Cold Calling Techniques

Cold calling is the very first lesson one gets in sales and for most of us who are into sales, we get so tied up with the routine job that the revisit to the techniques come handy.

1) What is the Goal? We often forget why we make the cold calls and confuse it with a chance to close a deal or generate a sale. But in reality cold calling is to get appointment so that we can make a great sales pitch. It is all about creating the right experience over a call for you and for the prospect.

2) Research your markets and prospects: Understand what kind of target market works for your business, get the list of the right audience. Adequate market research and information about the decision makers in the organization, details of the kind of the industry the organization is into, the kind of services it sells and any related news is always helpful before we call the person. This comes as an easy tip to prepare you before the call and know what to say so that we have the call aligned for a meeting.

3) Greet and Connect with the Prospect:  A brief outline of what has to be spoken and conveyed to the person also helps. Try and use lines like "Is this a good time to talk?" or "How are you today?" in the framework of the conversation so that you instantly connect with the person over the call.

4) What should be in the opening statement? The opening statement can be something that strikes attention. A call would generally have a greeting and an introduction, a reference point (something about the prospect), the benefits of your product or service, and a transition to a question or dialogue and a request for appointment so that the meeting can be scheduled.

5) Calling Script: The calling script has it all – all the benefits of product or service and the reasons why the prospect should buy. All possible objections and answers to them. A script would primarily help you in having everything in the front for a reference so nothing gets left out.

6) Ask for a specific time: Being premise with the timing further ensures the chances of getting the meeting fixed instead of letting it lose for a next conversation.

7) Gatekeepers are allies not foes: It is tough for many a sales people to accept this but being pleasant to whoever picks up the phone or is guarding the inner sanctum when cold calling brings no harm. One must learn and develop strategies to get the gatekeeper to favor you. Because at times it may so happen they would help you to get onto the first call, rest is about how you take it. Learning the names of gatekeepers and being friendly when calling also helps.

8) Cold calling in early hours of the morning: Early morning working hours are the best time to reach the decision maker directly because most people would be most energized at that time.

9) Be persistent: Eighty percent of new sales are made after the fifth contact, yet the majority of sales people give up after the second call. Cold calling is all about follow-ups and appointment setting with the prospect for a next level discussion.

Business Lists for Your Marketing Campaigns – We do it Right

Contacts are the life and blood of any marketing campaign. Without a correct list, there is no point to any campaign. It is, therefore, vital that you get the list built with someone who understands what your marketing campaign is in the first place.

The process of Contact List development for your marketing campaigns should ensure building of a “quality” list, because “Quality is better than Quantity.” It is better to reach to fewer contacts who are interested in your product, service or message than to send it to a random list of individuals who are not interested. This approach will give you better results and more success in your marketing campaign.

ClientCurve is a B2B Marketing Agency. We specialize in List Building Service for your marketing campaigns.

Our Specialty

Our business lists are accurate: The contacts on our business lists are updated weekly and monthly for accuracy. 

Our business lists are reliable: We validate each contact for email deliverability before delivery of your specific order.

Our business lists are extensive: We do thorough research before including the records in our database. Besides, we have global coverage. We offer lists for North America, EMEA & APAC etc.

Way we build Effective B2B Contacts List

The key is to have a clear target market definition. We need info to build your B2B marketing list:

1. Identify the industry: We start by picking the industry and the sub-industry which is specified by the client or is suitable for the product we are looking at. .

2. Identify companies: Companies like yours often define us the criteria for their target market which they are looking to focus for sales and branding. So we segment the market based on revenue, geography, number of employees, etc

3. Identify titles or roles:

Here what we do is to understand who the right decision maker in each case. We identify the contact details based on department such as IT, Human Resources, Marketing, Manufacturing etc, and specific designations.

4. Standardize spreadsheet format:

We standardize the spreadsheet based on the CRM format required by the clients so that it is ready to use list when we send it to you.

5. Validate:

We validate the information gathered by the phone verification or a physical verification and ensure that we give the right designation to you. Hence making your list authentic.

