Discover how to only pay for leads that result in a sale

Posted October 3rd, 2007 by Dr James Pratt

On your desk or credenza, on your business' counter or mounted on your wall is a powerful effective marketing tool that you're already paying for but probably using a lot less and a lot less effectively than you could be. The tool is the... telephone.

Telemarketing is an area of tremendous interest in all types of business today as the cost of other methods of prospecting, qualifying customers or clients and marketing continue to increase dramatically. For the small to medium size business telemarketing has many advantages. Among them is the fact that you literally pay as you go. In direct mail, for reasonable economics, you may have to print thousands or even tens of thousands of brochures and materials all at one time. In media advertising you have to pay for circulation of thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people all at one time but with the telephone you can reach out and contact as few or as many prospects as you wish at one time.

And if contacting prospects in a local phone area, you literally have no marketing costs other than time. For example, the small business person, say the owner of a clothing store, office supply store, print shop, flower shop, who disciplined himself to just call three prospective customers a day could promote to almost a thousand new customers a year in less than a half an hour a day at virtually no cost. This is one type of telemarketing that virtually any business can use.

Telephone prospecting can be used to qualify and invite new customers to a store, qualify new prospective clients for sales appointments, qualify good prospective customers or clients to mail materials too.

Like direct mail this method of marketing does require the selection or compilation of a prospect list. Then you'll find it best to write a script to use and refer to when making calls. You can refine the script through practice.

Another application of telemarketing for most businesses is as a way of communicating with past and existing customers. A steak company, for example, calls their customers from time-to-time with special offers. In store sales events, limited time discounts, close out offers, new products, all these marketing strategies can be implemented with telephone calls to customers.

Still another application of telemarketing that most businesses can use is called the telephone up sell. This is used most often when customers call in to the place of business to make a purchase. When you call the Sharper Image to place your order, the telephone agent courteously processes the order and then does what I call a Columbo, a marketing technique named after the famous TV detective played by Peter Falk.

Remember Columbo would always stop at the last minute and ask one more thing. The Sharper Image's agent says, Say just one more thing. We have a special offer this week just for our telephone customers? This idea could be used by many small businesses - florists, printers, bookstores, the list is virtually endless.

In implementing any or all of these telemarketing ideas there are some basic guidelines and tips you'll want to keep in mind that I will reveal in your next Successful Marketing Strategy blog in just a couple of days.


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