Here you go: Your desk, your PC and the phone – off you go!’

Sounds extreme but believe me: I’ve been there.

Many internal telemarketing functions are set up by non-sales people. Normally they have a preconceived idea the new sales person will be a ‘go getter’, who will magically start delivering qualified sales leads to the company.

True, if you’re lucky enough to find a gem of a telephone sales person then, yes, this might work. But whoever they are, they will require in-depth training. Before they can start making calls, your telesales person will need a solid understanding of your company, its proposition and, most importantly, the outbound sales techniques that work best in your industry.

Who is going to train them? I hear you ask.

It is unlikely to be the technical/creative/production manager or director that’s trying to create the new function.

Unless the trainer has been in direct sales roles and understands what’s required in a ‘cold calling’ function, you’re setting it up to fail.

3. Keeping Your Sales Person Motivated

Sales people are strange folk. Many outside of the profession consider sales people to be fundamentally motivated by greed and money. Whilst remuneration is never far away from their thoughts I can honestly say I’ve never met a sales person whose primary concern is building their bank balance.

Sales people are generally driven by:

Professional pride (of a job well done)
Satisfaction (of developing a sale and contributing to the success of the business)
Recognition (of management and peers)
Reward

4. Managing, Coaching & Mentoring A Sales Person

Ok. So you’ve been lucky enough to find a natural sales professional, who took to your industry, products and customers like a duck to water. Now you face an even bigger challenge.

How do you manage a sales person in the long term?

As mentioned many times already, sales people are a unique bunch. And therefore, managing their results, coaching their performance and developing their skills is extremely difficult at the best of times. If your company doesn’t already have an experienced, successful sales manager it becomes nearly impossible.

When a sales person isn’t managed, coached and developed in the right way, you’re soon left with a sales person who’ll quickly be looking for their next challenge – often in the job section of the local paper.

5. Recognising & Reward A Sales Person’s Achievements (read: Commissions!)

It’s widely known most sales people are rewarded for their efforts by commission payments on top of their basic salaries.

Commission structures can be complex: Complex to design and complex to administer.

If your company has never had an internal sales person before, it is unlikely your office systems are designed to cope with a commission earning employee and your payroll person will also start asking awkward questions when their workload suddenly increases.

6. Providing The Camaraderie A Sales Person Needs To Succeed

Like most other people, sales-types are herd animals. They enjoy the competition, support and banter that comes with working in an existing team of other sales people. The desire to out-perform their colleagues is often what pushes them to achieve their best results.

When a business is experimenting with an internal sales role, the gamble is a small one. So the sales person finds that they are alone. Like a horse in a herd of cattle. Usually, after a while, the horse goes looking for other horses to run with.

Outsourced Lead Generation Sounds Like An Appealing Alternative

Now you’ve seen how fraught with danger, the in-house option is, I’m sure you’ll be considering outsourcing your lead generation a bit more seriously.

Using a professional lead generation business is easier because:

You don’t have the pressure of hiring the right people

All of our Business Development Execs are trained professionals, experienced in the latest sales techniques.

You don’t have to train someone in the art of lead generation

Finding businesses more sales leads is our passion. To help our client’s increase their top-line sales, we constantly learn and test the latest in telesales, e-mail and social media lead generation techniques.

You don’t have to bear the financial strain of an internal sales team

By outsourcing to a lead generation company, you can save on the salary, commission, NI, expenses and other costs associated with hiring a full time employee.

Need More Information About Pay-On-Results Lead Generation?

Take a look at our lead generation page or read about some of the clients we’ve already helped with outsourced business development.

June 15, 2010 – 7:37 am

By Gary | Posted in Lead Generation, Pay On Results | Tagged Lead Generation, sales leads | Comments (0)

Do You Feel Like Finding More Sales Leads Is Like Looking For A Needle In A Haystack?

“Find me some red hot sales leads!” is something we hear a lot. If we had a pound every time a client said they were struggling to find hot sales leads, we’d be rich.

