Leadership Traits That Inspire Loyalty In Your B2B Telemarketing Team

Loyalty – the one quality that many business owners and managers want to develop in their employees. This is also the quality that compels marketers to stick to their bosses through difficult times, convincing them to look for viable answer to many B2B telemarketing concerns. Well, you have to admit that generating qualified sales leads through this medium could be a pain. And not many people will stay working for you, what with all the pressure and challenges that they will have to face here. It is your job, as the leader, to inspire loyalty in your people. Mind you, doing that is no walk in the park, but if you know what to do exactly, then you will be on your way to a productive appointment setting campaign.

Let as look at the following, for starters:

1. Be honest – nothing can be more inspiring than being honest with your people. I know, this may sound cliché, but you have to admit that leaders who can remove ambiguities and promote accuracy and openness in the office are the ones who are most likely to succeed in fostering respect and loyalty from their employees. So try to keep that in mind as well

2. Stick to the job description – when you hired someone, you hired them specifically for the job you have in mind. Making them do things that go beyond their job description not only results in poor results (if that employee lacks the proper skill for the new job) but also resentment from your employees. Think of what would happen if you put your researchers in a big-time telemarketing job. They would not like that.

3. Get real – basically, you remove the barriers that keep people from interacting and working together. You know you have something good if people collaborate and contribute towards a better lead generation process. I mean, you can only get that if all the inputs from other members of your company share their thoughts to the one making the marketing plans. Some might even get the courage to go straight to you and share their marketing ideas.

4. Show fairness and openness to everyone – simply put, you want to be transparent, whether it is about that needed to be done or the problems that your company is experiencing. You have to show them that you are someone who appreciates good work and is not reserved with the praise, or critical analysis and advice in case things go wrong.

5. Do not tell them, show them – action speaks louder than words, so to speak. That is how you teach employees how things are done in the office, and in the way you prefer. Sure, you can let them do things their way, but you have to make sure that everyone is heading to the direction you desire.

Having loyal employees is very important in your B2B telemarketing campaign. Try following these tips and you will be able to keep your employees working for you. This is a good investment.

Who Is Better At B2B Lead Generation? An Expert Or A Consultant?

You know that marketing is no easy job. Customer trends and tastes change all the time. And it is up to you to make sure that your B2B lead generation campaign becomes successful. Now, as a marketer, approaching potential sales leads requires that you know how to deal with them best. Basically, you have to assume one of the two common roles that appointment setters make: an expert or a consultant? But here is an interesting part, which of these two roles will fit you? Understanding whether you are an expert or a consultant can affect your marketing style. So, which is which?

  

1.    An expert will tell you what to do, while a consultant asks what you might do – Some business prospects do not like being told straight to their faces of what they should or should not do. Consultants, on the other hand, may not be able to get much, especially if the B2B leads prospects they are talking to are not exactly sure of what they should be doing in the first place.

2.    An expert starts a trend, a consultant follows it – honestly, there is nothing wrong about being a trend-setter. What makes it a problem is when it backfires on you, especially if the trend you want to create actually messed up your lead generation campaign. You might as well observe the trends and deal with what you see.

3.    Experts explain the facts, consultants learn facts – business prospects find it harder and harder to analyze the facts and get things straight, so most of them would love to have someone who could make things easier for them. Experts can do that. But consultants are pretty good as well. They just spend more time studying the market and getting the facts straight. Now that would take a lot of time, but it is worth it.

4.    Experts bring a lot of things in, consultants do not bring much – since experts are pretty much knowledgeable of how the market works, it is only natural that you would be telling them everything they should know about. In the case of consultants, they would want to know more about your business first before they can give a concrete answer. There are a lot of problems and issues that may not be seen by experts that consultants might be able to point out. But still, it may work the other way, depending on the business you have.

5.    Experts talk, consultants ask – knowledge is power, so to speak, and in a B2B telemarketing campaign, you need to know how your prospects prefer to be talked into business with. Do they want to hear what you have in mind, or do they prefer someone who listens to their concerns?

