WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO OUTSOURCE CERTAIN JOBS!

If you consider yourself to be an excellent manager of people, you are probably one in a million. Most managers admit that they struggle day-to-day with the amount of complaints and issues they must deal with to keep the company, department or section, workflow running on time, with efficiency, accuracy etc.

Bearing this in mind, we at Talkmarketing often wonder why, therefore, so many businesses expect their own staff members to perform jobs that really should be outsourced.

An example is when staff members are told to perform the telemarketing for the company. Inexperienced staff, are often asked to work without scripts or well-written guides and little or no training.  This then produces two outcomes: a very despondent staff member and a counter-productive day with no results.

Telemarketing is a specialised field of marketing that requires many years of training and practice so if you ask your staff to perform this duty, you are usually placing an inexperienced individual into a probable stressful and demoralising position. 

This can then result in the staff members feeling distressed and out of their comfort zone. 

Those feelings of stress and dismay are soon picked up by the recipient.  It is obvious, within seconds; one can hear the emotion in the voice of any individual who is not confident on the phone and they will just want to get the call over and done with and terminated as quickly as possible.

Outsourcing is definitely the answer. We recommend you let experts in their field take over and manage all aspects of the telemarketing which allows your staff members to get on with what they do best and enables you to get the results you need and require to become that one in a million manager! And guess where you'll find the experts in telemarketing?  Right here... it's us! Check out our website to see all of the services we offer that fall under the umbrella of telemarketing: talkmarketing.co.uk

And don’t stop with just the telemarketing. Look at all the jobs you’re asking your staff to perform and analyse which ones need to be handed over to professionals. In the long run, you’ll have a much better workforce and, more importantly, a happy one. 

Using Telemarketing for Research and Development.

Using Telemarketing for Research and Development.

Market viability and analysis of demand are vital requirements to deliver a picture of the potential of a new development. Without this information, you would struggle to make the right decisions around resources and it would be nigh on impossible to work out the projected return on investment.

Do you know that telemarketing is an extremely powerful tool to use to find out what potential clients think of your new service or product?

Just think how much our research could save you in respect of both time and money. 

We recently ran a campaign for a small organisation based in London who had an idea from which they then developed a prototype for a specific industry sector. 

We called about 300 of the industry sector companies and asked them various questions about their opinion of the prototype by using open ended questions:  

What do you think of it?

How would you use it?

When would you use it the most?

Why would you use it?

Who would you sell it to?

This meant they told us precisely what they thought because open ended questions demand specific answers. This was fed back to our client who was then able to make slight adjustments and develop the prototype into a finished product.

It was very apparent that the companies we had talked to liked the prototype and therefore there would be demand for the final creation. 

As soon as we completed our research calls it was all systems go in the factory and I am pleased to say that thanks to our calls and the positive responses, our client is now in full production, over worked with enquiries and extremely happy because their turnover has doubled in the past few months. 

As the CEO of Talkmarketing, I am extremely proud of what I have achieved over the years, but in any business, one is only as good as the team and I am extremely lucky to be supported by a wonderful team of superb telemarketers who have been with me for many years. 

We all strive to keep on top of the changes, we adhere to the rules and we love cold calling and if you need any help with your research and development, then please do give us a call as we would love to hear from you.

The Nine Key Benefits of using telemarketing

The Nine Key Benefits of Telemarketing

Telemarketing is proven to be an effective tool for any business and can be an easy and effective way to increase your profits and promote your products or services.

The Nine Key Benefits of using telemarketing

These are the nine key benefits of using telemarketing to promote your business:

1. You can immediately gauge your customer's level of interest in your product or service.
2. You can provide a more interactive and personal sales service.
3. You can create an immediate rapport with your customers.
4. You can explain technical issues more clearly.
5. You can generate leads and appointments.
6. You can sell from a distance to increase your sales territory.
7. You can reach more customers than with in-person sales calls.
8. You can sell to both existing and new customers.
9. You can achieve results that are measurable.

The downsides of telemarketing that need to be considered.