Recalibrating What You Expect From A Lead Generation Agency

As a lead generation agency, we speak to a lot of people, like you, who need to put more leads in their sales pipeline. But you might be surprised to know, the first thing we need to do it recalibrate expectations about what to expect from a professional lead generation agency.

The reason we have so many of these conversations is that most telemarketing companies promise so much but deliver very little. When speaking to other telemarketing companies, you’ll be promised heaps of ‘hot sales leads’ but in reality, you find out the number of leads promised will be a lot less than you might think. Here’s why…

How To Start Looking For That Elusive Sales Lead

First up, finding a customer who is ready to buy your product or service within a short time frame is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Trust me, the only way to even get close to success would be a harsh numbers game of a hundred cold calls a day, five days a week – and even then our experience shows the return might be less than three opportunities.

Imagine, spending your whole week on the phone and uncovering only three sales opportunities; The work itself is tough and offers little reward to the person wading through the database.

There’s a second problem too. By definition, if you’ve found someone ready to buy it follows that they are some (if not all) way down the line in their purchasing/evaluation process -so it’s likely that you’ll be entering the game at half-time with other alternatives already well placed with their sales strategy and client influencing.

Not really where you want to be.

An Alternative Method Of Lead Generation: Try Kissing Some Frogs.

The way round this problem is to take a longer term, strategic approach to new client conversations.
By defining and understanding your target sector and customers, you can embark on a structured approach to identify (over time) who you would like to be speaking to and within which companies.

New business development should have a long term strategy attached to it, not be dependent on finding people who are ready and waiting with the cheque book out wanting to place an order.

Instead of desperately hoping to come across a customer, ready and willing with cheque book at the ready, spend time getting to know who and where your customers are. And then invest the effort to get to know them and understand exactly how you can make their life better with your product or service.

Yes, it’ll mean kissing a load of frogs. But it will be much more rewarding in the long term.

Better Understanding Equals More Opportunities For Profit

As you get to know your prospective customers better, you’ll discover ways to cross and up-sell more products and establish a deeper, working relationship – which ultimately, over time, is more profitable.

So, the next time you need to kick-start your new business development efforts, don’t waste time searching high and low for that needle in a haystack. Instead try kissing a few frogs – sooner or later you’ll turn one into a handsome deal.

Have You Used This Approach To Lead Generation?

Granted, not every organisation has the courage to invest in this method of business development – some still insist a needle is well worth the problems that come with looking in haystacks.

But there are some of you, who truly understand and believe in developing mutually beneficial relationships with their prospective clients.

If you are one of the enlightened, please share your experiences, comments and advice in the comments below. Let’s see if we can start a sales lead revolution, right here and now.

May 19, 2010 – 7:39 am

By Gary | Posted in Lead Generation | Tagged Lead Generation, Sales lead generation, sales leads | Comments (0)

Looking for a lead generation company?

Qualifa is a ‘lead generation company’. We’re also a ‘telemarketing company’ and a ‘demand creation agency’ that delivers sales leads, meaning that we help companies communicate their propositions and generate qualified new business opportunities by developing smart lead generation techniques.

We, like most companies are always looking for ‘hot’ sales leads – so if you’re looking to hire a lead generation company here’s some things to think about:

There’s no such thing as a ‘hot’ sales lead (despite what promises some lead generation companies will make).

It’s a simple process but there are no short cuts (despite what most average telemarketing companies will tell you).

Don’t worry, there are some proven ways in which you can increase your sales leads (read on!).

To help you with this here’s some thoughts and information how to find quality ‘telemarketing companies’ who can deliver sustainable ‘sales leads’ to your business. We’ve also linked to some free resources on how to create a successful lead generation function…

It’s our view that:

Cold calling is a bit dated (there’s no such thing as ‘telemarketing companies’ now) – the tried and tested methods of phoning 100 people are day really are over. The Internet provides us with hundreds of smarter ways to research and engage senior decision makers to generate sales leads.

Ignore what firms call themselves (lead generation company, telemarketing company, ‘Hot’ sales leads R Us) – it’s about the lead generation techniques that they use not what they claim to be. Look for those that harness social media to deliver longer term lead generation strategies for their clients.