Think about it. This might affect your decision on what exactly is the kind of b2b lead generation specialist you are going to be. You can bet that your approach to sales leads prospects will be influenced by the way you deal with them.

How To Prioritize B2B Lead Generation Tasks

As a business owner or manager, it is understandable if you want to generate the most number of IT sales leads for your company. The IT industry, while profitable, is also the most competitive. A lot of IT companies rise and fall every day, and only the strength of their products and the skills of their B2B lead generation team is what keeps the ones who survive afloat. And with all the things that you have to deal with, you cannot just cover everything in a single day. You need to learn how to prioritize. Otherwise, you would be stretching yourself so thin you have to chance to recharge or recheck your bearings. Now that would be more damaging to your IT business. So, how would you prioritize your tasks?

1.    List down your tasks – the main reason why you end up so overwhelmed with your work is because you do not know how many tasks you have to fulfill. Take stock of your work load. Only then will you know which one would be the most important in B2B leads generation.

2.    Identify the most draining tasks – to be honest, the one activity that would really drain you would be appointment setting. I mean, this is a process that requires constant monitoring and follow-up. You have to do that one right, before you deal with the rest.

3.    Forget about the perfect time – honestly, there will never be a perfect time to decide on things. You just have to deal with the challenges that get thrown your way. If you need to deal with your IT telemarketing campaign fast, then you really have to deal with it. Delays by waiting for the perfect time will not get you anything.

4.    Try not getting stuck on the big picture – sometimes, looking at the big picture makes you lose focus on the small details. And to tell you the truth, it is the small details that matter in your everyday operations. As a marketer, you should ensure that the small details are properly attended to. The big picture would take care of itself.

5.   Move on – there are so many tasks that you need to do in a single day that you just cannot afford to linger on one that you have just taken care of. If you think of each of these tasks as a sort of stages, one that will get you to your intended goals once the day ends.

6.    Rinse and repeat – basically, you do the cycle all over again the next day. The thing about marketing, and its accompanying tasks, is that the process never ends. You know that there will be more tasks coming up on your plate, and it is up to managers and entrepreneurs like you to put some system or process in place to help you go about your work, every day.

That is how you prioritize your tasks in B2B lead generation campaigns. Your IT business would be in a better spot with this.

What To Do With A “No” During B2B Lead Generation

We have to admit that facing rejections, directly or indirectly, can be troublesome for any B2B lead generation campaign. With the way the business world moves these days, knowing how to compel business prospects to buy from you can be a bit of a challenge. It takes a little convincing and persistence on your part to turn these prospective sales leads into actual business deals. And what if your prospects say no? You have to trust your creativity and resourcefulness in this regards. I know, this is not easy, but if you have a general idea on what to say, then you will know how to proceed on this. Take these as examples:

  

   1.   “Send us some information” – you should quickly comply when your prospect asks you that. Additionally, ask him about what attracted his attention the most. There might be something about your offer that caught his interest. Just do it in the most natural method.

     2.    “We have no ready funds for that” – either this is just an excuse or they really could not afford your offer’s price tag. When that happens, try changing tact. See if, price no longer a factor, they would still seal the deal with you. Maybe a little rearrangement of payment terms will do the trick.

     3.    “That is not my priority at the moment” – you may not be able to make a sale with them, but they can give you useful business data for use at a later date. Ask them about their current priorities. Sometimes, no B2B leads generated now can be turned into more B2B leads later.

     4.   “We already use (competitor’s product)” – now, this is the case where you really are least likely to make a sale, but at least you can ask them about their reasons for choosing your competitor. Who knows what you might learn during your conversation that can help you later on.

      5.    “It just costs too much” – do not feel too bad. Actually this is a sign that they are interested. The only reason they are not signing up yet is the price tag. It may just be simple too expensive or the features and benefits not enough to justify the price. You have to ask so that your telemarketing team can adapt.

