Category: Blog

Any great sales professional will tell you that they would rather have one great appointment, than 10 terrible meetings.

There is the argument that it costs to generate those leads so each and every one should be attended to in the same way, regardless of the quality.

But, should we be spending even more time (and money) on B2B appointments that just aren’t worth it?

In our opinion, it’s best to choose quality over quantity every time.

There is a huge difference between obtaining a lead, and obtaining a good lead. It’s important for you to spend time focussing on the difference between what you would cast as a good lead for your company, and what isn’t.

Ask questions

You can ask quality questions to understand how much you really know about that lead, and whether the appointment is worth your sales agent spending time on.

These B2B quality checking questions can include:

– Is there a real need?
– What makes this need important at this time?
– Are we meeting with the right individuals? I.e. are they the decision maker?
– What problem is our solution answering?

Know your criteria

On top of questions, set a criterion that adheres to your specific audience, or prospect criteria that tends to convert.

This could be down to a company size, a type of operation, industry type and more. The more in depth you are and the better the understanding you have of your ideal customer type, the better the quality checking will be when checking appointments against said criteria.

With these processes in place, you’ll have a sales diary full of well-qualified appointments that really are worth your sales agents’ time.

Air’s B2B Appointment Setting

Appointment setting campaigns with Air Marketing Group look to provide you with meetings that bring you together with your ideal target audience.

Our rigorous quality checking process ensures that every single appointment is suited to the criteria that you’ve set in your campaign strategy.

We say this time and time again; we won’t provide you with an appointment if it isn’t quality and does not present the potential opportunity to convert.

Want to find out more? Contact us today by getting in touch or calling 0345 241 3038.

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I often ask people ‘how long is your sales cycle?’ and can honestly say that 90% of the time, the response is the same:

“It varies.”

Do you know what that tells me…? It tells me that most people don’t actually know how long their average purchase takes, from the point of first contact to a converted sale.

Each and every industry has a varying sales cycle that is so dependent on the following:

• Getting in touch with prospects at the right time (a bit of luck and persistence)
• The state of the market (out of your control)
• Where your solutions fits in their priority list

…And sometimes the cycle of things, such as budgets.

The Coffee Story

Let’s look at an example. Around 3 months ago, we decided that we wanted a coffee machine for our office. We know we need it, but other priorities that come with a busy office have prevented us from taking action.

Cue a very timely telesales call from a company that sells coffee machines. After a good meeting and discussion about the options available, we were happy that they were a good fit for the coffee machine shaped gap in the kitchen.

3 months on, still no coffee machine.

Now, I was the right decision maker, they hit us at the right time and with the right product but has anything happened? No, it has not.

Although sometime soon I will get this organised, it sits lower down my to-do list than a lot of other things. One day soon, I will become a sale for that company.

That sale would have come as a result of their telemarketing campaigns, but not unlike many of you and despite best intentions, the process will have taken 3-6 months for my ‘sale’ to be completed.

Perfection isn’t Reality

Great relationships and sales cycles that produce an amazing ROI take time. Much like the coffee salesman, we can only influence our prospects, not guarantee a purchase even if they are at the right stage in the buying cycle.

Most sales processes take 3-6 months. However, some take 18 months, and some potential buyers won’t make a decision until years later.

There isn’t a perfect time to talk to someone and there isn’t the perfect campaign. But, there are actions you can take to make the most of a telesales campaign…

Follow up, Follow Up, Follow Up

There is a statistic I read many years ago that sticks with me. Apparently, in the B2B world it takes an average of 11 touch points before a sale is made. If you aren’t fresh in your prospects mind, you may as well forget the lead altogether.

So this is the key. Good follow up, patience, persistence and an acceptance that it does take time to close even the warmest leads. There are too many elements that you can’t control and the sooner you recognise this, the more comfortable you’ll be in accepting that follow up must be consistent and sustainable.

So how long should a good telesales campaign be run for, before you can measure its effectiveness?

