If you’re involved in telemarketing or sales, you’ll almost certainly have encountered the ‘gatekeeper’.

Tasked with preventing people from accessing the key decision maker, the Gatekeeper is usually a personal assistant, secretary, receptionist, or switchboard operator who will ensure that only a select few callers will make it through.

With this in mind, the first challenge of any successful call or pitch is to get past the gatekeeper, allowing you to reach the all-important decision maker. Of course, that’s easier said than done!

Here are our top 5 ways to get past the gatekeeper:

Treat them with respect

Although they might not be decision makers, Gatekeepers are typically respected individuals within their firm. With this in mind, it is important that you treat them with the respect they deserve and express your gratitude for the help or information they provide you. This will also keep you in their good books so you will stand more chance of getting through to the decision maker next time you call.

It’s understandable that you might become frustrated if they are trying to stop you getting through to the person you really want to speak to, but don’t take this frustration out on them – they’re only doing their job and the last thing you want is to end up on a blacklist!

Build a rapport

As well as respecting the Gatekeeper, you should also try to build a rapport. Rather than trying to push past them as though they’re nothing more than an automated system, focus on building a positive relationship with them.

For example, as soon as you learn their name, be sure to write it down and start addressing them by that name every time you call.

Sound senior

Within any business, those in management roles can be treated differently by other employees. If someone believes you are important or high up within an organisation, they may think twice about putting the phone down.

So speak slowly and articulately, keep calm and relaxed, and never divulge more details than necessary. If the Gatekeeper senses that you have a senior position, they won’t risk offending or insulting you by probing into your reasons for calling too deeply.

Don’t sell

The Gatekeeper has no power to make a decision regarding the products or services you’re trying to sell. And, to be honest, they’re probably not interested in your sales pitch. So don’t waste your time, or theirs, trying to deliver your sales pitch.

Instead, when they ask what the call is regarding, provide an answer that doesn’t sound too ‘salesy’. Perhaps mention previous correspondence you’ve had with the decision maker.

Call before or after hours

One way to avoid the Gatekeeper is to call when they’re not there! Executives and decision makers often arrive before and leave after normal working hours. If you call during these out-of-office hours, you might well find that their Gatekeeper isn’t around and they are answering their phone themselves.

To find out more about how we can help you optimise your telemarketing results, give us a call on 0345 241 3038 or get in touch.

Request a brochure

A sales pipeline is an overview of prospects within the sales process, looking at separate stages of where each prospect may sit, from initial contact to final sale.

Each and every sales pipeline will differ for separate companies, yet they will all stick to the basic ‘timeline’ concept of buyer stages.

It isn’t easy to manage your sales pipeline, but it still remains an important tool for companies to use to understand the potential deals to be won, as well as keeping sales teams focussed.

Here we look at some top tips to manage your pipeline to ensure you’re on top of upcoming sales.

Keep it accurate

From contact details to the amount the deal is potentially going to sell for, each and every detail of the prospect or sale must be accurate.

Without accurate details, you can skew the results of both sales metrics and potential income.

Monitor sales metrics closely

What’s your sales teams’ win rate? How many qualified leads are there each month? What is the average deal size? How long is your sales cycle?

These are all key metrics that you should be aware of. These provide you with the information you need to ensure the sales funnel is doing what it should, as well as your sales teams!

Follow up

A lack of follow up of leads within your pipeline could be detrimental to the outcome of sales. Be sure to understand at which stage leads sit and when they require follow up.

Find ways to review and improve

Regularly review your pipeline management with all those that are involved in it. It is likely that flaws will arise or gaps may be found, which gives you the opportunity to improve on each and every element of the funnel.

Choose a good CRM

A good CRM can make all the difference when it comes to pipeline management. When it comes to measurement of activity, a CRM can help you to quickly analyse what’s happening within your funnel.

Another added benefit of a good CRM is, from a team management perspective you’ll be able to see how each sales individual is performing.

Define the elements of the funnel

Set out each stage that a buyer could sit in the pipeline, including the elements of the sales cycle. The better defined your funnel is, the better you can tailor your actions to the prospects within the pipeline.