      6. “Call me back in (period of time)” – do not worry, this might not be a ‘no’. In most cases, they just simply do not have the time at the moment to deal with you. Just clarify with them why they wish to postpone your meeting. This will give your B2B appointment setting team more time to prepare.

      7.   “Someone else makes the buying decision” – when you hear that, either the person you are talking to is the gate keeper or a lower-level executive who does not have the final say. Just earn their trust and cooperation, then. They might be able to help you connect faster to the real decision-makers.

It is not that bad, if you think about it. Just follow these tips to help turn the flow in your B2B lead generation campaign

Problem-Solving Strategies In Effective Lead Generation

Customer complaints will always be part of your business campaign, and it is up to marketers like you to deal with them and keep them from getting out of hand. Otherwise, you might have some difficulties in your future B2B lead generation campaigns. This is one thing that you have to do right, since social media can be a real downer to your B2B leadscampaign if your prospects check and see that your customers are saying negative things about you. Now that would be a realwrecker for your marketers. This is an issue that you need to take care of. At least there are only three things you need to consider before you go out solving a customer’s problem.

First of all, you need to know just how big the return on your investments will be. 

You see, it is all right to solve a customer’s problem. Indeed, you have to solve it, how else will you be able stay in business, then? The problem here is that some customers are just so hard to please. Dealing with such people not only steals a lot of your time, it also keeps you from your appointment setting tasks at hand. In cases like these, it is best to just solve it to the best of your abilities – and leave it at that. It will not help you to fret over it too much. If it is broken, fix it right. If it is still broken, and fixing it will not get you anything good in return, then you might as well leave it.

Second, are your people properly informed of the customer’s problem? 

With multi-tasking being the norm in a lot of businesses, where a single employee might act both as telemarketing representative and secretary, then you need to make sure that they are aware of what your customers expect from them and how you will address that need. People need to know why they are being made to do things. Setting expectations about their work will help them work better and provide meaning in what they are doing. But you do have to inform them about it. This calls for all your skills in communication to get your message across them.

Lastly, you have to make sure that you are ready for the consequence.

This is especially true if you fail to solve the problem of your customers. If that failure is what prospective sales leads ask you about, then you should have a reply at the ready. Sometimes, explaining things can be a real pain, especially if that failure is a sour point in your business operations, but brushing it aside will not get you anywhere near your goals. Be ready to defend your business, andyour products, in case that happens. It is a necessary part of your overall marketing process.

Trouble with customers and B2B leads is normal. It is how you deal with that that makes all the difference in your lead generation campaign.

Improving Life, Even When Bogged With Lead Generation

Are you aware that B2B lead generation is one of the most stressful jobs that a marketer could ever experience? This is a reality that many will have to deal with. Otherwise, they will not be able to do their jobs at all. While it may be true that this can be a pain, the fact remains that this is also a very profitable activity. If you can generate good sales leads, then you can earn a profit here. How you handle the stress and baggage that this job brings to your life varies from person to person, but there are a few factors that are the same. Therefore, these are fixed points that can be improved on. 

And what are these pointers that you should know about?

  

1.   Plan well – this is an advice that we have all heard too often, but rarely do we really follow. As marketers, we must be able to decide on what business strategy to employ before we start. It would be a virtual waste of effort if we just do things without a proper goal in mind.

2.   Focus – when you work, really dive into your work. Get ‘into the zone’, so to speak. Not only will you be able to accomplish more of your work, but you would also be able to ensure that your attention is focused on the details.

3.  Have a break – of course, after intensely working for about an hour or so, you should learn to stop and take a break. In this way, you can avoid getting burned-out too early in the day. It will also let you refocus on your work later.

4.   Be neat – as some say ‘a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind’. While this may be true in some cases, the point here is for you to put everything in your desk in order. This will help you keep tab on things, as well as avoid cases of ‘misplacing’ anything, like notes from a telemarketing call.