Our trial phase (known as a pilot campaign) at Air Marketing Group is usually 12 weeks long. By this point we are generating leads consistently, and are fully competent in understanding your products, services and offer.

However, during months 7-9, our clients are often still closing sales with prospects we originally spoke to in months 1-3. With this in mind, we recommend trialling something for 12 weeks to prove the concept that good leads can be generated.

But, it’s good to go into any outbound sales and marketing with the expectation that you can only truly measure its effectiveness after 12 months.

Contact Us

Not only do we separate the warm leads from those that are not interested, we nurture and develop relationships with prospects to ensure we only pass over leads that are on the path to conversion.

Want to learn more? Contact us today by email or call us on 0345 241 3038.

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“Why would I pay that much when I can just hire someone for £10 per hour?” is a sentence I’ve heard many times. But beware of the on cost!

It’s a question that many of us ask ourselves on a regular basis, across a variety of business services; ‘Should we outsource, or hire in house?’

Well, with years of experience in the B2B telemarketing industry, we’ve helped companies to answer this question – when it comes to hiring telemarketers – it’s simple maths.

And the numbers show that it’s far more expensive to hire in house than most people realise…

Below is a typical cost breakdown model for an in-house telemarketing role, based on the industry average wage of a telemarketer.

Often people don’t realise just how much it actually costs to run an internal operation and how it quickly ends up costing the business circa £20 p/hr (or much more in many cases).

And, at the same time it can often be more problematic, far less consistent and certainly more time consuming for you.

Cost Breakdown

According to Total jobs (2017), the average salary for a telemarketer in the UK is £22,492 (Approx. £10.81 per hour).

So, using this as a starting point, we look at what this would really mean to your business to find what the effective ‘per actual, delivered hour’ cost really is.

In-house cost breakdown

So although you might describe this as ‘loose maths’, you can see, based on a fairly ‘normal’ situation, the cost of each actual calling hour that is delivered is far more that you expect it to be.

So now let’s consider the additional on-costs:

When you break it down and work out each of the above costs, you begin to see just how much it really costs to hire.

Let’s take a look out why outsourcing might be the better option…

The 6 upsides of the outsourced model

Beyond cost, there are several other factors to consider in whether you should outsource or hire in-house. Here are some of the key considerations that you may want to think about:

Lost hours

With an outsourced model, we can catch up lost hours or cover them with a second trained person so they’re not lost in the first place. With internal employees, sickness isn’t always covered so it often means lost time, missed opportunities and lost productivity.

Transparency

We provide live automated reporting, full statistics and call recordings through our bespoke CRM system. You need to ask the question, is there an ability to automate this and have this transparency internally?

If not, do you have the time to create these detailed reports and does your telemarketing team have the time to maintain them?

Proven results

Hiring new employees is a gamble; you have no guarantee that you’ll get people who can perform and if they don’t you have to replace them.

With an outsourced model, we already have highly experienced, trained staff who have proven their capabilities.

People leave

Telemarketing staff move more often than most so even if you do find good performers, it may not be long before they want a pay rise and promotion to another role, or until they leave.

At which point, you incur the time and aforementioned costs of replacing them all over again.

One point of contact

With an outsourced supplier, you have one point of contact and the staff management is looked after for you, giving you time to focus on other things, rather than managing multiple employees.

No add-on costs, no lost hours through sickness, no staff leaving and no hiring.

We hope that this blog gives you a good insight in to the cost of in-house vs outsourcing your next telemarketer.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us on 0345 241 3038 or get in touch.

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It’s great to see our clients reaping the benefits of telemarketing to increase sales revenue and generate quality leads. But, we know how important it is to ensure we are completely transparent with them to develop a great client – supplier relationship.

If you’re considering working with an outsourced supplier for your telemarketing campaigns, it’s important to get it right. You want to trust them and most importantly, know that you will achieve a solid return on investment.