Use a manual or guidelines

We don’t mean the CRM manual; we’re talking about a guide written by your managers for the sales team which ensures everyone adheres to the same rules when looking at and managing the sales pipeline.

This can include how sales teams should manage prospects, how reporting is carried out, and more.

Effective management of your sales pipeline can be hugely beneficial to your company. It directly affects the way in which you manage potential buyers, which is why it should be high on your agenda. Want to know more about improving your sales process and management? Contact us today here or call 0345 241 3038.

Request a brochure

If you’re talking for the first time on the phone to a contact, there’s a lot of pressure to make a great first impression. From tone to use of language, there are several elements needed to get it right. Which is why, if you’re representing a company, this comes under the branding umbrella.

The way in which you present yourself on the phone is representative of your brand, as the individual on the other end will associate the conversation (and you) with the business.

What’s important on every call, every campaign, every point of contact, is that your company is being represented the way in which you want your brand to be portrayed.

But, what can a good call do for the brand? How can telemarketing help to influence the way in which an individual feels about your business?

After all, a brand isn’t tangible; it’s how someone thinks of your business.

We look at answering the questions above, focussing on the benefits of telemarketing on branding to ensure your business is seen in a way that fits in with your brand values.

Add a personable element

Prospects can read about your brand online, in a brochure or an email, but it doesn’t have the same effect as speaking to someone about it.

You can give emotion, tone and a different feel to the business just by speaking to an individual, rather than them reading copy.

Telemarketing means a direct response immediately which is completely adapted for those that you’re speaking to. At that moment it is all about that particular prospect, giving a super-personable and attentional approach – promoting a positive brand image.

Boost awareness of you and your products

Brand awareness is crucial. This goes beyond awareness of what the products or services are, but the qualities of the products, and how they may appear.

Not only will a telemarketing call give you the opportunity to provide information on your company and the offerings, but also a chance to increase brand awareness. Consequently, this improves the chances of that individual being able to recall or recognise your brand.

Create an impression

Introducing a business or product can be a difficult task, and first impressions count. Using telemarketing or speaking to a prospect about your company allows you to be completely in control of this first impression, tailoring the conversation solely to that prospect.

People really do buy from people. They buy from brands and individuals that they trust. Not only do our daily phone calls provide information and promote the products and services, but they stay consistent with the brand tone and values of our clients.

To find out more about our campaigns or how we can help your business through telemarketing, call us on 0345 241 3038 or get in touch.

This is a big question and one we’ve heard a few times before.

Who needs telemarketing?

Apparently, quite a few businesses do. Let’s set the scene.

You’re a business. You need a constant flow of qualified prospects; you need to communicate with them, engagement, build relationships.

Now, there’s a variety of ways you can do this.

You’ve got inbound marketing including PPC, SEO, paid Social Media advertising and more. Using these methods you can drive a prospect to a page, a website, an advert, an email.

But, you can’t speak to them one on one. You don’t have that straight, open communication that’s needed to qualify leads appropriately. There is no two-way conversation.

There isn’t anything wrong with digital marketing, but once you’ve got a red-hot inbound lead, what do you do? You give them a call.

Does it work for all industries?

Okay, so there’s no one size fits all situation for businesses, but this is the same for any marketing channel. It’s about the right mix of what works for you your target audience.

To put it into perspective, we’ve worked on campaigns in the following industries.

• Hospitality
• Finance
• PR/Marketing
• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Tech
• Training/Education

… And much more.

That’s a pretty wide audience.

All of which needed something extra in their sales process, whether that was time, more leads, a boost in revenue, or a better return on their business development investment.

But isn’t telemarketing a bit old hat?

There’s a lot of talk about traditional telemarketing dying out. Spoiler alert: it’s a myth.

The reality is that telemarketing will continue to be one of the most effective ways of pushing your prospects down through the funnel towards the sale stage.

Any questions or objections that an individual may have about your product or service will be answered in a call, where they might not have had the chance beforehand.

And remember, in a B2B environment, people buy from people.

So who really needs it?

Telemarketing acts as both a discovery process and a marketing tool that allows you to answer a whole host of questions about a lead as well as understanding more about how they feel about your business and product.