Conclusion: Whether you're a start-up company looking to build a new database of business contacts, or an established company with an out-of-date or patchy database, if you can create an extensive and good quality B2B database then you will dramatically improve your business's chances of success. Considering the fairly intense competitive markets outside, it is fair to say that every second lost counts a deal lost.

Segmented Database – The right way to your Marketing Campaigns

Being marketers, it is important for us to be able to make the right connection with audience. This comes with understanding of business, knowledge of product/services, right content that generates a visceral reaction from audience during a campaign, impact performances for a recall or reference. So more or less it comes as a mix of right approach, multiple methods, great content and segmented audience to talk to see the effort to business conversions.

Companies often spend a lot of time in strategizing, planning approach and budgeting in board rooms but forget about Contact list development exercise. This is where our expertise jumps in. We are B2B marketing agency with primary focus in getting segmented and extremely customized lists for our clients. Because a campaign would be in vain if you have a poorly built database or a very old database which is not updated with right decisions, persons and is not segmented finitely.

How will getting a segmented database improve your chances? Segmenting the market resolves around 2 purposes - an effectively segmented database with updated information will help a marketer to confirm the representative is an ideal prospect profile. For example, if your product brings in value to a project manager and the operations team by improving the work quality then talking to the IT manager is going to do no good for you. Hence the effort has to go much focused and hit the right contact person.

Secondly, when a B2B Contact List is segmented properly and updated at regular intervals, marketers will be able to design very specific mailers or calling campaigns on one particular database.  Here the motto is to generate specific responses from that market. Putting in the time up front to get the segmentation right will pay off later when you are able to execute seamlessly each marketing strategy.

Benefits of Building a Contact List accurately segmented do for you -

•    Boost in audience engagement with you
•    Campaign metrics show responses when addressed to a segmented recipient group
•    Acquisition of maximum Qualified Appointments in quick time
•         ROI on the campaign in the allotted budget

Let us now learnt the best practices in doing so-

• Analyze who an ideal prospect profile would be. Large organizations have market analysts and consulting teams to suggest them the right picture of the target market. In cases of small and medium enterprises, if you don’t have this established then consider to do it now. Get a picture of the companies you want to talk to and have meetings with. Categorize based on industry, revenue, titles, job levels (CXO or Mid-level manager, Line managers).

• Get the segmented database built by experts like ClientCurve and get it updated on a very regular basis.

• Get the database uploaded and updated on the CRM system to be used. Each time a campaign is run, add records to further segment. Information of this kind brings in the insight and helps in analyzing a campaign.

Marketers who understand the importance of database with the most currently updated information will always get the added advantage of a connection with the recipient. Having a segmented and updated database is a compulsory requisite for a successful B2B Campaign Management in today’s age of competition.

First 30 Seconds – Threshold for Inside Sales Agents

“30 seconds to win or lose a sale”- We all hear this from our direct bosses or seniors in the beginning phase of our careers. Every sales profession would agree that the impression done could cost or earn the biggest sale. Even in times like these when a lot of business is done through phone, virtual conference calls; the first 30 seconds still plays the deciding factor.

          

I often wonder why it is crucial.

The first 30 seconds impression is all about the right mix- what the appointment setter speaks, how he speaks, the tone, the manner the sentences are framed and paused while speaking, attention to details that builds a certain impression about us in the mind of executive who controls the buying decisions. Studies show that in the first 30 seconds or less of initial meeting, buyers have already made a lasting and unshakable perception of the person they are speaking to. The challenge though in B2B Inside sales is that you convey the message through a voice process and have to develop an interest to continue the conversation further.

In selling, you seldom get that second chance. So it is weeks of effort, hard work and knowledge that stands with us during the discussion with the client. Especially in the software industry today, where the differentiation is only in the knowledge and quality of services at hand the buyer stands at a high point having numerous options to choose from. Hence the first 30 seconds determine if the sales person is going to be given the chance for next level or will be opted out.

Experts advise salespeople to quickly establish a professional image that projects knowledge of the customer’s business, confidence and accountability. The objective would then be to build a foundation for a being as a Trusted Advisor role versus the sales person trying to push the sales.