5.   Do not seek perfection – instead, seek excellence in your work. You see, going for perfection is an activity that will never bring you any rewards. Often, this is an unattainable, frustrating, and a neurotic activity. Better aim for something that you can actually achieve, and that is excellence.

6.  Learn to say ‘No’ – you see, there is a limit to what a normal flesh and blood can do. If you just keep on accepting workloads from your bosses, or from your B2B leads prospects, soon enough, you would be overloaded with things you have yet to do. You need to learn when to say ‘No’.

7.  Do not procrastinate – this is common even for those in the B2B appointment setting business. You need to do things now, not later, lest you miss the chance to generate good sales leads in the end.

This is for the good of your B2B lead generation campaign. If you are in top form, you will be able to perform better at the job.

Is Inside Sales An Art Or Science?

For a lot of marketers, defining whether inside sales is an art or science can be a very contentious topic. A good number of them would say that generating sales leads is an art, where only those who are in tune with the market energies and flow would be able to make a sale. On the other hand, there are also those who say that such appointment setting work is a science, with rules and tools that can be used to generate the B2B leads that your business will need. In other words, this is the type of work that anyone can do. But really, which is which?

Frankly speaking, inside sales is an amalgamation of the two. Let us use telemarketing as the medium, for example. It takes some communication skills to get in touch with your business prospects, grab their attention, and turn them into qualified sales leads. This is something that requires sensitivity to what the prospects say. At the same time, the data you collect during the call are then collected, analyzed, and a conclusion derived from the results. This time, the task requires a calculated approach.

As you can see from the example, it is clear that inside selling is both an art and science. Take one away and you will not get anywhere. It is the harmonizing the two exclusive parts that can spell the success or failure of your marketing campaign.

All that remains is you and your ability to put them together.

When Will Sales Leads Turn Into A Sale?

That is a natural question in the minds of all entrepreneurs during their lead generation campaign. It is a variable that has always affected the generation of sales leads. You want to be sure that your investment will give you rewards. After all, in today’s business environment, quality B2B leads is not just a strategy, it is also the meaning between staying open or closing down. But really, how can we be sure that your business leads really are going to become a sale or deal? All you need to do is to ask yourself these two questions:

1. Check if they need your offer – if they do, then that is the opportunity for your telemarketing team to attempt an offer. If they do not, it is all right. You can say you just wanted to announce your presence, in case they might need your offer in the future. 
2. Check if they have the budget for your offer – this is an important step in your campaign. You cannot force them to accept your offer if they really cannot pay for it. But if it is possible, you can offer a payment scheme that will work for them, in case they need it but have difficulty coming up witch the exact payment.

Still, your main goal is to make lead generation an easy tool to reach your business prospects. As a marketing investment, you just have to find out if such an agency can work well with your own business.

How Direct Marketing Strategies Such As Telemarketing Can Help Your Business

With each marketing campaign that your company does, your sales and marketing people are often looking for the best lead generation strategy to reach out to the most number of qualified business leads they can find. There are a lot of options they can choose from today, what with so many online and offline marketing tools to choose from. Aside from the ever popular email marketing methods, they can also utilize videos, podcasts, and the ever popular pictures to share awareness of your brand.

Raising consumer awareness about your brand can be better achieved by investing in traditional direct marketing methods such as the highly effective b2b telemarketing campaigns. What’s more, a direct marketing method can easily work in conjunction with your existing online or offline marketing strategies. If you prefer using billboards, streamers and other printed advertising materials, you can have these working to generate qualified b2b leads for you alongside your professional b2b appointment setters and telemarketers. Your b2b telemarketers can also follow up on your email newsletters to identify which b2b sales leads are ready to be converted.

The benefit of using direct marketing strategies for your campaigns is that your marketing team will be able to connect with qualified sales leads right at the beginning. This proactive approach allows for a faster sales process compared to the reactive methods required by content marketing and advertising. You wouldn’t need to wait for your b2b sales leads to find you, like the traditional method, it is you who will seek them out.