Telemarketing – A Primer

You are cooking dinner and boom! – the phone rings. You hear the delay and hang up! The problem is they will call back!

The dreaded ‘TeleMarketer’!!  So what do you do?

You know the old break up line: It’s not you, it’s me! A variation of it fits here. Let me explain.

First of all, let’s define “TeleMarketing”. First, let’s get those smarmy people that call little old ladies in Florida telling them they won a Hummer relentlessly, (almost giving them heart attacks) out of the way. We are not talking about ‘the psychopaths’ that use the phone to feel superior and want to manipulate others. They are criminals, period.

We’re talking about legitimate enterprises that use the phone to ‘drum up’ business. Sorry to say but it is like that old break-up line: It’s not them, it’s you! Hear me out. Think on this logically.

The telephone has been around for a while [and it's not going anywhere soon. In fact, it's gone mobile!] It’s only a matter of time before your smart phone starts ringing with your bank or a local renovator calling to see if you need a new roof! So what do you do?

There is only one way to deal with it. You need to hear them out and utter a definite NO! (unless you are interested, in which case, all bets are off!)

The reason you have to ‘hear them out’ is simple: You need to understand the way a ‘Call Center’ works, in a database, thousands of names / contact info  is loaded into a workflow type application that the agents access. There could be 10 agents or 200!Remember, the company calling is not really calling, they have outsourced the lead generation campaign to a call center. (It’s not US Bank or Verizon calling, it’s Schmoe’s Marketing, on their behalf.)

Now, when they call and you, what do most people do:  hang up / tell the receptionist to get rid of them / send them to voice mail / tell them to call you back Thursday **Never do this because they click on a calendar and set a reminder to call you back ..say on Thursday! / telling them to put you on the DNC list or swearing at them,  DOESN’T WORK EITHER! Why?

Because the agent just ‘disposition’s’ the call. In other words, they throw it back in the mix. so you get called again by someone else. Usually in a week or two (if you’re lucky!) Even if the agent ‘dispositions’ you as a Do Not Call, management can throw you back in the mix when ever they want!

The only recourse you have is to hear them out and to then say: NO – firmly. At this point you’ll have to listen to their rebuttals. Just keep saying NO, don’t ask questions. [Asking questions is a sign of interest to a telemarketer.] It’s the only way!

The agent will then have to ‘disposition’ the call as completed but no interest. Hopefully, you will be left alone for a while! (**Then again, the agent may be a complete dolt and throw you back into the mix anyways.)  They may try again in a few months.

You may be saying; Who has the time? Good question, the point you need to keep in mind is that most telemarketing pitches are quick, under a minute. So let them ‘spit it out’, just give a firm NO and that’s will be that! You can’t duck an ‘auto-dialer’ for ever!

If you have someone screening your calls, you may want to send them the link to this information. It will make their live easier in the long-run as well! Then again ‘delete’ in the telemarketing universe is an illusion.

Remember PPF – Patience / Polite / Firm

Look, with gas prices the way they are, nobody’s going to come to you without calling first. [If you opened a business tomorrow, you would do the same thing…right?  Don’t be hatin’, they’re just trying to pay their bills too!

Oh, and purchase a cordless phone with a head-set for your home, that way you can keep cooking that great spaghetti sauce while they are pitching you at the supper hour!

2011
12/10
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Business Intelligence And Your Business

FOUR ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOLUTION

Here are four essential parts to any Business Intelligence Solution should your company be looking to implement one:

Data Source Systems

A business intelligence solution is, in essence, identifying and locating all relevant data within an organization and allowing everyone in the organization to interact with it. It may be structured data stored in relational databases, or unstructured data kept in spreadsheets and other formats. It may be dispersed among departments and functions, or centralized. In many case’s, most of the data originates from its partners and vendors, each of which may use different technologies and terms. Potential problems include redundant data, stored in multiple sources with varying levels of accuracy and completeness.

As a business owner, you may want to meditate on this and make sure you are taking steps to put something in place now if you haven’t already done so. It will pay off in ‘spades’ down the road.

Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW)

A data warehouse is a central repository for organizational data, built to ensure that all data is validated, consistent in its definition, and permanently stored for historical analysis. It solves the problem of redundant and inconsistent data sources, by reconciling all data into “one version of the truth” that you and all your employee’s and BI analysts can draw on. Companies in the process of rolling out an EDW, and currently using an operational data store (ODS) want a more dynamic kind of data repository with the principal goal being centralization of data history.

Extract, Transform, Load Tools (ETL Tools)

Data from diverse sources are “scrubbed”, rendered consistent, and loaded into the EDW by means of an ETL tool.
Before most companies adopt a business intelligence solution, their existing applications had to clean and transform data manually by manipulating complex Excel spreadsheets, wasting countless hours. Implementing ETL applications to automate this work is a major “behind-the-scenes” fix that free’s up the IT staff to work on higher-level functionality like providing new reports for business users.

Reports, Dashboards, Scorecards, and Alerts

From the point of view of most business users, business intelligence is about asking business questions and getting timely answers. There are a number of “interfaces” by which BI can satisfy their needs. Reports can be daily, weekly, monthly, or on-demand documents that provide information in a pre-defined format. Business Intelligence reporting capabilities. They have come a long way from the old days. [Five years ago]  Cognos, for example, can provide more types of reports, faster, with analysis, charts, graphs, and other content that was not possible five years ago.

Cognos [IBM's BI Platform] is one of the top BI solutions on the market, and competes with such brands as SAP’s Business Objects, Oracle’s Business Intelligence, SAS, and MicroStrategy. Cognos distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering a comprehensive package based on open standards, modular deployment, and compatibility with third-party software. **For more information on Cognos, try to find a white paper they put out a few years ago: ‘The full promise of Business Intelligence’.

Dashboards and scorecards represent simple interfaces that allow users to monitor a small set of key performance indicators (KPIs) in near real-time via a computer screen, web page, or mobile device. Alerts are software programs that monitor KPIs and send an e-mail or some other kind of message when a condition is met, such as a KPI falling below acceptable levels.

Logically, the bigger the enterprise the more in-depth BI can get. As a smaller business though, it’s worth looking at what your options are.

If you need more information or have questions, do not hesitate to email me.

2011
09/07
CATEGORY
Information Technolgy
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Your Marketing Message

  

Your marketing & sales message must effectively answer the following four questions:

  •     Why should I read or listen to you?
  •     Why should I believe what you have to say?
  •     Why should I do anything about what you’re offering?
  •     Why should I act now?

          These are very basic questions, however don’t take them lightly,  few sales people can respond immediately with answers to any of them.  The immedaite answers that come to mind, just won’t do anylonger. There are all kinds of ‘Guru’s and Sherpa’s out there! There are all kinds of companies that are ‘well-run’, but can you give a really solid explanation of what they do or why it matters?

         Your precise answer to these four questions is your USP or Unique Selling Proposition.  The key word is ‘unique’. This is vital: You must have this message clearly defined and focused and you need to understand the principles of how to ‘market’ it.   It must be written down and you must be able to repeat it in the middle of the night when your brother wakes you from a deep sleep needing a place to crash!  Everything you do should answer those questions in a consistent way, whether directly or indirectly. The two questions that constantly should be running through your mind are: How can I improve my business today? What did I see or who mentioned something today that I can implement in my business?

          Here is part of my USP: we don’t try to sell you anything or get you to visit a site (in order to make an affiliate commission,) until we have talked.Yes, that is Brandor Marketing’s USP; nothing happens until we talk. Many IT Marketing Consulting Firms preach USP but then just sell you a ‘bundle’ and outsource the work to ‘cookie cutter’ web design firms. At Brandor, we investigate your industry for a week after we have spoken, based on what you have told us and our own investigations as to what your competition is up to and the present overall state of it . We do everything ‘in-house’ only then is a customized solution presented to you for your consideration. Only then do we discuss service fee’s. Everything is upfront and transparent. We do the work, you pay for the finished product. **If we are taken advantage of, well, lets just say, ‘word’ gets around quick in the on-line marketing world!

        Please reach out to us so we can help you with practical solutions. Leave a comment or email me via my URL link or punch up: Brandor Marketing on FBook to set up a time to talk ‘on us’. 

