Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Is Inside Sales An Art Or Science?

For a lot of marketers, defining whether inside sales is an art or science can be a very contentious topic. A good number of them would say that generating sales leads is an art, where only those who are in tune with the market energies and flow would be able to make a sale. On the other hand, there are also those who say that such appointment setting work is a science, with rules and tools that can be used to generate the B2B leads that your business will need. In other words, this is the type of work that anyone can do. But really, which is which?

Frankly speaking, inside sales is an amalgamation of the two. Let us use telemarketing as the medium, for example. It takes some communication skills to get in touch with your business prospects, grab their attention, and turn them into qualified sales leads. This is something that requires sensitivity to what the prospects say. At the same time, the data you collect during the call are then collected, analyzed, and a conclusion derived from the results. This time, the task requires a calculated approach.

As you can see from the example, it is clear that inside selling is both an art and science. Take one away and you will not get anywhere. It is the harmonizing the two exclusive parts that can spell the success or failure of your marketing campaign.

All that remains is you and your ability to put them together.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

When Will Sales Leads Turn Into A Sale?

That is a natural question in the minds of all entrepreneurs during their lead generation campaign. It is a variable that has always affected the generation of sales leads. You want to be sure that your investment will give you rewards. After all, in today’s business environment, quality B2B leads is not just a strategy, it is also the meaning between staying open or closing down. But really, how can we be sure that your business leads really are going to become a sale or deal? All you need to do is to ask yourself these two questions:

  1. Check if they need your offer – if they do, then that is the opportunity for your telemarketing team to attempt an offer. If they do not, it is all right. You can say you just wanted to announce your presence, in case they might need your offer in the future. 
  2. Check if they have the budget for your offer – this is an important step in your campaign. You cannot force them to accept your offer if they really cannot pay for it. But if it is possible, you can offer a payment scheme that will work for them, in case they need it but have difficulty coming up witch the exact payment.

Still, your main goal is to make lead generation an easy tool to reach your business prospects. As a marketing investment, you just have to find out if such an agency can work well with your own business.