If you do not research your market or obtain proper training before entering into a telemarketing campaign, there can be as some problems. In particular, you need to consider the following:

• Telemarketing can be resented - particularly when dealing with business-to-consumer customers, and when calls are made in the evenings.
• Customer lists may not always be clean and opted-out - this leaves you with a potential risk of breaking the law.
• Customer lists can be very costly.
• Telemarketing has a negative image that could damage your business' reputation - if poorly carried out.
• Telemarketing has the potential to replace a sales team and this could lead to negative feelings amongst employees.
• Training staff can be time-consuming and costly.
• You may need to prepare a script.

Which is why OUTSOURCING your telemarketing to a reputable telemarketing company like Talkmarketing who,

1. Have achieved results for many businesses, 
2. Have an excellent reputation,
3. Hold your hand through the whole process,

is a HUGE ADVANTAGE and takes away all the headache and disadvantages?

Why?  

1.        Because we verify data through the TPS,
2.        We work with data companies who are reasonably priced and have good clean data,
3.        We are professionals so you know we will represent you in the right way,
4.        Your sales team carry on doing what they do best so no negativity is felt by your staff.

When you outsource to us, we don’t tie you into a long term contract and flexibility is the key.  Give us a call on 01424 576658

DOES YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT HAVE A NEED FOR YOUR SERVICE OR PRODUCT?

When cold calling or telemarketing, it is very important to establish whether or not your potential client has a need for your service or product and you may wonder how to do this?

If you are promoting your business over the telephone you must grab attention very quickly but you also need to find out if your product or service is required and you do this by asking an open ended question early on in the conversation. 

An open ended question starts with: Who? What? When? How? Where?

For example, let’s imagine you are selling ‘white goods’ for care homes and you have a list of care homes (which has been run through the TPS prior to calling, otherwise you would be breaking the law) and you make your first call:

You get through to the decision maker and you explain the reason for calling and at this point you ascertain the following:

Do you currently have laundry equipment on site?

The answer will no doubt be yes – you then go straight in with an open ended question so that they talk to you rather than you talk to them…

How many commercial machines do you have or do you only have domestic machines? Or

What kind of machines are you using? Commercial or domestic?

They then have to respond to you and this open ended question will normally lead to a more detailed answer rather than a simple yes or no. You are forcing them to respond in a conversational manner.

This allows you to ascertain very quickly whether or not this contact has a need for your product. You can now go ahead selling the features and benefits and know that what you are telling the client may be of interest.

So many telemarketers make the big mistake of sell, sell, sell but they don’t listen and they don’t ask the right questions.

It is very important to create a professional image on the phone and waffling, or selling to someone who does not have a need for your product or service wastes both your time and theirs. It is this type of call that irritates and creates barriers against telemarketing.

At Talkmarketing we run telemarketing 1-2-1 or group training sessions so if you need any help please do not hesitate to get in touch: 01424 576658

Why Outsource Telemarketing?

We often get asked the question “why outsource telemarketing?”

We think the answer is a very basic one and something that affects every business - and that is COST.  Having your own, in-house telesales department is expensive. It requires recruiting staff, who then need to be housed and provided with equipment, trained and paid. And that’s just the start…

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty and look at costs/overheads for an in-house solution:

·         Recruitment cost –  advertising expense/time for interviewing/obtaining references

·         Equipment cost –  desk, chair, telephone, computer and peripherals

·         Management cost –  supervisory time

·         Training - - time, effort and money

·         Employers National Insurance Contributions.

·         Pension contributions

·         Sick cover

·         Holiday cover.

When you outsource your business-to-business telemarketing there’s ZERO capital investment.

Let’s look at costs/overheads outsourcing:

·         Recruitment is zero costs.

·         No Equipment costs are involved at all – You use our CRM System and equipment

·         We all know the headache that comes with managing people, recruitment, sickness and absence – outsourced solutions allow your business to develop business opportunities consistently without worry and reliance on individual team members.

·         You are able to budget and have a clear understanding of the costs involved.

·         You won’t need to spend time and money on in-house training, we work closely with you to understand your business and we are able to represent your business professionally – we are experts at telemarketing.

·         You can adjust and alter the hours to your budget and to suit your specific requirements

·         You will only pay for hours worked

Staying one step ahead of the competition and successfully marketing your goods or services is difficult at the best of times. If you are struggling with trying to balance your cash flow and looking for somewhere to cut costs but improve sales, outsourced telemarketing could be a powerful tool for you to use? You can ‘kill two birds’ so to speak because you can reduce staffing costs and gain fully trained professional telemarketers who are ‘ready to go’ and start selling your goods or services immediately. 