Here’s how to make a greatest impression for a inside sales agent:

1. Clarity in what we Speak: A preparation on what we want to speak during the call brings in certain flow to the discussion that will follow. For inside sales agents especially, it becomes important on how we talk over the phone or call bridge. It is our clarity in voice, tone, the speed with which we speak sentences that would help an executive either hold their interest or leave it.

2. Project Confidence: Confidence is a major ingredient in creating an executive presence. It comes hand in hand with knowledge of customer’s business, knowledge of market and knowledge of how to help them best. A little homework and researching can help you cultivate this. It is always about providing a logical flow of information and compassion that helps you.

3. Talk Less and Listen More: It is important to have a good listening skills being in sales. Because if you not listening then you are talking about anything that can be perceived as awkward or could be misconstrued as inappropriate. But in case of B2B inside sales a low tone murmur could be used so as to make the executive ensure that you are listening to every detail that he is mentioning.

4. Promptness: You are not present physically with the executive but then your behavior before and after the call builds in a certain image about how you might be. Hence follow up after the cold calling with a thank you mail, prompt material submissions for further discussion.

Creating a good first impression for many salespeople can be challenging but it is an essential skill in B2B inside sales. As with many other things, it can be improved through practice. Getting feedback from customers, other salespeople or your manager who have observed your calls would be a good first step. No printing salesperson can survive in this profession for long without continuously prospecting for new customers. Rather than generating a steady stream of quotes to print buyers, focus on making impactful sales calls, where you are keenly aware of the “Threshold 30.

Cracking the code – How B2B Lead Generation works

Today’s business environment works solely on brand recognizition, recall by customers and sales number. Marketers in B2B selling markets often deal with the difficulty in generating leads and closing sales. In order to address this challenge, marketers need to understand the mechanism to increase their lead flow and also ensure the sales closure.

1. Generate More Leads:

Marketing has a lot of vehicles added to play around to reach the prospects. To mention a few of these tools- direct references, cold calling, website, mailers, newsletters and ads. Each source yields a different quality of lead and also the quantity of lead that flows into the system. B2B Lead generation companies like ClientCurve help their clients by getting qualified appointments in the form of demos, conference calls, direct face-to-face meetings, etc. Here goes some of the ways to ensure smooth lead flow.

a)    Right buyer profile (target market): You first need to know - Who can be a customer? Who is the right person to talk to? Who will be the influencers or decision makers and other parties directing the sales? Having this correct means your campaign will get a right direction to move forward.

b)    What is Market doing? Understand direct competition; take inputs from internal and external sources to understand their success. Meetings with your presales team, sales team will help you understand the reality of the market.

c)    Right content: Creative marketing agencies deal with handling the content in various forms- eBook publishes, white papers, trade show/conference presentations, website contents and webinars. Appropriate content in the social media community, blog, video, LinkedIn, Slide share, etc. Maintaining them with meaningful contributions and talking to prospects through these media does improve upon the presence and lead flow.

2. Nurture and Qualifying More Leads:

Sales team is often focused on leads which are closing today but do not bother to understand at times the ones that might be interested in the next 6 months or a year. Companies like ClientCurve help their clients to handle the old leads by nurturing them and understanding their business scenario.

a)    Nurturing a lead is an art in itself: Lead nurturing is a delicate phase and needs sharing information that is appropriate and holds onto their interest as well. ClientCurve takes in a very systematic approach by developing on-going marketing communications process with emails, newsletters and direct calls to ensure that the customer remains informed and interested.

b)    Customize your communications: Creating compelling content to communicate built around each sales cycle stage and buyer profile helps in avoiding confusion and helps you to stand out in the pack Systematic email and regular update on the offers being given by your company may help you to be in the recall of the prospect. The communication here is very targeted and focused.