          Visit our website, you will see that everything there is designed to give you options first, no fluff, you decide and go from there. Sometimes, ‘Old School is the Best School’ !

http://brandornow.com

 

 

2011
06/25
CATEGORY
Sales & Marketing
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Does Your Marketing Wardrobe Match the “Seasons of Business”?

 The importance of having a marketing plan insulated from other aspects of your business is crucial. It is  why so many ‘start-up’s’ fail in their first year  or so. Here is what typically happens:

Someone gets an idea and shares it with a friend or relative, they find the capital they need to get started. They put together a business plan that may include marketing strategies, along with everything else.

This can potentially be a huge error, because by including it with everything else and considering the typical, run-of-the-mill marketing strategies/tactics, something  gets lost. It really needs some creative attention on its own. Isolating the marketing platform and developing a plan specifically for it,  is just better! For some serendipitous reason, by tackling it all on its own, the creative juices seem to flow in a whole different way. It’s difficult to put into words, you must experience it. There is just something about brainstorming in a locked room with your colleagues and a white board!

This is especially true for someone attacking a niche vertical.

So, what’s your ‘closed door’ marketing plan?

In helping small business for years with this key element, here is, what I believe, to be the foundation:

1)  You need to develop marketing strategies for the company itself and your products and services.

2)  A through understanding of the culture of your potential customer and how they buy.

3)  Being able to distance yourself from the competition.

To address the first point, you must be totally transparent, helpful, green and fair ..etc. It must all be well thought out and congruent. You must exude ‘integrity’ right from the start. Some of your marketing budget has to go towards that,  its just the world we now live in!

With regards to the second point, you need to know your customer inside and out. If you are targeting ‘boomers’  you may need to lay of the technology and invest a little more in training for ‘belly to belly’ presentations. Conversely, if you are relentlessly pursuing the youth, you had better ‘bone up’ on mobile marketing!

As for the third point, you need to think differently from the competition. Easier said than done. If they don’t offer a guarantee after 30 days, you should. If they won’t fix it for free, you will. Whatever it takes!

If you transformed these three areas into circles and drew a Venn Diagram, where the circles overlap would  represent the ‘strategic opportunity’ you have.

These three steps are crucial because this is what happens next:

The Three Seasons Of A Typical Business

1) Sales are all that matter. (But do you see how difficult that would be if you haven’t perfected the above!) You do all you can to make the phone ring, because when the phone rings, so does the cash register! (Do they even make cash register’s anymore?) “Make it rain, Jack”!

2) As the company’s revenues plateau, lead generation and maintaining client loyalty begins to matter more and more. (Again, see above, you better know who you’re looking for and how to keep them happy.) It’s suddenly all about raising awareness and building relationships!

3) It’s now time to start building your brand. It’s no longer lead generation, it’s demand generation! YOu are generating demand based on the benefits of your product/service and your growing reputation. You now have a recognized place in the respective vertical or niche and you are focused on staying’ out front’, setting the pace, consistent communication, as well as maintaining and embellishing established relationships.

By the way, and this piece of the plan is not meant to be minimized: All your key people better be on board with this action plan or you are dead in the water. You know the old saying, “One bad apple……….

So, what’s wrong with your marketing? Are you dressed for the wrong season? We will show you how to organize your ‘marketing wardrobe’ in future posts. If you need help with anything, I’m only a phone-call / email away.

Best

Stephen

2011
01/27
CATEGORY
Sales & Marketing
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A New Year’s Resolution Everyone Should Consider!

Another year has come and gone! For many of us we are exhaling with sighs of relief however, we all have that same question gnawing away at us: What lies ahead?

The best answer is to formulate a plan of action and try to stick to it. We can’t control the economy, which is like a wind but we can adjust our sails accordingly. I think after the last few years, many of us have come to the conclusion that we can’t rely on business or industry, we need to be a source of help and encouragement to others if we want to improve our situation. Many of us are being forced into becoming ‘entrepreneurs’. Not necessarily a bad thing!

Everyone has ‘resolutions’ at this time of year, but here is a simple one that we all can do, (I did it last year and I cannot believe the difference it has made to my life.) Adopt what I call: “The Holiday Season Lifestyle”, by that I don’t mean to eat and drink like a glutonous fool, I am referring to the admonition we receive every year to work on the customs of taking time to talk to loved ones and friends and to look people in the eye. To laugh and cry with them. To listen with impartiality. If you turned off your wireless devices for any length of time over the holidays, continue to do so. Work on the eroding art of “belly to belly conversation”.