Before you make your final decision, we cover questions that you can ask your potential supplier to make the most out of your telemarketing campaigns.

1. Do you understand our key goals for the campaign?

Both you as the client and the supplier need to be clear on where you see the campaign going. There’s no point in running a campaign if you don’t have set goals that are clear to everyone.

2. What sort of results should we expect from the campaign?

If you aren’t sure what your goals should be, ask your potential supplier what they would suggest. They are experts in their field, and can therefore guide you on what you can expect. This should include expected call numbers, contact rates and expected conversion rates.

3. How long should we run the campaign for?

There is no definitive answer for this, but again it’s a great question to ask. Companies can compare other campaigns of a similar nature, or they may have an initial setup phase which then develops further over a longer or set time period.

In fact, we discuss this in one of our latest blogs.

4. Which clients have you worked with who are similar to us?

If the supplier has worked with other clients in your industry, you can glean ideas and research on what may or may not work for your company. This can also work for their previous clients of a similar size to yours. Remember, you can always ask to speak to their clients to get a reference too.

5. Who will be my first point of contact?

A great supplier will provide you with a first point of contact. This could be in the form of a dedicated account manager. Should something go wrong, or if you need to change parts of the campaign, it’s reassuring to have someone you know is on the end of the phone to help.

6. Who will make the calls and where are they based?

It’s a reality of our industry that there are many different models. Outsourcing calls to agents who work from home or from overseas can keep costs down but ask yourself, is this how you want your brand to be reflected? Furthermore, ask whether you’ll have access to the callers. Will you meet them and have a relationship with them directly?

7. How will I be updated on how the campaign is going?

No one likes being left in the dark by outsourced suppliers. You need to know that you will have regular updates on your campaign including those all-important statistics such as call hours, conversion rates, lead generated and more.

8. How will you ensure that you have researched in to our product and industry enough?

Your brief may be detailed, but how do you know that your supplier is going to be confident enough on the phone to discuss your product? Ask them how they aim to stay knowledgeable on your product portfolio and industry. It’s crucial as a telemarketing supplier that the work carried out is adapted to your company.

From product information to conversations on the phone, an outsourced telemarketing supplier should work with you to setup and develop campaigns bespoke to your organisation.

Air Marketing Group

Our campaigns are supported by our client portal which provides live and transparent reporting. We work with clients to discuss the best approach possible for telemarketing campaigns.

Want to find out more? Contact us today by email or call today on 0345 241 3038.

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At Air Marketing Group, we make thousands of telemarketing calls every week for our clients. As a company that runs B2B telemarketing campaigns throughout the UK and overseas, this means it’s crucial to be prepped and ready to give the best possible customer service.

Part of this service we offer is ability to know conversations. We don’t just mean selling, but having the knowledge and know-how to understand what works best on the phone.

This includes small talk. It’s easy when you’re not on the phone, or out with friends, but when you’re in telemarketing it takes on a whole different angle.

We like to build empathy, and a connection. This gives us better relationships with prospects, and leads to conversations that make a difference.

For us, it’s taking time to know what works when it comes to small talk. So, we’ve put together the following tips based on real conversations that we’ve had, which can help to boost the relationships being built on the phone.

1. Be confident

Confidence leads to a conversation without the umming and aahing. Don’t second guess yourself, but at the same time avoid being overly forceful.

Hesitation means you question yourself, which in turn means the prospect you’re talking to isn’t convinced. Speak with confidence, ensuring you sound clear and concise.

2. Prepare

That old age saying, fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Building relationships doesn’t happen off the cuff, so prepare for conversations that develop such rapport.

3. Take an interest

Small talk relates heavily to taking an interest in that person, their company or what they do. In the business world, it can also relate to understanding their problems on a deeper level.

Ask open questions to gain an insight in to the person you’re speaking to on the phone. If you don’t take an interest in them, they aren’t going to take an interest in you.