Traditional telemarketing companies have had their day (you’re going to need to seek out lead generation companies for the Internet age) – check what they talk about, is it cold calling and telesales or sales pipeline management and qualified appointment setting? Ask if they offer a ‘pay on results’ service to generate sales leads.

It’s not Rocket Science – you can develop a successful lead generation function and deliver your own qualified sales leads. It takes creativity, attention to detail, hard work and persistence (and if you’re struggling we’re one of very few smart lead generation companies that can help!)

So here’s what a smart lead generation company does each day to produce quality sales leads for our customers…

We understand your proposition in detail such that we can articulate compelling outbound sales messages.

It’s essentially about creating the elevator pitch but communicated in a short and snappy way. It’s about understanding the client but also the competitors and market forces that impact their supplier research and selection process. It’s about focusing on measurable business benefits and real return on investment to get in front of directors and senior managers at target clients.

We use the Internet and social media to research companies and senior decision makers.

Why keep getting blocked on the phone by receptionists when you can identify key people on-line and even read about what they and their firm are up to? Times have changes and today the Internet means that almost everyone is visible and contactable via social media channels.

We adopt clever and creative lead generation techniques to deliver quality sales leads on a pay on results basis.

Okay so there’s no short cuts here, its still all about creativity, hard work and persistence to generate appointments. But here’s the good part – we are a performance based lead generation company and only expect to be paid for the quality sales leads that we deliver. Risk free telemarketing companies don’t exist – Qualifa can deliver sustainable sales leads where you only pay for those that meet your criteria.

Here’s some further information on sales lead pipeline management and how we deliver lead generation for our clients.

March 15, 2010 – 10:07 am

By Lesley | Posted in Appointment Setting, Lead Generation, Pay On Results, Telemarketing, sales leads | Tagged Lead Generation, Sales lead generation, sales leads, telemarketing companies | Comments (0)

Pay On Results

Traditionally companies looking for external lead generation had one choice; pay a telemarketing company significant amounts of money for expensive ‘campaigns’ with no guarantee of success. With Qualifa there’s now a second more attractive proposition – ‘pay on results’ sales lead generation, where you’ll only pay for qualified new business introductions secured with the right level of contact at your target customer.

‘Pay on results’ allows clients to take a risk free approach to new business, ensuring that any investment in sales leads is guaranteed a return in the form of pipeline business to convert. At the start of any activity we will work with you to establish the criteria for each meeting, ensuring that we both know exactly the type and profile of client you’re looking to meet. If any meetings don’t meet this, we’ll schedule a replacement one free of charge.

Pay on results works for us as an agency too. With telemarketing and lead generation activity it’s vital that we remain focused on delivering for our clients. As we only get paid when we deliver, this way of working continually pushes us to think creatively, try new methods of approach and generally work a whole lot smarter than if we were going to be paid whatever the end result. We won’t lie, there’s bottom line benefit for us too in that (if we’re successful) we hope to generate more than one meeting per day of activity – thus meaning that our efforts are not ‘capped’ by the day rate we are charging.

Pay on results is cost effective, efficient and ensures a sustainable way of working for both parties that keeps us all focused on the objective of delivering a steady stream of sales leads to your business.

March 10, 2010 – 11:12 am

By Lesley | Posted in Pay On Results | Tagged "lead generation companies", Lead Generation, Sales lead generation, sales leads, Telemarketing, telemarketing companies | Comments (1)