3. Converting more qualified leads:

Lead development to a qualified lead, which is almost sales-ready, is not only crucial but also important as we wait for this to convert to a revenue flow. Any sales rep would agree as to how difficult it is to be able to handle the long built relation with the prospect and the urgency to close the sale come to the threshold. It becomes important to determine what works best to convert prospects. We can do this by communicating with the prospect through direct calls, encouraging direct visits, mailers to keep yourself in the loop as to the progress. Here two things happen, prospect remembers you and recognizes your effort, second he now is knowledgeable about your product to make a quick decision when the time comes. It is with great patience and empathy that a sales rep needs to go to further develop the lead to a closure.

Steps For Having Clean Marketing B2B Contact Database:

1. Align  B2B contact database with marketing goals: One of the most important tasks would be to strategize the target market. This would help the inside sales team to work in a focused way and achieving better results.

2. Remove wrong email ids or duplicate records: Email bounce backs and duplication of record happens with wrong email ids collected during B2B list building, records not updated in a long time so same person appearing with several email ids appear in the list to the marketing team. An easy and cost effective way to handle this would be to work with a B2B Marketing agency like ClientCurve which would clean the database for duplicates and update the correct email ids. This makes each campaign more effective and helps in getting better results.

3. Deal with database erosion: Natural and unavoidable workplace dynamics such as job changes, title changes and relocations makes one-third of the B2B contact database becomes outdated. This means marketers need to regularly refresh the database – every quarter is a good idea. Using services of contact list development and updating with ClientCurve is an easy way.

4. Acquiring databases: It’s best to acquire rather than invest time to build it in-house. ClientCurve utilizes multiple subscriptions and team expertise to build customized list focusing on getting list that meet client requirement. On acquiring databases from outside marketers need to spend additional time to identify the titles that are relevant. You optimize the depth of the campaign by reaching out to the right decision makers and variety of companies.

Appropriate segmentation and profiling while strategizing will make your efforts in a campaign more meaningful. Having a database that has not been cleaned and updated in ages and using it for email or calling campaigns will give low satisfactory results. Investing a small amount of time and effort onto developing a right database with a B2B Marketing agency will help in getting clean, updated database with even new contacts to the list. Managing your contact list by strategizing in a more focused way by building appropriate segments and automating the process with vendors and makes better ROI on each campaigns that is run by bringing valuable lead generation.

Increase ROI on Marketing with 4 Scales

Increase ROI on Marketing with 4 Scales

Marketers take into their work a plethora of responsibilities to ensure support sales for their organization. They function by gathering, analyzing data, getting right prospects, convincing them about the product/ service, nurture them for sales, support the sales team, etc. Marketers on the other hand need to justify the Return on investment (ROI) on every activity they have engaged in. Their major concern lies in tracking a lead as they are generated in the database to qualifying to converting it to a sale. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 33 percent of B2B marketers believe the inability to measure marketing activity is a significant issue.

ROI growth

In actuality, the below mentioned 4 scales to help all the marketers to track ROI better:

1. Right Database: Companies often waste a lot of time and resource to procure right companies and prospect them. ClientCurve has resolved this by subscribing to multiple sources and getting customized databases on the target market that each company is looking at. Hence the clients get focused list with the right decision makers to further process for leads.
2. Number of Leads Generated: When marketers reach us, at ClientCurve Infosystems, a lead is defined by when a prospect is scored. Each month, ClientCurve measures how many companies are targeted in the database and pass to be a lead. To do this, dedicated teams work to track the changes for all leads in database.
3. Conversion of Lead to Qualified Lead. To measure the conversion rate of leads to qualified leads, ClientCurve works hand in hand with clients to categorize and nurture each of the lead scored to take them to the next level, discuss it in a meeting with sales team. It is important to understand that not every qualified lead closes to be a sale but they always remain in the pipeline to reach out for further business. That is where the clients get the ROI in the long run in the form of sales closures.
4. Online Presence: Internet is another vehicle that marketers are playing around to increase the online presence, reach to the customer base and at the same time hit their recall repeated in an efficient manner to generate the sales. ClientCurve further improves this process for the marketers by reducing the over load of work at the same time keeping the objective intact towards sales. Clients get a better experience in being able to talk to the target market in a more efficient manner and maintain the budget.