Think of outsourced telemarketers as a business assistant you can count on. You get experience, expertise and service for unparalleled results. To summarise, if you’ve been wondering how to get your business moving  perhaps you may want to consider outsourcing your telemarketing campaign?  At Talkmarketing Our Business Is To Grow your Business.

Why not call us today?  01424 576658

I was asked at a seminar recently “What is the difference between Telesales and Telemarketing” and the answer I gave seemed so long-winded that even I got bored! But seriously, I thought it might be a good idea to write a blog about it so that the next time someone asks me I can direct them to our website for the answer! Simple eh?

Not as simple as I would like but the truth is, although both involve using the telephone as a tool, they are quite different services.

The general description of each is as follows:

Telemarketing: A service that creates interest, generates opportunities, offers information, makes appointments, avails customer feedback and produces leads over the telephone.

Telesales: A service that directly sells a service/products to a prospective customer over the telephone.

In a nutshell, you would need telemarketing if your business is good at speaking to customers about your products/services, but lacks contact with customers. You could use telemarketing services to establish a need with contacts who are looking for what you offer and from that get strong appointment settings. This kind of service would probably be an ongoing one with set campaigns that ultimately increase your database and forge stronger links with your customers.

Telemarketing can help you:

• Find new customers
• Generate interest in your product, service or brand
• Identify prospective leads for your telesales team to close
• Eliminate the need for cold calling by your sales team
• Minimize training costs
• Professionally present your features, benefits and unique selling points.
• Contact current customers : better customer satisfaction
• Customer care calls which establish opportunities that can be converted into leads

You would need telesales if you are great at attracting prospective customers, but find it hard to convert that potential into hard sales. This service is perfect if you are already in possession of a good sized database of customers and just need to promote a particular sales drive or create a new sales campaign.

Telesales can help you:

• Persistently and persuasively convert leads into sales
• Increase your conversion rate while decreasing your costs per sale
• Convert difficult leads into sales
• Conducting resourceful campaigns and tailoring it according to your budget
• Leave prospective and current customers with a professional impression of your business

You can, of course, combine telemarketing and telesales.  One will generate a pool of potential leads, while the other will turn those leads into sales. While the telemarketers set up the appointments, the telesales team will close the deal. 

I hope that clarifies the differences and if you need any further clarification then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01424 576658

 

Putting bums on seats - how hard can that be?

Hosting an event can be scary. What if nobody comes? Or worse… what if only four or five people come? Empty rooms are horrid. Nearly empty rooms are worse because that just amplifies how useless your marketing has been, and now there are ‘some’ people who know that…at least with an empty room there’s nobody to see your failure.

Putting on an event that fails can affect many things like your self confidence, your reputation within your business community and even your pocket; not only will you have paid for the room hire and amenities but you will have put many hours into preparation and planning, hours that you can never get back.

So just how do you get those magical numbers to attend your event?

You do it by calling all of your invitees and telling them how wonderful the event is going to be, about the benefits they will get from attending and how great the networking is going to be for them.

And if you’re not confident about picking up the telephone and actually speaking to these people, look at these five tips below:

1.   Make sure the people you call have already opted in to your mailing list so you are covered with the legalities for calling them.

2.   Smile before you dial, always have a positive mental attitude

3.   Know your facts, plan your call – prepare a script and practise it

4.   Make sure you are speaking to the decision maker and not the monkey.  

5.   Remember to explain to the invitee exactly why they will benefit being at your event.

(We strongly recommend that you verify your data through TPS – Telephone Preference Service)  

The Importance of Training Staff

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."  ~Benjamin Franklin

There is usually an air of euphoria when we leave education - a mixture of relief, satisfaction and perhaps regret. But once school is out, we're done aren't we?

Learning should never stop. You may have trained for years to become the master of your own trade but that doesn't mean that there is no more you can learn. Even if you were in a profession that wasn't evolving, growing and changing, your client base are.

There can be very few businesses that can confidently say that they don't need to market themselves; they don't need new clients, new leads, or new sales. Long gone are the days when people leafed through the Yellow Pages to find the service they require - these days they are most likely to search you our online and then either call you directly or interact through social media.