4. Relentless positivity

Our internal office motto. We have good calls, difficult calls, long calls and more, but whatever happens we seek to stick to the motto ‘relentless positivity’.

If you stay upbeat and positive (no matter how hard!), you’ll see it come through in call recordings and results. No one bought anything off of someone with a negative attitude.

5. Humour

There isn’t anything wrong with a little humour. We don’t mean that your call has to be all stand up jokes, but humour keeps the conversation positive.

6. Story Telling

Story telling helps to break down barriers in conversation and gives you an opportunity to give real life, tangible examples as to how you can help someone or what you do.

We know good conversation. Each and every call we make is adapted to the prospect at the other end of the phone, ensuring that we say the right things.

How can our conversations help your business to generate sales? Find out today by contacting us here or calling us on 0345 241 3038.

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According to Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy, we judge individuals on two things before anything else. Firstly, we ask – can we trust this person? And secondly, can we respect them?

Although this is based on life in general, the same theory applies to sales and more specifically, sales relationships. We, as sales professionals, are looking for both trust and respect, to build long lasting and sustainable relationships with both our prospects and customers.

Relationships in the world of sales are incredibly important. With no relationship and no trust, you won’t end up selling much at all.

What do we mean by trust-based selling?

When we talk about selling that’s trust based, we’re talking about dropping the hard-hitting sell. It’s more about understanding prospects and what they need by staying open and transparent.  It’ also about saving the sell until after you’ve found that your products or services could be a good fit for your prospect.

This type of mind set means you think differently about selling, by building trust and teaching yourself to recognise the elements of selling that enhances this to build better relationships.

What can we do to build these types of relationships?

One of the most straight forward tips we can give you, and unfortunately one that some sales professionals still forget – listen, and listen well. Don’t talk over people or tell them what they need, not only is it impolite, you won’t learn anything about them.

Furthermore, accepting that it’s not right to sell to everyone will go a long way. Make your job to uncover a need or a fit and if you can’t find one, refrain from pitching your products and services unnecessarily.

You’ll earn trust and respect giving you a better chance when the time is right and when a need does arise.

Prompt responses and regular communication also helps to build great relationships. Here at Air Marketing Group we ensure consistent contact with both our clients and prospects. By doing so, it allows us to understand their situation in greater detail, from which we can focus how our solutions fit them.

What it all really boils down to is being personable. Show interest, be sociable, ask about them and never forget honesty throughout the whole process. It seems basic, but avoiding these simple traits can be detrimental.

And again, ignoring them and what they’re saying doesn’t give you a two-way conversation and shows you aren’t in being open or transparent with the individuals you’re talking to.

Want to know how we can apply these selling tips to a sales campaign for your business? Get in touch today or call 0345 241 3038.

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Air Marketing Group’s Campaign Managers make sure that our client’s campaigns are running as they should be, as well as advising them on what’s best for optimal return on investment.

The role is of utmost importance to client campaigns and we believe in transparency, so we thought we’d delve in to a typical day for a Campaign Manager to show what goes on behind the scenes.

Morning

• Review the previous day’s results
  We’ll go over what happened the day before, checking what worked, and what didn’t. This gives us a good idea of what advice to give business development executives on the calls for the day.
• Catch up with clients
  We’ll check in with clients, to give them an update on what’s happening with their campaign. This includes meetings, suggestions on calls and discussions around the success of the data.

Midday/Early Afternoon

• Making Calls
  By this point, the campaign manager would have made several calls on their dedicated campaign. We know that although call rates are significant, quality conversations are just as important.
• Make Sales/Book Appointments
  During call times, and dependent on the nature of the campaign, we’ll make sales for our clients and book appointments for sales teams.
• Listen to the Team and Coach/Train
  We’ll listen to members of the team on our specified accounts, ensure that all calls made are of a high quality standard and tailored to the product or service being promoted.

