2 Hints on When to Outsource Software Lead Generation

Many software companies have the ability to stand on their own feet and can still do well in terms of lead generation for their own business. However, as time passes, that competence in being able to generate software leads may just end up going down the drain. When that happens then it is time to consider getting help in order to remedy such a problem.

A lot of people are open to accepting help – maybe you've seen a few people looking around the self-help section at your local bookstore, or browsing the Internet for helpful articles and blogs. Well, as a person, it is easy to see when you should seek help (maybe when you start hearing voices), but for a business realizing when they need help may be harder to find out.

B2C VS B2B Lead Generation – Where Do You See Your Content?

Content marketing actually has a broad range of application that goes across many different styles of lead generation and marketing. On the other hand, the type of content being generated needs to correspond to a specific marketing style if it's used for targeting a B2B or B2C market.

Lately, many marketing experts, bloggers, and other professionals tend to blur (or at least ignore) the line between B2C and B2B lead generation. At this rate though, some companies might become dangerously lax when it comes to evaluating their content. Never forget that successful marketing, from advertising to B2B telemarketing, depends on accurate targeting. That's where the distinction between B2C and B2B products and services will play a critical role.

One example is in using online content. And yes, it's hard to deny the effectiveness of new online marketing strategies as more and more people place themselves on the internet. A simple technique you can try is to put yourself in the seat of a potential customer and imagine how they will encounter this content.

• Time – If you're a B2B firm, your targets are automatically people who don't have a lot of time on their hands. For instance, you wish to market powerful business tools and services to executives that can make use of them. So where do you see your content fitting in to their busy day? Do you require their mind to be relaxed and open to long reads or would you prefer quick reads that give them more time to take action? The truth is B2C marketing has a higher advantage of targeting a relaxed audience more than B2B. 

• Purpose – Regardless of length, there are still many purposes for content. What are those purposes? Is it used to explain your business? Is it a list of facts about what you're trying to accomplish? Sure, you can say both B2B and B2C have many purposes in common. But again, their target audience plays a role on the specifics. Do you see your content entertaining or informing prospects? Would you prefer to try and opt for both? Even then, there are varying standards between B2B and B2C on what counts as informative and entertaining. 

• Action – Finally, you have action. In online content, not all B2C materials really call their audience to some kind of buying action. Those that do generally accomplish this through some kind of ad box that doesn't necessarily have to do with the content itself. On the other hand, a B2B lead generation company has a stronger dependence on unique CTAs because it's that action that will draw a prospect's attention more than mere text or images. Put yourself in your prospect's shoes once more. If they're in a hurry to find a solution or a needed product, skimmed through your content, what then? Obviously, you'd give them the luxury of contacting you straight away! 

Taking all those into consideration, you need to also see your content in the context of your entire marketing strategy and sales process. You didn't seriously think that content alone is enough to attract your market's attention and engage with prospects? Okay so in B2C, a few gimmicks and fun-to-read articles can keep your audience hooked. B2B marketing on the other hand targets potential customers who are less likely in the mood for such gimmicks. Their needs tend to be urgent and possess a stronger gravity that require a quick solution.

What Telemarketing Can Cover Outside Of Facebook, Outside Of Social Media

One of the strongest points of telemarketing is the flexibility, speed, and the skill it demonstrates when it comes to both customer and prospect engagement. Today, these particular advantages are needed more than ever as online technology enables the vast and swift gathering of information but the efforts to determine and utilize its value are still way far behind.

Many marketers are saying that social media is at the top when it comes to that information with Facebook still remaining as the lead figurehead of the new medium. The most naïve even go as far as to say that traditional techniques like telemarketing would be completely phased out by purely digital tools.

However, even within the online sphere, professionals are saying that Facebook admits to the limits of its own user information. One of them is Robert Hof, a Forbes contributor:

“Social activity has long been embedded in most online services, from Google search (based on the collective linking choices of website owners) and email to Pinterest, Twitter, and those content sharing services such as ShareThis and AddThis. And now that Facebook has created its own ad exchange, allowing advertisers to use data from elsewhere on the Web to target messages to people while they’re on Facebook, even Facebook itself is acknowledging that there’s useful data to be gleaned from off-Facebook activity.”

Still, why focus on just the limits of Facebook? Why openly admit the flaws of online information and remain closed to the possibility of better information obtained outside the internet? It'd be much better to recognize both as equals that can form together to cover the gaps.

Now here are two of the several flaws of social media information and how telemarketing helps cover for these flaws:

• Anonymity – Facebook and other social media sites are still in the midst of cracking down on anonymous users. Still, that's the problem with digital technology. It's still relatively easy to fabricate multiple social media accounts, multiple online personas, and multiple pieces of contact data. More than half of these might not even be for ulterior purposes but are simply different branches of your prospect's business presence online. On the other hand, you might end up finding two of these branches but can only qualify their business as a whole. Sadly, this is something more easily avoided with just a call to the phone number instead of just instant qualification via social media.