So no matter how well you know your business, it is vital that all of your staff understand what it is that you are selling, and why. Good training equals vast product knowledge, and increases your confidence in selling the product. If both you, and your staff, know your features and benefits, you are far more likely to be able to sell to others.

Here at TalkMarketing we are so passionate about the importance of training staff that we run telemarketing training sessions - telesales work, but only if you are confident on the phone.

If you would like to know more about our telemarketing training packages please do give us a call on 01424 576658 

Telesales or Telemarketing?

The term "marketing" encompasses a whole wealth of ideas, methods and implications, but the end result is to gain more business for your company.

Under the marketing umbrella comes both Telesales and Telemarketing. But what is the difference between them, and which one suits your business needs the best?

Telesales:

You will utilise Telesales if you are ready to sell your product or service directly to your customers and will achieve this by using the telephone. Telesales is an excellent enhancement to your growth strategy and can be used both for new products and for upselling on existing packages.
Telesales Key Words: Speed, Volume, Sales, Conversion, Growth, Quantity.

Telemarketing:

Telemarketing gives you the platform to build a rapport and understanding of your current and/or potential customer base and to generate new leads that you may not have been aware of. It also increases your company's brand awareness and helps to educate your prospects further as to the problems that your products or service can solve for them.

This is less about the sale and more about generating the initial interest, developing the opportunities, gathering the correct information and snaring those all-important appointments and leads.
Telemarketing Key Words: Strategy, Generation, High-Value, Nurture, Leads, Quality.

Whilst Telesales and Telemarketing are distinct and different disciplines, the goal of both forms of marketing is to assist in the growth of the business. This is obtained through increased awareness and knowledge of customer and prospects needs and requirements, relevant, quality data, more leads, more appointments, and more sales.

Whilst your business may need either/or services at any given time, ultimately good Telemarketing campaigns drive great Telesales campaigns.


If you would like to learn more about growing your business through Telesales and/or Telemarketing then please get in touch with us. After all, our business is to grow your business.

How To Be A Success Using The Phone:

There are right ways and wrong ways to go about trying to sell using the telephone. We’ve all taken telesales calls that have wound us up – what is it that makes you want to hang up the phone? And conversely, those calls you did take an interest in, what made them different?

Each successful telemarketer will have their own approach to converting phone calls into a success, but there are some pointers that will help anyone who is using the telephone as part of their marketing strategy:

5 Tips For Successful Selling On The Phone:

Develop a professional greeting. Don't just say hello and jump into your telephone presentation without taking a breath or allowing the other party to participate. Your greeting should err on the side of formality. Begin with Mr., Mrs. or Ms, as in "Good morning, Mr. Smith." Or "Good evening, Mrs. Jones." Everyone else says, "Hello." Be different. Be professional.

Introduce yourself and your company. "My name is Sally Smith with ABC Company. We're a local firm that specializes in helping businesses like yours save money." Don't get too specific yet. Don't mention your product. If you do, that allows the other party to say, "Oh, we're happy with what we've got. Thanks anyway," and hang up. By keeping your introduction general, yet mentioning a benefit, you'll pique your prospect's curiosity and keep them on the line longer.

Express gratitude. Always thank the potential client for allowing you a few moments in his or her busy day. Tell them that you won't waste a second of their time. "I want to thank you for taking my call. This will only involve a moment of your time so you can get back to your busy schedule." Don't say that you'll "just take a moment." The feeling evoked by them hearing that you'll take anything from them will put them off.

State the purpose of your call. It's best if you can provide the purpose within a question. "If we can show you a way to improve the quality of your product at a lower cost, would you be interested to know more?" This is very likely to get a yes response. At this point, you're ready to start selling an opportunity to meet this person or to get their permission to provide them with more information. You're not selling your product yet - you're selling what your product will do for him.

Thank them;  for their time today and for the upcoming appointment. Reconfirm the date, time and location of the appointment. Ask for directions if you need them. Tell him how much preparation you'll do in order to make the best use of the time you'll share. Give him your contact information this way: "If anything else comes to mind that I should be aware of prior to our meeting, please contact me at on 01424 576658 ."