Afternoon

• Make Suggested Improvements
  We’ll speak to both the client and the team members who are on the phone for certain campaigns. Suggested improvements will be given to both, advising on what areas of the campaign can be developed to achieve better outcomes.
• Update on Results
  We’ll also update the client on the results of the campaign, giving them information on appointments/sales made, checking they are able to see stats in their portal, and taking on feedback they may have for us.

If you’re thinking of running a campaign with us, or would like to find out more about how our campaigns work, you can contact us on 0345 241 3038 or email our team.

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Objections aren’t fun, that’s the honest truth of it. And the reality is that sometimes you just aren’t talking to that person at the right time or, quite simply, they just don’t need your product or service.

However, there are times when there are ways and work arounds to review objections, some of which can switch it back to being an opportunity. So, we take a look at some of the best ways to handle such objections, to help you know how to deal with them professionally and turn rejections around.

Reinforce the value

If the prospect doesn’t see value in your product or service, they aren’t likely to stick around to hear more about it. But, if they clearly understand how it could help them or how it could benefit their business, they’re more likely to stay on the phone.

Show empathy

A little empathy goes a long way, and one way of connecting to prospects on this level is pain points. (You can read more about this in one of our recent blogs.)

Understand their situation, feel sorry for them if they are experiencing a problem, and thank them for bringing any insights about them to light.

Back up your claims

So you’ve got a great product, and you’ve told the prospect about its amazing features. But, have you given them cold hard evidence as to why it’s the best product?

This could be in the form of a customer reference or testimonial, or even better a story about how it’s helped a customer of yours. Story telling is so powerful on sales calls.

One of the key things to consider when handling objections is to try to discover a bit more about that individual. Using the above tips can help you to have a longer conversation and give better value, rather than giving them reasons to tell you to go away.

Here at Air Marketing Group, we use a simple formula to handle objections. It consists of 3 steps:

Step 1 – Diffuse
Step 2 – Statement
Step 3 – Questions

Put simply, our first response to any objection is to try to diffuse the situation, using empathy, by saying something along the lines of ‘that’s fine’ or ‘I understand’. This approach is designed to take the pressure out of the conversation.

The next thing we do is make an evidence-based statement referring to why it is normal to have that objection, or to show why you understand the point they’ve made.

Finally, we ask smart questions, giving us a chance to move away from the objection or find out more information to help us handle the objection and make the right recommendations.

Air Marketing Group’s team of business development executives are experts and handling objections and creating opportunities. Want your business to benefit from this? Get in touch today or call 0345 241 3038.

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Outsourcing your appointment setting to an external telemarketing company can provide you with a team of people who are highly experienced in setting up new B2B sales meetings.

But, why should you choose a B2B appointment setting campaign in the first place? If it’s something that your company is considering, we look at why it might be right for you.

Speak over the phone or meet face to face

Depending on your product or service, you can set appointments over the phone or carry out face to face meetings.

Get in front of buyers

Appointment setting allows you to get in front of key decision makers at a time that suits them, so you’re only talking to prospects when they’re at the right stage of the buying cycle.

It’s proven across several industries

Appointment setting campaigns have worked for a huge variety of businesses. From communications companies to those in the automotive industry, appointments have been scheduled to convert prospects into sales.

Quality prospects

Scheduling meetings using appointment setters means the good leads are separated from the bad. You’ll only meet with those that are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

Outsourcing saves you time

Outsourcing an appointment setting campaign means you don’t have to invest in time spent on the phone organising or scheduling meetings; a dedicated team of appointment setters will do that for you. So you or your sales team can spend more of your time in front of well qualified prospects.

Achieve the results you need

Not only will you save time and money, with experts working on your appointment setting campaign full time, you’ll achieve better results leading to a full diary of sales meetings.

Our team of B2B appointment setters schedule quality, qualified appointments for companies both over the phone and face to face. Each appointment set is quality checked to ensure it’s right for your sales pipeline.

Contact us today, or call on 0345 241 3038.

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