Many businesses were built on cold calling and outbound sales. There’s no denying that it has been a successful action for many types of businesses. More and more however, it’s getting harder to penetrate and speak with decision makers. What can be done?
Small business owners are overworked, frazzled and typically putting out day to day fires. Technology is making businesses move faster and faster. Communications and the general speed of information flow is quite rushed. As a result our attention spans are getting crippled which is why we’re only able to process smaller bits of information and anything that requires a larger commitment is getting firewalled off as a distraction.
Traditional cold calling is increasingly running directly into this wall, frustrating callers and leading to more turnover in your outbound sales team. A difficult process is getting more and more painful. What’s a company to do?
I know, you may not think that it’s possible to leave cold calling behind. Maybe it’s not for your business. But if you’ve ever started getting heavy Internet leads and traffic from your web site, you’ll start rethinking cold calls fast… especially if you’re the one doing it. Why? Because cold calls are hard and people calling in wanting your services is just so much easier.
If you’ve never gotten much from your website, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most websites are “designed” incorrectly, resulting in no or few leads. They simply don’t function. They just sit out there in cyberspace like a headstone at a cemetery. “Here lies the XYZ Corporation… They had a good idea but nobody ever found out.”
There’s a Change Going On
I know, people don’t like change but it’s happening whether you like it or not. A few years back I spoke with a major telephone directory… (you know those big yellow ones) and they confirmed this for me. There’s a HUGE shift towards using the web to locate products and services. And I mean HUGE. If you don’t believe this is happening, just ask yourself: “Have I used the Internet to get information on a product in the last 30 days?”. Chances are you have and so have a lot of other people. So why not at least explore the option as it relates to your business?
Do Some Research Yourself
Do your homework. Find out. Are your competitors advertising on the Internet? Do a search on Google or Yahoo for your products or services. Type it in and look at the results. How many results are there for that phrase you typed in? Thousands? Millions? Now you’re getting the picture.
The next thing to know is how many times people searched on that particular phrase or term. Yes, there is a way to get that info and we have access to that. Want to know? I’ll send you the info for free. Just ask.
Be Skeptical
Don’t believe everything you read, even this. Just because it’s written doesn’t mean it’s true. There are a lot of hucksters out there who’ll promise you the moon. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. If someone promises you search engine placement for $100 bucks a month your RED LIGHTS should be going off like mad. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it and everyone would be at the top of the search engines. It takes some work, for sure.
We’ve done this for many clients and I can tell you that one for one, they are very surprised when the calls and emails start coming. They’ll call and say, “Scott we made 3 more sales off the website today. I can’t believe it, I should have done this years ago.”
A Recent Wired Magazine Article Sums it Up:
“Conventional wisdom says 97 percent of Google searchers don’t click past the first three pages (or 30 results). With about three-quarters of the active online population in America using search engines, according to Nielsen/NetRatings and 40% of shoppers choosing Google to locate stores and comparison shop, the difference between a high and low ranking can literally be the difference between a thriving online business and Chapter 11.”
Fresh Leads are the Lifeblood of Business
If you’re sick of being dependent wholly on your outbound telemarketing effort, now is the time to start exploring your options and diversifying your efforts. We offer online marketing campaigns to help you drive highly qualified Internet leads right to your door. It’s not a magic bullet nor is it easy but it can be a very effective form of marketing that could reduce your dependency on in-house efforts and automate the process of lead acquisition quite a bit. It often opens business people’s eyes to a completely new way of marketing and selling their company’s services.