Here’s another, which may be a little like trying to quit cocaine, cold turkey! Throw out your TV, (if it’s an old CRT one but don’t buy a flatscreen yet!)  We have been carpet-bombed the last few years with Fear and Hate by the Media, it won’t hurt to see a few less commercials. You cannot believe (after a few weeks of withdrawl) how much better you will feel, in particular if you like to read!  (Even if you don’t, you will find yourself doing more of it! Which is never a bad thing as long as it’s not media-related!) **If things really get tough, you can always watch the results of the various ’talent shows’ on You Tube.

If you do have a flat screen, try to be a little more choosy with what you view and definitely don’t watch the media channels!  

May 2011 be your year! My company, Brandor Marketing is instituing a New Policy starting today; It’s call the SPA program, no, it’s not a Zen-like retreat we’re opening, it’s an acronym for: Strategies, Proceedures & Accountability. We pledge to help anyone get their business off the ground or grow it with free consultation for a month from the date of their choosing. Punch up our URL to find out more (or search: Brandor Marketing on FaceBook,) as always the only string is that we can use you as a testimonial.   http://brandornow.com

Maybe getting some help in 2011, would be a little ‘Zen-like’, for all concerned!

Best

Stephen

2011
01/02
CATEGORY
Motivation
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Help for you in Understanding How Credit Works!

Hello

If you are stressed over credit card debt, don’t be. All that stress can be lifted by you making one decision, that’s it.

Debt settlement isn’t for everyone but it can be a very good, logical decision. In case you are not familiar with the ‘credit industry’ here’s how it works. I know, I’ve studied it years before our current ‘financial meltdown’ and talked to credit counseling specialist’s for a number of years. Think of Debt Settlement as a ‘Mini Bankruptcy’.

Here is what you need to know about credit card companies:

1) They charge a percentage off the merchants on every transaction. This percentage varies according to your monthly volume. For example, if you have a ‘mom & pop’ business and don’t accept many credit card transactions, you  will probably pay a high percentage (3%) per transaction. If you are Walmart or Home Depot, you probably pay nothing, or very little. Every transaction, think about it?

2) Once you get billed, then they charge interest, if you don’t pay the balance in full before the due date, as we all know, these are very high rates, averaging in the 20% range.

3) They also make money on ‘annual fee’s’ and currency exchange rates.

So, never feel intimidated by Credit Card Companies, they are making plenty of money!

*********************************

Here is the decision you have to make: Am I ready to ‘bite the bullet’?
Am I ready to live without credit (or the minimum possible) for the next 3/4 years? If you are at that point or close to it, read on.

This is why you should do it now: Because everyone else is. The timing is right. The whole financial world is open to ‘dealing’. Whether it is modifying your mortgage to reducing your unsecured debt!

This is how credit card companies collect late debt: They add a bunch of late charges for a few months while they harass you and then, guess what, they sell the debt to a collection company for cents on the dollar and ‘write off’ the loss!

Here’s an example, say you owe $10,000 and can’t pay the minimum any longer, they add on fee’s to bump it up to 12K and threaten you for 3/4 months to get your account back to a good standing (or to the point where you can continue to pay ‘the minimum’. Which is exactly what they want, to keep you on the ‘treadmill’!)

So, if you’ve made the decision to get off the ‘treadmill’, to ‘bite the bullet’, what will happen is the debt settlement company will, deposit monthly payments you can handle and budget for a set amount of time, (24/36 months) into an ‘escrow-type account’ and pay off or settle with these collection companies who are ready to ‘deal’! IT IS WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY LONG! They settle for cents on the dollar. Your 10,000 debt is ‘settled forever’ for possibly $3000. (**This is a hypothetical situation but close to what actually happens.)

Yes, your FICO score is non-existant for a while, but so what, you can’t get anymore credit anyways! It is better to ‘live low’ for the period of your settlement and then have a ‘clean slate’. Your FICO score returns very, very quickly. **The credit bureau’s will see you are responsible and working on a solution to your situation.