Targeted Lead Generation

Qualifa Targeted Lead Generation

Targeted Demand Creation.
In this presentation: What we do. Clients. Our approach. Why us? Meeting examples. Contact us.
What we do: Help digital media and technology businesses engage with more potential customers. We stimulate interest & demand for specific propositions. Facilitate senior level new business introductions. We offer performance based services – no set up fees, no retainers, no overheads.
Clients.
Our approach: Deep understanding of client propositions. Identification of USP’s and differentiators. Intensive research on target sectors and customers. Articulate compelling outbound sales messages. Effective use of social networks and proven prospecting methods.
Why are we different? Unlike traditional telemarketing services we focus on ‘sales intelligence’ to drive results. We only employ highly trained and motivated graduates who are paid on results. All account activity reviewed at Director level on a daily basis to maintain quality It’s about the proposition, research and contacts.
The type of meetings we book… La Senza Petrofac Virgin Atlantic Reed Thomas Cook Monster Nintendo Boden Balfour Beatty News International. We are specialists in major brand introductions and senior level appointment setting.
Contact us call:0203 1950001 enquiries@qualifa.co.uk www.qualifa.co.uk

March 9, 2010 – 1:37 pm

By James | Posted in Lead Generation | Tagged "lead generation companies", Lead Generation, Sales lead generation, sales leads, Telemarketing, telemarketing companies | Comments (0)

Quality Sales Leads & Successful Pipeline Management

Many growing digital media companies say that their main problem is ‘closing’ sales opportunities. They get shortlisted in a competitive pitch and stake the next wave of plans on a one in three chance of winning. The reliance most digital media and technology businesses place on closing a small number of key sales leads presents a big problem – if you lose one, there’s nothing to fill the void.

There’s a tried and tested way of hedging against this situation -successful pipeline management; the more quality leads you have, the more you are likely to win.

Companies need to protect against over-reliance on winning major projects by ensuring that the supporting pipeline is kept full at all times with quality sales leads and consistent lead generation.

So, what is pipeline management?

Typically a 3:1 ratio applies: of three final stage (shortlisted) pitches, typically one will be won. Taking this further back in the sales cycle, the ‘times three’ effect is usually accurate. To get three quality leads to the point of final pitch, you’ll need nine sales leads to get to the stage of formal proposal. To get nine to formal proposal, you’ll more than likely need over 20 ‘value proposition’ meetings or presentations. This means you’ll need around 80 quality sales leads in active conversations.

Of course all of this doesn’t unfold overnight. Lead management and maintaining a healthy sales pipeline is ongoing and often has a time frame of three to six months from initial conversation to contract sign off.

With this in mind it makes sense to take a long term view and get strategic about gaining introductions with new business. Setting aside other elements of your marketing and client acquisition strategy (search engines, events & exhibitions etc) the single most effective way to generate quality leads and interest in your proposition is to contact target businesses directly.

To generate leads effectively you will need to articulate sharp hooks which engage the interest of senior level decisions makers; this requires in depth research and a highly motivated sales lead generation team.

The nature of the sales industry is that the top performers are looking to move ‘out on the road’ quickly, moving up the career ladder jumping from company to company. It’s often hard to find and retain a high quality sales professional and therefore maintain quality lead management.

Outsourcing pipeline management can offer an efficient alternative to hiring a full time sales professional. An outsourced sales lead service ensures a consistent level of lead generation, reliably bringing in qualified new business introductions. Qualifa’s recent decision to move exclusively to a ‘pay on results’ model has the added benefit that our clients now take no risk when working with us. If we don’t deliver the senior level introductions that our clients require, there’s no fee.

We understand that as a business grows it will inevitably begin to establish a professional sales function internally, with roles carved out for specific b2b lead generation and account based activity. It’s important however to make sure this growth is managed and continues to hedge against over-reliance on one major deal or on one sales person. Many of our clients choose to continue working for us for this reason; sharing the work load with an out sourced agency ensures their sales pipeline remains full and prevents gaps occurring in the work life-cycle.

March 9, 2010 – 9:44 am

By James | Posted in Appointment Setting, Lead Generation | Tagged "lead generation companies", Lead Generation, Sales lead generation, sales leads, Telemarketing, telemarketing companies | Comments (0)

Sales Acceleration

March 9, 2010 – 7:49 am

By James | Posted in Appointment Setting | Tagged "lead generation companies", Lead Generation, Sales, Sales lead generation, sales leads, Telemarketing, telemarketing companies | Comments (0)

Sales Lead Generation Ideas