The bottom line? Any business that needs to speak to someone over the phone to sell something, book a meeting, organise a call, learn more about a prospect, is potentially in need of telemarketing.

Without telemarketing, you’re in danger of missing out on making that sale; No call, no conversion. What’s more, it’s personable and can be tailored completely to that prospect during the conversation.

Want to find out more about how telemarketing could be right for you? Get in touch today or give us a call on 0345 241 3038.

Request a brochure

There are many more than 10 reasons as to why you should fall in love with business development, we’ll be honest.

What is Business Development? What does it mean?

Business Development is certainly a wide umbrella. In one sense, it’s about creating opportunities, contributing to growth, and generating value for a company where each and every unit of a company has a part to play.

So, we’ve handpicked some of our top reasons as to why business development is both important to us and why it should be to your business.

1. You can’t ignore it

If there is a need for sales in your company, there’s a need for a business development process. Ignoring it or not implementing a form of business development structure, could leave your company very short of hot leads or new clients.

2. It’s important to focus on the pipeline

A focus on your business development process allows you to focus on the company sales pipeline. Asking questions such as, where do our prospects sit? How can we develop them? What do we need to do to push them closer to a sale?

3. You don’t want to lose focus on the clients

If you’re busy focusing on your product (which of course is important) or service, you may lose focus on the client need.

Working hard on your business development process allows you to fully understand what a customer is looking for, rather than pushing the product.

4. A little every day goes a long way

Practicing your business development every day means that you are constantly nurturing, attracting, managing and developing new prospects.

Don’t lose sight of the long term objective, but at the same time understand that developing your pipeline takes time and needs to be constant.

5. Find great people

If you’re setting up a business development team or developing a team that’s already part of your company, chances are you will be defining which individuals are best for your sales process.

You’ll also learn from hiring individuals, about best techniques for creating business opportunities.

6. Get to know your competition

When you’re looking to grow the business, and generate further opportunities, you’ll naturally learn more about the companies in your industry space.

Business Development Managers and Executives must be aware of both the company and how it generates opportunities as well as taking into consideration the actions of top competitors in the market.

7. Get feedback

Prospect feedback is a powerful tool to develop your products and services. Whilst generating new opportunities, you’ll discover any objections that arise, or push backs and the reasons as to why someone isn’t buying in to what you’re selling.

Use this feedback, it is extremely valuable!

8. It’s never too early to start

If you’re in the very early stages of a new company or a part of a growing startup, it’s never too early to start figuring out the best methods for your business development.

Effective business development includes adding value where possible to your offering and building trust. The earlier you start learning about the best business development methods for your product, the earlier you can understand what works best for you.

9. Learn about the source of your sales

Any well-versed Business Development Manager will understand the primary source of revenue, new opportunities and options for new business expansion.

10. Build and nurture relationships

Looking for business opportunities and generating sales for business growth means better relationship nurturing with both customers and prospective clients.

‘Business relationship management’ therefore becomes a part of the business development process, as customers are nurtured in each area of the sales pipeline.

Here in Exeter, we practice what we preach every single day. At Air Marketing, we take on a variety of sales and business development processes in order to generate more revenue, leads and a healthy pipeline for companies globally.

Looking to advance your business development process or build your sales pipeline? Give us a call on 0345 241 3038 or get in touch.

So you’re paying for a B2B telemarketing campaign, and the company you’ve decided to work with have agreed that you only pay if they get results. Sounds good doesn’t it?

Not so fast.

Although this may seem like a more financially-sound ideal for your company on the surface, the end result may not end up being what you expected.

We look at some of the core reasons as to why a cost per appointment/lead campaign with a telemarketing or lead generation company could cause problems for your business.

Quantity over quality

Payment by results essentially means the payment rests on a call outcome. With so much riding on this, the appointments generated for your business might cause disputes.

Such differences or disagreements may arise because of questions over whether an appointment is genuine, where focus on number of appointments is more prevalent then a focus on quality.

Payment-by-results companies can provide a poor ROI, so you pay for expensive appointments that are a waste of both your time and money.

Often companies have been known to push a dubious prospect in to a ‘yes’ just to hit target and get paid. Consequently, you’re wasting time, money and potentially expenses on sales agents attending low quality appointments.