Bonus Tip:

Follow up. If your meeting is more than a few days in the future, send a letter of confirmation immediately. If the meeting is tomorrow, send an e-mail confirmation. Keep it short and upbeat.

Top 3 Lead Generation Tips

Within the world of business there are various methods of marketing, one such method being that of lead generation.  Lead generation is the generation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business - in other words, generating leads is the beginning of a process of which the ideal outcome will be more sales.  There are several ways of generating new leads for a business, and we have compiled a list of the Top 3 Ways of Lead Generation for your business:

TalkMarketing's Top 3 Lead Generation Tips

Networking: Whether you are attending a formal business networking group or you are chatting about your business with people you have met whilst walking the dog, or down at the gym, or at the school gates, you are spreading the word about what it is you do. TalkMarketing are regulars at several business networking events and we have secured leads, interest in TalkMarketing and what it is that we do, and subsequently converted those leads into actual business. But we also know of companies who have received referrals through other parents at the school, and yes, even whilst walking the dog.

Social Media: Businesses who succeed in securing clients through the use of social media are businesses that understand which social media platform is best suited for both themselves as a company and as the platform that their current and potential clients are using the most. As a general rule of thumb, B2B businesses will thrive better on LinkedIn and B2C businesses will fare better on Facebook. If you use any social media you will no doubt have seen a business recommendation, or indeed received a lead yourself via an online social networking site. Social media works for lead generation, but you have to understand exactly what you're doing as everything you say and do is open to public scrutiny.

Telemarketing: You didn't think we'd leave this one out now did you? Telemarketing remains one of the most tried and tested forms of lead generation - and it's still about because, quite simply, it works. And as a bonus point for telemarketing, it complements all other forms of lead generation. That contact that you made down the gym? Call them. The Facebook post recommending your services? Call the business you were recommended to. The person who viewed your profile on LinkedIn? You guessed it - call them. Picking up the telephone cements the relationship, keeps that lead alive and well, and can ultimately turn that lead into a sale.


Combining the three processes above will prove effective for your company, but if you don't have the time to manage lead generation as well as run your own business consider outsourcing all or part of your marketing strategies. If you would like to learn more about lead generation and how you can use it to improve your business' sales call us on 01424 576658 - we love talking and we love helping other companies to grow their business.

5 Tips For Selling Insurance

Insurance - something everybody needs in some form or another. It is one of the most expensive things people buy, that they can’t see, touch, or hold.  Selling insurance means that you are selling ideas, selling trust, selling promises, but above all, you are selling yourself.  Whether you need to sell life insurance, mortgage protection, disability and critical illness insurance, or annuities, the goal is the same: grow leads and increase sales.

5 Top Tips For Selling Insurance

Talk Less, Listen More: As tempting as it is to sit down and begin explaining all the benefits of your insurance policies and plans, the best thing you can do is let the prospect lead the discussion. By really listening and hearing what they have to say you will be able to tailor your sale directly to their requirements.

Present Solutions: Instead of jumping into a sales pitch about the great discounts you are offering, explain to your customer how what you are offering can help solve a problem they currently have, or potential problem down the road. People are much more likely to purchase products that resolve problems and provide them with peace of mind. And if you have followed the point above you will have an understanding of what problems your client may have.

Focus On Features: It's a well-known adage in sales that you sell the features not the benefits. Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of an insurance policy, first highlight how having insurance will help them in terms they can relate to. And at the risk of repetition, if you have really listened to your prospect you will know how to tailor your pitch at the right level for them.

Love What You Do: Successful sales people enjoy selling: In order to be truly successful in business, you have to love your job and believe in your product/services. People who enjoy what they are doing experience less stress and a higher success rate.

Outsource Sales: Selling is an essential skill - we are all trying to sell something; but it doesn't come naturally to all of us. If you don't feel confident in selling then outsource your sales to a company with a proven track record in gaining the leads that you need.


Here at TalkMarketing we have extensive experience of helping Insurance companies with their sales and marketing so if you would like assistance with your business needs please get in touch with us.

What Are The Benefits Of A Good CRM?

"Are CRMs (Content Relationship Management) a good thing for business or just a time sucking waste of people's valuable resources?"

With an estimated 75% of companies having no process of nurturing sales leads (this is what a CRM does) it would appear they are deemed a bad thing, not worth having or using.