Get back to me and I will explain all the details at no charge and point you in the direction of respected Debt Settlement companies, then you can decide what you want to do. ** Reply or email me through my URL: http://brandornow.com

Starting over, understanding accurately what credit really is, isn’t shameful. It’s wise!

Best,

Steve

2010
06/02
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The ‘Derby’ Mentality!

Jessica Watson, the  Australian teen just got home! She sailed 23,000 nautical miles around the world, solo! She encountered 12 foot waves but she also encountered a bunch of  folks doubting she could do it. Sound familiar?

Sydney’s mayor called her a hero, she humbly said she wasn’t. Just pursuing a dream.

Jessica has what I call: ‘The Derby Mentality’. She doesn’t look at the other horses and where they are, She just runs, full bore! Getting it done. Good on you, Jessica!

2010
05/21
CATEGORY
Motivation
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There Is No ‘Magic Bullet’.

I hope this finds you all well.

Here’s another truth that will help us keep that child-like curiosity and openmindedness within us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Human beings love the myth of the magic bullet. The one thing that solves all problems and gets them what they want. We all love this myth not because we’re stupid, but because it’s such a compelling story. The formula is always the same: “If only I could find that one thing, then (fill in the blank) would be perfect.” When you find yourself thinking this way, you can bet that trouble and loss won’t be far behind. Promoters love to tell and re-tell the magic bullet story because it works so well as a selling tool. Any time you’re presented with a magic bullet offer remind yourself that while there are systems and programs that work – to improve your health, to make your business more profitable, to invest your money more wisely – there is no such thing as a single element that is powerful enough all by itself to get you the whole prize.

There’s no one thing you can do which will help you attain the big prize: financial independence. It’s a collection of things – and the more of them you know and do the better. At the end of the day, life is unpredictable. Sometimes that unpredictability works for us, sometimes it works against us.

2010
04/25
CATEGORY
Motivation
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Keep Dreaming and Juggling!

“The juggler can’t tell you which ball is more important. Drop just one and the show is over.” I was particularly intrigued by this thought from Joan Magretta’s book, What Management Is. But I don’t agree, the show does go on. I grew up on ‘live TV’, it happened on the Ed Sullivan Show all the time!

In selling you must have a lot of balls in the air because some will drop. But the show does go on. You simply work with what you have and/or add another prospect and keep on going, continually adding to your ‘pipeline’. Here is my tweak on Magretta’s point:

The salesperson can’t tell you which prospect is more important. Small Companies can grow at a phenomenal pace and Large Corporations can be deleted off the stock exchange indexes in a heartbeat. Keep juggling.

*********************

Income-Generating products and services are the dream of all business owners who want to enjoy the windfall of a great sales strategy.
 
Dreams and Ideas are worthless unless you can actually create a plan, put it into action and close the sale.
 
Turn your dreams into “Money Ideas”
 
1. Generate a list of ideas
2. Confirm your niche market (Crucial; cheap and easier than you think because of the Web)
3. Prioritize your ideas
4. Create a business plan (including a ‘marketing action plan’)
5. Be consistent in implementing the action plan
6. Get feedback from clients and from people who do not buy

2010
04/03
CATEGORY
Income Generating Opportunities
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The World has become the ‘American Idol’ Audition Hall.

I was walking downtown yesterday. It was a perfect spring day, sunny and literally in the high 60′s! I noticed the street musicians on just about every corner and saw that they all had CD’s for sale. It got me thinking: Whether you’re a musician, artist, or writer, the world is like standing in the hall at an American Idol audition, except you don’t have to be humiliated by Simon! There’s no need to be judged! Just produce it and if you understand marketing, even a little,  you’ll probably do okay.

It’s not like the old days, (10 years ago) where you had to impress a record executive or a publisher. I guess to be really ‘successful’ you would need to but so many seem to be carving out a niche for themselves. The next thing you know, Oprah sends a camera crew to interview you!

I just thought it ironic that in a culture that judges everything from ‘your vocal talents’ to your ‘cooking skills’, you really don’t need anyone’s approval. If you’re good at something, it goes back to the same time-tested principle: get out and do it! Someone will notice if you’re smart about it. Marketing is everything!

2010
04/03
CATEGORY
Sales & Marketing
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