The New Year has officially kicked in; good resolutions are about to be made and companies are in full mode again, ready to conquer the world. So what will 2014 hold for you and your team? Will your sales pipeline look as stormy as the current weather or will you enjoy some bright skies and see new horizons?
With the New Year, we get the feeling of starting fresh, reenergised from the break; sales records are back to zero and we get a fresh opportunity – again – to (over-) achieve targets. This is the time to close the deals with nurtured prospects or start the conversation with new contacts. After all, the year is ahead to – hopefully - see the results of these new conversations! So what is your strategy to get new contacts and new sales leads?
Most sales people will agree: developing new business and identifying a new potential sales opportunity is the toughest phase in the sales cycle. Not only do you need to speak to the right contact, who will have the right information, but also at the right time and in the right manner. The solution may be to develop your database of contacts and communicate with as many relevant people as possible. To do so, there are a multitude of tools that can help, more or less free.
The main tool is the obvious one, where over 3 million companies and over 259 million members meet up, of course talking about Linkedin. Over 70% of sales people use Linkedin to search for new contacts, validate information and gather data on companies. However, all connections are not always visible and you also need to know what you are looking for.
At the second place, we find the company CRM, which is even more efficient when used in conjunction with a marketing automation tool that feeds contacts into the CRM. The company CRM is indeed a great place to start. However, after 12 months, an average of 30% of contacts’ data becomes obsolete. So where to go next?
Other tools well used by sales people include of course Google, and also the research of press releases and other social networks.
So, yes, the information on your next contact is out there and a lot of data can be found. Too much even? The amount of information available and the time spent to survey potential prospects can be overwhelming. In fact, a salesman will on average spend almost two third of his time on non-sales activities, including sales lead generation and research. According to a 2013 Sales & Linkedin survey, almost 30% of sales people spend between 2 and 5 hours on Linkedin, and 14.5% more than 6 hours. A lot of time away from nurturing and closing deals… What is the alternative?
Very often when talking to companies considering a B2B telemarketing campaign, we find that their primary objective is to provide their sales team with new leads, to fill up their sales pipeline with new potential opportunities. Some companies even talk about looking for an ‘abundance of sales appointments’. They want to keep their sales reps busy, getting them on the road, for them to meet potential clients and have the opportunity to try and close sales. Good idea? Of course! Better even – implementing a campaign and identifying highly qualified sales leads! Even ones that will close within the year!
By outsourcing to a specialist B2B Telemarketing agency, companies can build a predictable and consistent leads and sales pipeline. And the earlier in the year, the faster and more returns can be experienced. Companies engaging with an expert agency, capable to deliver highly qualified leads, can often see a return on investment of 10, 20, 60+ times the value of the telemarketing campaign, which makes a B2B telemarketing campaign a very good alternative.
Maven TM is specialised in B2B Telemarketing and Sales Lead Generation services for technology companies. With specifically developed processes and a team becoming subject matter experts, Maven TM consistently helps companies achieve their sales targets. For more information, please contact Maven TM at info@maventm.com.
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