Let's turn this on its head by looking at what happens when your company does use a good CRM by cramming in a few juicy details:

5 Business Benefits Of Using A Good CRM

The Clue's In The Name: When you hear business people ranting about ROIs, KPIs and even CRMs there's a tendency to glaze over, but the clue really is in the name on this one. Customer + Relationship. Perhaps the biggest benefit of using CRM systems is that their use leads to a better overall customer experience. And happy customers tend to become loyal customers. Engaging customers through a CRM system increases the odds that they'll spend more in their next transaction by 20-40%. And because CRM systems improve the buying experience, customers are more likely to recommend the purchased product or service to friends and colleagues.

Internal Comms: Even in smaller businesses, the entire customer lifecycle is typically too complex to be managed effectively by one person. How can you recall buying habits, customer preferences, dates communication took place, updates on social media, and all of the other vital points of contact with clients within one organisation? CRM platforms allow for employees in multiple departments to more effectively manage their customer relationships and to see the big picture at any time. Successful implementation of a good CRM system means that reps can be more productive, sell more, and get more references.

Data Overload: How many ways are there to communicate with clients? Customers you have a history with, new customers, potential customers? Let's see now, there's snail mail, telephones, IM, email, face-to-face meetings, networking, social media, advertising, public speaking, websites....... we are drowning in a sea of data, so much information about potential sales prospects. But how many businesses then use that data to their advantage? A CRM will help companies to understand their data, how to use it to their best advantage, and to learn things about their customers that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

All Together Now: Efficiency is the key here - you have all your data in one place right at your and all relevant employees' finger tips. It doesn't matter who Mrs Jones get through to on the phone, you can all see who she is and what it is she is likely to need. Thanks to the ability of the better CRM platforms to integrate with other systems, such as marketing automation tools, the efficiencies of CRM can enable companies to interact with customers in ways that they wouldn't have the resources to otherwise.

Accountability: A well-implemented CRM system helps employees across departments understand their responsibilities to customers throughout the customer lifecycle. When those responsibilities aren't met, it's easy to identify what went wrong, where, who fell short and how to make sure it doesn't happen again. If companies lack the tools to manage their customer relationships, customers are bound to fall through the cracks. CRM systems can help ensure that this doesn't happen by adding a layer of accountability to the customer relationship management process, helping the sales and marketing professionals to report, track deals and flag opportunities.

With reports from the US showing that a CRM on average returns $5.60 for every $1.00 spent (that’s a ROI of greater than 50%!) and an overall increased efficiency and accountability for businesses, CRMs are a real benefit when implemented correctly.

Good quality and well implemented CRMs have helped businesses to increase their revenue, improve their sales conversion rates, increase their customer retention rates, decrease their overall marketing costs and increase their profit margins.

The Difference Between Features And Benefits

If you run a business your need to “sell” – be that the products you yourself make, items that you buy in or services; if you don’t “sell” you don’t stay in business.

But what exactly are you selling?

The Difference Between Features And Benefits – And Why It’s Important!

Let’s say I told you that I ran a telemarketing service and I had thirteen telephones, five permanent members of staff, several more part time, and access to 35 different types of database. Would your eyes begin to glaze over? Would you start to think about what to cook for supper tonight?

How about this then – I tell you that I run a telemarketing service that would enable your company to increase your active client base three fold within the space of a month and double your company revenue stream by the end of the summer? More like it? Who cares what’s for supper?

Telling you about my staff, my equipment and the tools of my trade are all features of my business. Telling you how my company will enable your business to grow is the benefit.

Most people don’t really care about you – harsh, but true. They are more interested by “what’s in it for me”. If you reel off a list of the features of your product/service, you are talking about you not about them. By selling the features you are asking the potential customer to do all the work – “Oh, so you have thirteen telephones! That means that you can call x amount of people in y amount of time and potentially convert z of those into a revenue stream that will enable my client base to increase by….?”

It is a lot easier to list your features – it takes a little more thought and effort to turn these features around and customise them for the client. But to effectively communicate with your clients you need to start understanding their needs and concerns. Tailoring what you do to their potential requirements is far more likely to result in a satisfactory working relationship – and ultimately in more sales.