Why Pay-Per-Appointment Doesn’t Pay Off

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Why Pay-Per-Appointment Doesn’t Pay Off

Outsourcing your appointment setting tasks is often a smart choice. Statistics show that by shifting these responsibilities away from your employees and sales team you are likely to see an increase in sales and customer acquisitions. In the process you also are likely to save significant amounts of time and money.

Unfortunately, many businesses who choose to outsource appointment setting are under the mistaken impression that paying per appointment is the best way to structure payment for these services. It is easy to see why. After all, paying only for the appointments that are set up seems like a winning proposition.

While in theory this sounds like a good idea, in practice it almost never is. In fact, this decision may cost you more than just money. It can cost you a great deal of time, lower employee morale and damage your brand.

If an appointment setter is only judged by the number of appointments set, it is easy to see how he or she would begin to see the volume of appointments as the only true measure of success. However, if appointments are not vetted properly, salespeople inevitably will meet with prospects who are unlikely to ever buy what they are selling. This results in salespeople wasting time meeting with unqualified leads instead of truly viable prospects. Salespeople also will quickly become discouraged when they repeatedly show up for appointments only to find poorly qualified leads waiting for them-if those appointments show up at all.

When appointment setters are focused on setting appointments at all costs, you can be sure that they will begin to employ desperate tactics, as well. Such tactics will cast a business in an unflattering light, as will overly aggressive tactics. Over time, even if a prospect is interested in meeting with one of your salespeople, he or she is likely to decide against it because your brand has been cast in a negative light.

Paying per appointment can be tempting, especially when budgets are tight and competition fierce. It is at such times, however, when money is best spent on reputable appointment setting firms that focus on quality not quantity. Reputable appointment setting firms also will define the project at hand in light of a business’s long-term goals. This means that they will provide you with the greatest number of qualified leads which will result in increased sales, improved morale and a brand reputation that remains intact.

Evaluating Your Lead Nurturing Efforts

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Evaluating Your Lead Nurturing Efforts

Lead nurturing is an essential element of any successful lead generation program. However, no matter how successful your lead nurturing efforts, they could always be better.

In order to make sure that your lead nurturing efforts are the best they can be, it is important that you evaluate these efforts on a regular basis. In some cases it may make sense to bring in an outside firm to evaluate your lead nurturing program so that you are able to get a truly accurate and objective assessment.

Here are just a few of the items you can expect such a firm to assess during your lead nurturing evaluation:

Unsubscribe Rates: In the simplest terms, unsubscribe rates measure the ability of your business to keep leads interested over a period of time. If your unsubscribe rates are exceptionally high, it is usually because of poor content, inaccurate targeting or both.

Response Rates: A good measure of your content, response rates allow you to understand how many leads responded in a way that you had hoped.

Engagement: It is the job of lead nurturing to turn cold leads hot. To assess success in this area, the engagement of nurtured leads needs to be compared to leads that have not been nurtured.

Activity: Engagement can be further assessed by looking at things like meeting requests or purchase page visits.

Duration of Sales Cycle: How long does it take for a lead to become a customer? Effective lead nurturing typically results in a shorter sales cycle.

Cost/Revenue per Customer: The amount it costs to acquire a customer will decrease if your lead nurturing efforts are working correctly. Further, exceptional lead nurturing also results in more upselling. In other words, successful lead nurturing doesn’t always result in more customers but ideally it results in customers who spend more.

If you are having issues with any of the elements of these lead nurturing tactics, a quality assessment can help you fix any problems. And if you are experiencing significant challenges in the area of lead nurturing, don’t despair. Research shows that the ability to segment prospects, target content by buyer stage, and maintain interest on the part of leads are key challenges for a large number of businesses. This is especially true in the B2B industry where marketers report quality content to be a top factor in lead flow and lead nurturing efforts.

Why Customer Service Calls Can Make or Break a Business

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It is a well-researched fact that the better a company’s customer service, the more attached its customers are to its brand, product or service. In other words, superior customer service equates to a loyal customer base.

In light of the fact that customer service is so important to the success of a business, it is vital that customer service calls be handled by professional customer service agents. These agents need to have the experience and know-how to not only resolve issues but to treat callers the way they wanted to be treated. These type of customer service professionals are uniquely qualified to create good feelings that encourage customers to remain loyal to a business and to spur them to be brand ambassadors who refer family and friends back to the business.

If you have decided to outsource your inbound call center services, it is imperative that you choose the right firm. So what do you need to look for in such a firm? One important consideration is whether or not the firm uses data mining. Data mining is critical to understanding which techniques work best in terms of customer satisfaction. For example, if a customer calls and is unhappy with a product or service, would they prefer a full refund? A discount on future purchases? Knowing these things helps a business offer the type of support that is most sought after by callers.

Data mining also can be used for connecting customers to the right type of customer service agent. Some customers relate better to no-nonsense agents who get the job done quickly and efficiently. Others prefer a warm approach that includes sympathetic listening. By analyzing recorded conversations with customers, it can be determined which type of agent a customer would prefer. This means that the next time that particular customer calls, he or she can be routed to a representative with the personality characteristics he or she prefers.

In the end, customer service calls matter much more than businesses may think. According to research, no matter how exceptional a brand’s products or services, nothing can overcome a poor customer experience. Attracting and retaining customers is an expensive proposition and it is a well-documented fact that retaining current customers is much less expensive than acquiring new ones. Therefore, it is critical to the success of any business that customer service is a top priority.

Tactical Telesolutions: 30 Years Strong

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Tactical Telesolutions: 30 Years Strong Tactical Telesolutions has been in business for over 30 years. While we feel fortunate to have been in business for so long, we have used these many years to develop into a trusted leader in our industry. At TTS, we are known for our high-end lead generation service. Take a […]

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