• Online Security – Given the never-ending tide of hacker attacks and major online leaks, it's no surprise that business are still quite hesitant to put all business information online. And take note, much of that information is critical to qualifying them for sales leads. You may be able to glean the size of their business from social media but good luck trying to convince them to share financial information like their budget.

Social media is but only a percentage of total information you can find online. Though because of that, it shares its flaws. There is still too much anonymity and online communication remains to have many security. It's always more prudent to not depend on it entirely and use offline tools like telemarketing services to cover for its limitations.

The Different Ways To Generate Permission For B2B Telemarketing

Decision makers are in a position of authorization. Authorization implies permission. Therefore, if you had ways to get that kind of permission, B2B telemarketing would be lot easier.

So then, why is it still so hard? Well, the challenge is not just in the telemarketing but at least half of it (or more) lies in getting that permission. Their authority wouldn't be all that important if was that easy to get now would it? To succeed in B2B telemarketing though, gaining that permission has its long term benefits so you should make sure that your telemarketers are trying out the following techniques. These techniques can be used by in-house and outsourced agents alike.

• Online Engagement – Online engagement can be less direct than telemarketing and is therefore good for asking permission first. Usually, it's either done through email or social media conversations. Remember to focus on the engagement though because that's the core of these tactics (social media especially). Once the conversation starts feeling too long and drawn-out however, you can ask permission to call. Their consent will not only get you past their gatekeepers but also enable future follow-up calls. 

• Inbound Marketing – Instead of directly asking for it, you can also attract permission via inbound marketing. You can set up an informative website with a contact form for phone numbers for example. Forms that are filled will serve as the signal to call as well as their consent. But in order for this to be effective, you need to know proper targeting. Use advertisements only when you know that your intended market is viewing them. Have your website optimized with the right keywords. The call should also be used to get more information beyond that was spelled out on the contact form. 

• Customer Database – You can also target your current customers if you've already established several good B2B relationships. You've already done what was necessary so that they're no longer cautious of your calls. The only challenge now is to maintain that trust. Using your own customer database will only work if you have entirely new products and services that they might be interested in. Therefore, customer feedback is important. It will guide innovation and development so that you'll have something worth marketing to them.

Getting the permission of a decision maker isn't always easy but once you acquire it, it can be smoother sailing for the rest of the sale process. Why? Because asking their permission shows that you care about their authority and their business. Inbound marketing can show that you're aware of what's going among their businesses but aren't afraid to learn more about each of them. Targeting your customer database shows that you haven't just left them on their own once the sale was made. You're still willing to keep hearing from them. Using online engagement prior to calling demonstrates that you're not eager to sell and want to first find out their problems before offering a solution. There are many different ways to generate permission for telemarketing but don't forget the values that you can learn from each technique!

Outsource A Telemarketing Company When Faced With The Flaws Of The Internet

Suppose that, for a while, online marketing has been your business' only means of getting in touch with prospects. It's not even a core process but you have to do it because you believe it's the most up-to-date way to market yourself (even for B2B). However, this new report from Mashable could mean that it's high time to outsource a classical B2B telemarketing company.

“A study conducted by Harris Interactive highlights just how widespread this lack of trust in information on the Internet is for most Americans.

According to the survey of 1,900 Americans, 98% distrust information found on the Internet, with 94% saying 'bad things can happen as a result of acting on inaccurate information online.'”

Take note, this isn't really to say that a telemarketing company is superior to online marketers. In fact, a quick read through the comments on the article will actually point to an irony: despite how 'unreliable' online information is deemed, the article itself is a form of online information. Therefore, why should anyone trust it? Doesn't that look like a typical case of shooting one's own foot?

Setting that irony aside though, both the comments and the article itself do prove a simple truth: the internet isn't always reliable. Therefore, relying on it all the time can be counterproductive. Here are just two ways that the flaws of the internet can affect the success of your overall B2B marketing campaign:

• Reliability On Information Found – Lead generation is a staple for B2B marketing and leads are more or less packages of information. More specifically, it's information you can find that can direct you to a potential client. Still, even contact numbers and email addresses found on the net aren't entirely accurate or up to date.
• Reliability On Information Presented – This can also reflect the way people view the information you've put on your own website. They might not entirely trust it and if it's just too insufficient, they'll seek out another company. A business that is just too limited to the internet also limits the means with which prospects can contact it, inquire about it, and verify what is being presented.

