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  Sales Campaign Planning : List verification and Research  
         
  Before commencing your next list cleaning campaign there are some key considerations :

- How good is the list?

- Will the sales pitch work?

 

- What variables should I test?

 

- Can my sales team achieve better results?

 

- Am I getting an adequate ROI?

We hope this article will assist you in answering these questions preferably before starting the campaign or alternatively on completion using data collected during the project.

 
         
  The List      
  Your customer list is an important starting point and you need to consider including or excluding your customers depending on the campaign.

 

If you need to purchase a list, spend some time identifying market segments with high and medium potential. Identify the company selection characteristics that are important and rank these in order of priority. Typically these may include: , Industry Sector , Company activity or product categories , Company size (By employees or turnover).

 

Then do a brainstorm to list the job titles that may have decision-making responsibility for the product or service you are selling.

 

Finally source a list provider that can supply lists to meet this profile. Two main types of list source are available. Directory publishers include Kompass or Dun & Bradstreet. List providers are typically publishers of specialist trade magazines, trade show organisers or trade associations. Be aware that list brokers are normally more interested in large volume consumer lists rather than specialised B2B lists.

If you are using multiple lists, be sure to use source codes for each list. This will be helpful later to separately measure the results for each list source.

Start your list cleaning today. Contact us now for a quote.

  
  The Sales Call      
 

 

It is critical to structure the sales call to flow in a way that will result in a useful outcome. The logical flow should include:

 

- A brief introduction of your company and the purpose of the call

 

- Verify that this is the correct decision maker, if not take re-direct details and close the call

 

- Then quickly ask a few key questions to engage the decision maker in conversation and obtain useful qualifying information (Limit this to three questions)

 

- If the qualification is negative, this is not a prospect, close the call and move on

 

- Otherwise make your sales pitch and pause

 

- Be prepared for objections. This is often the most important part of the call and the way you handle these will determine your success rate

 

- Having handled the objections go for the close (Sale, demonstration, phone consultation, meeting etc.)

 

If you cannot close on the first attempt, test for an interest in an information pack or email and schedule a call-back to make a 2nd close attempt		  
         
  Testing Variables      
  There may be many factors that will improve the sales results achievable. Look first at the list, next at strengthening the offer to build confidence and lower the barrier to placing an order.

 

Make sure that you test different categories of the list. Be sure to have a reporting process to give information on results by list category.

 

Next try various ways of building confidence such as free trials, consultation visits, money back guarantees or other incentives with the first order. Remember that while you have utmost faith in your product or service you may have a credibility barrier to overcome. Think about proof points such as customer testimonials or references, particularly in the prospects industry or in the same geographic area. If you are selling from a website and cannot give traffic figures, you will have a major credibility problem unless you are willing to provide free trials.

 

Consider the offer. Is it too ambitious for a first sale? Should you consider a lower cost entry sale and implement a follow-on up-sell campaign when a relationship has been developed with the customer. 		 
         
  Measuring Sales Team Performance      
  You should measure two key aspects of your sales team’s performance.

 

First measure productivity in terms of total calls per hour and contacts per hour and compare performance between sales staff. As a guideline you should be achieving 35-40 dials per hour. If not look for a new telesales software solution.

 

Secondly measure the quality of the selling technique by regularly recording calls and scheduling playback coaching sessions with the sales team.

 

Thirdly review the quality of the sales qualification process: Are the qualifying questions being asked?

 

Are you using this to refine the database for continuing follow-up campaigns?

 

Are you calling back too many decision-makers that were unqualified on the first call?

 

Remember qualifying out is as good as qualifying in since you are quickly removing poor prospects from your database.
         
  Return on Investment  

 

  
  To do this you need to measure a number of key areas as follows: - Total campaign cost

 

- Total campaign hours

 

- Cost per campaign hour

 

- Total orders obtained

 

- Average order value

 

- % Cost per order

 

- Total Companies targeted

 

- Cost per target company

 

Use the cost per campaign hour to evaluate the pros and cons of outsourcing.

 

Use the cost per order to help decide if telemarketing fits your business model.

 

  
  Start your list cleaning today. Contact us now.      
         


         
   
   
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