Not Paying for Time

Not paying for time can cause uncertainties surrounding the budgets for your campaign. And, with no time-based objectives set, when it comes to review the campaign you’ll be unsure on how and what to review when looking to seek further results.

So, if you’re paying a company for the time period that they’re spending calling for your campaign, you’ll see results knowing exactly what those results mean and knowing that this time is fully dedicated to your business. A good agency should allow you to stop if they’re not getting results so there’s still just as much incentive to get the results you need.

Difficult Projects

If the campaign ends up being particularly difficult, which could be for a number of reasons such as a competitive sector, complex products, poor data or the individuals on the phones are genuinely struggling to make an appointment, the agency may simply give up on the project altogether knowing it isn’t going to be highly paid.

Essentially, time is money. Time spent on difficult projects can mean that the agency is being underpaid and this will push your project to the bottom of their priority list. This often means that you stop getting appointments or leads.

Inaccurate Budgeting

As aforementioned, if you’re paying a telemarketing company for results, you will not be able to budget accurately when running a campaign, as all work is purely focused on the outcome of the calls or CPL (cost per lead). If the agency sets more, you have the debate of whether they’re paid for or not.

Lack of Transparency

If you’re getting charged on an hourly basis, rather than on appointments or leads, you’ll know exactly what’s going on.

Your supplier will be able to show you exactly what’s happened through clear and honest reporting. You’ll know how many calls have been made per hour, the conversion rate, how long it takes to book an appointment and much, much more.

Who Owns What?

From data to appointments, companies who sell based on the cost of a lead may not solely be selling that lead to just your business.

Additionally, you’ll have to check the terms and conditions to figure out who owns the data being used to source the leads.

Quality of Caller

Who’s making your calls? What is the call quality like? What these questions essentially ask is – how is your brand being portrayed? Working on a cost per lead campaign is leaving this entirely in the hands of the supplier, and leaves little room for transparency or dedicated callers for your campaign.

Air Marketing Group is a company based in Exeter, providing telemarketing services to companies in the UK and overseas.

Although many opt for a payment-by-results option for their telemarketing campaign, we see a strong ROI running campaigns that focus solely on quality appointments where our clients get the best return for their money with leads that are better prepped to convert.

If you have any questions about how our campaigns are run, you can check out our process page here or get in touch.

Request a brochure

Whether you’re working with a telemarketing company, a marketing agency, or any other form of outsourced supplier, one of the main concerns is trust.

You’re letting that company deal with your contacts, whether clients or prospects, which can be slightly uncomfortable, regardless of the size/type of business you may be.

Consequently, any organisation outsourcing their work will ask:

Can we trust our suppliers?

… And will they do a good job? How do we know what’s going on with our campaigns? Any business owner wants to know exactly what’s going on to ensure a successful operation, so it’s completely natural to feel uncertain to pass a core process (such as your outbound sales/telemarketing) to someone else.

And here’s an even bigger question…

What happens if it doesn’t work?

The reality is that there is risk associated with any campaign you run. Whether it’s inbound marketing or outbound telesales, there is no guarantee that each and every lead will convert.

What’s important is to acknowledge any mistakes that may have been made, before finding a solution and moving forward.

To alleviate your fears, we recently wrote a blog (10 Point Checklist: How to Brief a Telemarketing Agency) which covers core discussions that are important to have before taking on an outsourced business development campaign.

It’s imperative for you as a company to feel that you can talk to suppliers, ask questions, and be safe in the knowledge that they are always on hand to talk should you have any concerns.

Trust is a two-way street

There must be trust on both sides. When campaigns are difficult, or the client-supplier relationship is put on a thin line for one reason or another, it can be detrimental.

So, both you and your supplier must cultivate trust on both sides, to ensure a smooth relationship, regardless of any bumps in the road that might occur.

Communication, transparency and honesty

Here are three elements we stick by here at Air, to help ensure that you know your business is in safe hands:

Communication

If you haven’t heard anything from your supplier, or you can’t get hold of them, it can be uncomfortable and frustrating.

We never go more than 48 hours without talking to clients. In our eyes, no update is still an update so you know your campaign is still running smoothly.

