Building Your B2B Telephone Marketing Program for Success

1. Building Your B2B Telephone Marketing Program for Success Paul Glancy - The Martin Agency Bill Gessert - TeleSolutions Consulting

2. Session Objectives • Compare common B2C Strategies & Tactics to Effective B2B Strategies & Tactics • Understand the Basis for Building Your Effective B2B Campaign • Present a New B2B Paradigm • Improve Your B2B Results 2

3. What Drives Your Approach? • Overall Strategies • Lists • Offer • Marketing Integration • Script/Call Guide Issues • Hiring, Training & Coaching Issues • Quality Assurance/Monitoring Issues • Vocal Presentation Issues • Performance Measurement Issues Price C o m p l e x I t y 3

4. What Drives Your Approach? High End Technology Hardware Copier Price Search Engine Ads Credit Card Phone Carrier C o m p l e x I t y 4

5. Our Focus • The differences between simple and more complex campaigns… • Strategic Issues • Script Issues • Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • Performance Measurement Issues • QA/Monitoring Issues • Vocal Presentation Issues • Case Studies

6. Strategic Issues • Push/Pull Strategies • Traditional B2C is all push strategies • More complex and higher priced sales benefit from mixing pull strategies to the marketing efforts • Trade associations • Affinity groups • Buying groups 6

7. Strategic Issues • Lists • Dialing for dollars versus targeted lists • Need for more information • Key contact name • Biographical information re: company • Appropriate parameters • Need and use for product/service • Appropriate business size (don’t try to sell to IBM!) 7

8. Strategic Issues • Offer & Approach • Focus of B2C tends to be offer driven • Focus of more complex, higher priced is value driven based on needs • B2C tends to be scripted and ‘pitch’ based • More complex, higher priced is dialog based and generally less scripted using call guides 8

9. Strategic Issues • Offer & Approach • B2C tends to ‘skim the cream’ • With more complex, higher priced every record counts (need for refined lists selection criteria) • B2C … talk with whomever answers • More complex, higher priced requires speaking with key decision maker only 9

10. Strategic Issues • Offer & Approach • B2C tends to be one call and done • Complex, higher priced could be multiple calls and contacts • B2C calls generally do not have gate keepers • Many more complex, higher priced calls have gatekeepers 10

11. Strategic Issues • Integration with other marketing channels • B2C rarely mixes additional marketing efforts • More complex, higher priced is well served to integrate with additional marketing efforts and is “multi-channel” • Mailers • Web integration • Other tools 11

12. Script/Call Guide Issues • Traditional B2C is scripted with rebuttals • More complex, higher priced utilizes calls guide and is dependant on dialog skills of rep • B2C presents, tells, closes • B2B asks, listens, explains, and recommends 12

13. Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • In hiring what are the appropriate skills & competencies? You are looking for… • Professional selling skills • Ability to engage in conversation versus read a script • Questioning skills versus presentation • Active listening skills versus “call control” 13

14. Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • A word about supervisors • Deeper analytical skills • Builders and developers of skills • Ability to demonstrate similar competencies as the reps themselves • Vital to the success of the program 14

15. Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • What are the appropriate skills & competencies? • Confidence • Professionalism • Adaptability • Ability to “think on your seat” 15

16. Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • What training becomes critical? • Product training to the point of being able to answer “application” question • Understanding Features & Benefits as they relate to customer Needs • Industry knowledge • Objection handling via asking more questions • Role play and more role play! 16

17. Hiring, Training, Coaching Issues • What coaching becomes critical? • Coaching is focused on skills development and growth versus script adherence • Need to coach more frequently due to variations in the calls • Coaching focuses on what they did right 17

18. QA/Monitoring Issues • Simple: Focus on • rep • cosmetics • script compliance • providing approved answers • legal compliance • Complex: Focus on • customer response • content of call • dialog w/ customer • information obtained during call • questioning & listening skills 18

19. QA/Monitoring Issues • Simple: Tool • multi element scoring system • designed to measure adherence • focus on results • Complex: Tool • big picture scoring system • designed to measure selling skills • focus on growth & development 19

20. Performance Measurement Issues • Less complicated, low priced: • Contacts per hour • Sales per hour • Conversion rate • More complex, higher priced: • Raw number of contacts (right person) • Call backs set up • Over all close rate • Sales cycle (number of contacts and days from initial contact to sale) • Total ROI Evaluation 20

21. Vocal Presentation Issues • Simple campaigns require: • Script reading ability • Call control skills • Volume, volume, volume & • DON’T BREATH! • Complex campaigns require • Conversation skills • Ability to build trust with voice • Quality, quality, quality & • SOUND HUMAN! 21

22. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • Company & Industry Profile • Point of purchase service options • Credit cards • Terminals & equipment • Gift cards • Check cashing • E-checks 22

23. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • Company & Industry Profile • Mostly sold through independent agents going “door to door” • Sold primarily on price • Can be tons of “hidden” costs • Commodity driven • Not the most professional reputation 23

24. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we found… • 3 x 3 workstations • Heavily scripted approach • Approach focused on telling features and selling price • One and done; buy or fly • Leads = list of names and numbers (no background info 24

25. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we found… • “Sellers” not sales reps • Little training • No coaching • No incentives • Little success! 25

26. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we did… • Started with by writing a business plan • Objectives, strategies, & tactics • Built several push and pull strategies • Pull strategies cast a wide net • Push strategies were supported with other marketing efforts 26

27. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we did… • Built selection profile and found the right people • Provided significant training • Industry • Products • Customer needs • Lots of role plays 27

28. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we did… • Selective lists were purchased • Call guides were built with focus on solid questions to ask • Compensation totally overhauled • Performance metrics developed • Number of decision makers connected • Mailers sent • Close rates 28

29. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • What we did… • Redesigned workstations and space • Added computers and contact management systems • Tons of coaching • Continuous improvements to approach • Called from lists and pulled leads 29

30. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • Results • Longer sales cycle (measured in number of contacts and weeks – not minutes) • Shift from price driven sales to value driven decisions • Acquired customers based on relationship and value • Significantly greater close rates 30

31. Case Study: Credit Card Processing • Summary • Product/service was both complex and high priced • Old approach was built for low complexity and price requiring an immediate decision • New approach respected customer’s need to see value and to 31

32. Case Study: #2 • Business Publication Marketing Program 32

33. Summary & Conclusion • Find your program in the “quadrants” • All inclusive single call • Multiple touches & contacts • Design your strategies & tactics to match your space in the quadrants • Hiring the right people • Building the right approach • Applying the appropriate training • Providing proper supervision • Measuring the right issues 33