An outsourced telemarketer is simply a cost-efficient way to expand your overall marketing capacity when a single channel proves insufficient. If you're relying on the internet for contact information, search for contact numbers and have the telemarketer acquire more information through the phone. That way, anything you've learned from a prospect via their website (or even a lengthy email exchange) can be confirmed. Using telemarketers can also give you new ways to gather information from both your target market and from among your current customers. On the other hand, having an outsourced call center will also allow your prospects to verify the information you've put out on your website.

The truth is dependence on a single medium isn't always the best idea. Before, people distrusted telemarketers for the pretty much the same reasons that people now distrust the internet (at least, the same reasons cited in the article). Expanding your marketing efforts is simply a way to paint a clearer picture of your businesses when one medium proves insufficient.

Outsource A Call Center For Phone-Related Marketing Efforts

Despite the prevalence of email, website, and social media, people will still use a phone. If these people are in business, perhaps it's even more so. While the other three, digital-based channels have the capacity to transmit more information, it has also indirectly given them more capacity to transmit junk and eat up time. You have spam messages, drawn-out content, as well as the need to be active on social media even when you have other important things to do.

Those are just some of the reasons why the phone is still used in marketing efforts. This doesn't mean that the pushy telemarketers are about to make their dreaded return. (DNC lists have put an end to that.) It only means that the phone is the best tool to utilize in business activities such as:

• Phone Surveys – Telephone surveys are a part of research. Research, in turn, has always assisted in shaping up marketing strategies, identifying targets, as well as qualifying B2B sales leads. The results could also indicate trends and changes in B2B buyer behavior. A phone survey could even more suitable for B2B because, as stated before, the phone is a channel still highly used in business.

• Inbound Marketing – When it comes to B2B, there's only so much information you can put out on your website or in your marketing emails. (And in fact, it's likely that you need to minimize the volume of that information as much as possible so that your prospect won't be overwhelmed). This calls for an inbound strategy which allows prospects to inquire only about certain things they wish to know about your business.

• Customer Service – One of the things that distinguish B2B from B2C is that there is a clearer emphasis on business relationships. Such a relationship goes beyond closing the deal. It's about ensuring that the client receives the full benefit of what you have sold. Neglecting customer service can result in bad referrals and a poor reputation all around. It's only worsened however if your prospects try to contact your business but end up frustrating themselves with long waiting periods and constantly being redirected.

On the other hand though, building up your own center can be very expensive. You need to hire more people and train them. In order to train them, you need to educate yourself first as well. Couple this with the costs of adequate technology and you might as well offer telemarketing services of your own in order to help cover for them.

Fortunately, that's why you have outsourcing. The only thing you need are the tools and the personnel after all. Outsourcing to telemarketing companies gives you access to those services without having to bear the heavy price of investing in them yourself. Another benefit to outsourcing is that it also saves you the time as well as the money when using the phone for the above purposes is a little bit too far from your core functions. Still, just because it's not what your business would normally do, doesn't mean you can't benefit from those who can do it for you.

Pick A Lead Generator That Knows What It's Getting!

These days people are saying that the business world is now being driven by an entirely new resource. It's not just money. It's not just raw materials. It's not simply property. Today, businesses are being driven by a need for information.

And you have to admit, knowledge is proving to be really powerful. The speedy acquisition of data and its abundance now on the World Wide Web has enabled new ways for companies to determine demand and study their markets. Despite how the complexity of research, you can't deny the simple logic: If you know what your customers want, you'll know what to do.

However, this wealth of information isn't all gold. In fact, not all of it is even valuable!

That is the danger that is present in the new online frontier. Not all acquired data can necessarily serve the purpose that it is being researched for. One of the best examples of this danger is found in B2B lead generation.

Information overload is definitely a negative for all lead generation professionals. Your prospects want information but you need to first ask yourself: What kind of information? See, this is where all the enchantment with data starts to disappear. You'd be surprised at how specific potential clients can get when asking questions. And since this is B2B, decision makers certainly rank high when it comes to making critical evaluation. Whatever your industry, targeting businesses means you'll be speaking with them and you will answer to them. If you want your company to be of any service to theirs, you need to pay really close attention to what they say.

From there, you should know that information overload is bad for you too. There are a lot of useful things you can learn about a prospect but there is still the risk of gathering information that's not at all useful for you. Contact information and company name, for example, are only useful to a point. That point is when you call and end up facing the gatekeeper. That still doesn't tell you what you can say to convince the gatekeeper to let you through. If your lead generation comes with an appointment setter, such minimal information barely cuts it! You need to arm yourself with knowledge of a prospect so that the appointments will end well. You can't just get that from a phone number.

This all applies regardless if you're forming your own lead generation campaign with your own marketing team or you're searching for the right lead generation company to outsource. A lead should only give you information that works to your advantage. This ranges from knowing about the opportunity to knowing about the needs you're sure you can fulfill.