Transparency

Ask your supplier questions surrounding reporting, results, what’s being done and what could be done to improve. Ongoing recommendations and monitoring is key for all campaigns.

The Air client portal provides live, real-time results on campaigns so you know exactly what’s going on at all times.

Honesty

… is always the best policy. If something isn’t working, you’ll want your supplier to tell you. And if the supplier isn’t aware of something – be open and honest and tell them exactly what you need.

You need to be confident in the campaign and in your suppliers’ abilities, which is why our values are based around transparency and honesty.

At Air Marketing Group, we work closely with our clients to adapt and tailor each and every campaign to your business.

We’ll work to be flexible and adaptable not only on the campaign setup, but we’ll ensure to monitor and review your campaign every step of the way to focus on getting the best return on investment for you.

What’s more, we’re here to answer any questions you may have, at any point before, during and after your campaign finishes.

Got a question? Call us today on 0333 251 9670 or get in touch here.

Request a brochure

Lead generation is a crucial tool for any company looking for new business. But, what do we really mean when we say lead generation? And if it’s important for new business, how do we ensure we’re doing it right?

We answer these questions and more in the following blog.

What is lead generation?

According to Shanaka Thanapathy, in marketing, lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business.

We’ll repeat the important part… the initiation of consumer interest. Ask yourself, what are your company doing to initiate the interest of your ideal target audience?

Lead generation campaigns are run to source and identify new prospects, ideally of high quality to add to your sales pipeline. On top of the core objective of earning further revenue, lead generation will create brand awareness and establish relationships with leads that you source.

What methods are used?

Lead generation can use a mix of both offline and online tools. From telemarketing campaigns to digital methods such as PPC and SEO, the forms in which lead generation can take vary but all have a common goal: to provide you with prospects that could potentially convert.

With digital channels, it comes down to positioning and being in the right place at the right time. Essentially, being where your audience is in an online platform. Offline channels can include various forms of advertising, print and television.

Again, it’s about generating the interest of your target customer whether that’s over a call, an email open, a download or taking another action.

We work with several companies across a variety of industries, running telemarketing or telesales campaigns where we speak to prospects to generate leads directly from the target audience over the phone.

We’re not here to say whether offline or online is right as both are powerful, but the solution which is best is probably mix of them both. Both are proven to yield great results, which can present a platform for multi-channel marketing opportunities.

Lead generation in B2B telemarketing

(Okay, so we’re a telemarketing company… we’re bound to mention the benefits of what we do!)

What B2B telemarketing offers is the human-to-human (H2H) element of prospecting that many channels don’t have. This interaction gives an added personable element that digital marketing lacks, and is a direct conversation with the right people.

Regardless of the marketing channels you are using and for what particular campaign you are using them on, having a conversation with an individual also gives you an answer there and then as to where they sit in the buying cycle.

There’s something in that saying – If in doubt, give them a call.

What can I do help my lead generation tactics?

So we know what it is, and the types of tools you can use to carry out lead generation.

But, how can we make sure we are doing it well?

The following points cover key aspects of lead generation looking at core strategies to ensure you run it effectively.

Data, data, data

…Where it all begins. Without the right data in the first place, you’ll be contacting all the wrong people. Clean it, segment it, and know exactly who you are communicating with.

Know your audience

Who are you targeting? What does that perfect customer look like? Have an understanding of the personas you are looking to target, in order to ensure you campaigns are hitting the right people.

Follow up and nurturing

There isn’t much point in generating a bunch of fantastic leads and not bothering with follow up. Lead generation isn’t just about sourcing the leads; it’s about identifying hot prospects and continuing to

Lead qualification

Qualify your leads. We talk a bit more about how a ‘lead isn’t just a lead’ in our blog here.

Lead generation is effective with the right process. This includes how you manage it, what your strategy is, how you integrate your marketing channels and what actions you take to monitor, maintain and maximise the value of your sales leads.

At Air Marketing Group, we offer lead generation campaigns that aim to develop a healthy pipeline for your company. We make contact with your ideal target audience to generate leads and encourage interest in your products and services.

Get in touch today or call 0345 241 3038.

Request a brochure