Remember, the ideal which fuels today's race for information is that it's supposed to teach your business how to be of better service. It tells you what your markets want, what potential clients want, and what they actually need, all so that you'll know the next thing your company is going to do. Ironically, all this data-hype has only blinded people to that ideal. Make sure you're not one of them and know what kind of information you'll need to get!

Use B2B Telemarketing If You Need To Make Things Quick

Rushing is never a good idea when trying to generate sales leads. However, that doesn't mean you can take your sweet time either. Speed is just as equally important as control. There are times that while you can't rush the prospect, the prospect will rush you!


And of course, there are plenty of good (and obvious) reasons as to why.

• They may have scheduled a lot of meetings throughout their day so they can't talk for long in between.
• Paperwork and management duties will always take top priority so obviously you need to have a good reason as to why you just interrupted them in the middle of their work.
• You also have the possibility of calling them when they're analyzing data and making important future plans. It may not be a good idea to interrupt their train of thought.

At this point, you might wonder why telemarketing? Why not just send them an email or even a real marketing letter? The problem with that is that it's going to the complete opposite extreme. You're avoiding all means of directly contacting the decision maker but at the cost of being completely ignored too. Did you send an email? It might never be opened. Sent a real letter? It's the same thing. The worst case scenario is you'll get labeled as a spammer or a junk mailer and now your messages won't be read at all.

The key here is balance. You need to balance getting their attention while not taking too much of their time doing it. B2B telemarketing can accomplish this (or at least, it can play a significant role in the overall technique). Unlike email or direct mail, a ringing phone is harder to ignore. Once the prospect has answered, you only have a window of a few minutes in order to accomplish what you set out to do and that is get their interest. Take note, there's a difference between getting their interest and trying to make a sale right out of the bat. Getting their interest means trying to get to know them first. It might even help to do some research before making the call. Try to ask questions that will help determine needs and make it as objective as possible. Once that's done, evaluate the response and politely end the exchange as soon as possible.

Another technique involves mixing both email or direct mail with telemarketing. Again, it's similar to the first technique. You make a call, make it quick, and then just say you'll send the rest in an email. Think of it as a new way of dropping off a letter. It also tells you beforehand if the prospect would really appreciate the message and won't just toss it in the trash. After that, wait for some responses and don't be afraid to follow-up.

As you can see, you're not rushing the prospect here. But at the same time, taking only a few minutes with a call at convenient intervals shows that you don't want to take up too much of their time. It may not even be an issue if you can't afford to invest in telemarketing yourself. There are plenty of telemarketing services who use similar (if not the exact, same) techniques so can outsource to them instead. It will still always be important to make things quick when contacting busy decision makers.

The Value Of Information And Why It Improves Appointment Setting

Anyone who knows even the basic definition of lead generation should see that it's an information gathering process. It's even more important in this day and age when information and access to it has become its defining commodities.

But first, just how exactly does information help in business? What makes it so sought after? What are the advantages?

The truth though is the value of information reaches back all the way to ancient times. The merchants of the past needed it to find new sources of materials for their wares. In addition to that, news and daily gossip helped them identify good buyers and draw the interest of new ones. During times of war, rulers would invest in spies and reconnaissance as much as they would in heavy arms and infantry. Number of enemy soldiers, strategic locations, and distance of travel all still fell under the category of information.

Today, the same value remains and only the form has changed. Businesses in particular are still eager to find potential buyers and in the case of any B2B organization, knowledge of even one possible client is already one worth gaining. As a result, all such businesses invest in B2B lead generation (and it's why this particular time period has them making use of any means to acquire it). The information acquired in that process can really assist you when you've set an appointment and make plans to meet the prospect.

There's also another basic fact about information that defines this century's technology: communication. It is the channel through which information flows. Places like the internet and social media have revolutionized the way information is obtained.

With such large amounts of information however, a big question arises: How much is too much?

The truth is not all information is useful for everyone. For B2B businesses, the information you need might exceed any single method of communication (including online-based ones). As an example, look to some of the lead generation companies out there. You'll notice a trend where they'll start going beyond their initially preferred methods of communication and start integrating other methods.

Why does this happen? Going back, B2B companies do everything they can to learn as much about their prospects. Things like budget, needs, company size are just the starting points. You all still need to figure out how they're related, how they're related to your own industry, and how you can offer a solution (whether its a marketing solution via advertising or an ERP software solution). All of this is for the purpose of using that knowledge to convince a prospect and close the deal.

The decision makers and other personnel who can provide this information can't be just easily reached through one method anymore. Discussing their problems would require several. Just when you think outsourced telemarketing means you're just using telemarketers, those same telemarketers could also be using email and social media just reach your prospects. That is just one sign that it's no longer just the method that matters but the information you obtain with it.