May 2005

The One–Two Punch: Synchronize Direct Marketing with Outbound Calls to Boost Lead Generation Success
By Mary Gospe, KickStart Alliance

Outbound calling can be a powerful and effective way to generate and qualify prospects for B2B sales organizations. However, cold calling alone is inefficient and often annoying to prospects. To be successful, outbound campaigns need to be strategically integrated with other direct marketing media. This "one–two punch," fine-tuned with the following tips, can help you increase the success rate of your integrated outbound campaign, whether outsourced or conducted in-house.

1. Build your strategy, objectives, and metrics for success
Lead generation is a business basic that should consistently feed your sales funnel. Prolonged lead generation campaigns can become stale, and your calling team can lose momentum. The best strategy is to architect time-based (e.g. 30 day) campaigns and set specific objectives and metrics for each one. Test and analyze various components of your program—including lists, offers, messages, and creative—so that you can make frequent adjustments and improve results over time. Keep it fresh.

2. Define and document the lead qualification process
A successful campaign has an efficient and well-communicated lead qualification and tracking process.Field sales, not marketing, should define the lead qualification criteria and ranking system. This avoids any disagreement later on over whether leads were truly qualified. Establish a closed-loop lead tracking system and map the flow of leads through the sales cycle. How will hot leads be handled? How will warm leads be nurtured? Where and when will the handoff to sales occur?

3. Design an integrated direct marketing approach
Using multiple media increases your chances of reinforcing your message with your target audience. Use direct mail or email to introduce your value proposition, highlight the offer, and establish the rationale for a follow-up call. Drop mail or email in waves so that outbound calls can occur within 24 to 72 hours of receipt. This can increase response rates by 500 percent. (Source: Ernan Roman and Scott Hornstein, Opt-in Marketing, McGraw Hill, 2004)

4. Tailor messages and offers to a specific target market
Focus your campaign on a single target market, preferably by vertical industry or job function. With this singular focus, you can thoroughly describe the problem that your product or service solves, speak in the appropriate industry jargon, and tailor your message to your audience. This type of focus also makes it easier to obtain a list, create sales tools, and train callers.

In each call, make the reason for calling crystal clear and provide something of value. Offer a Webinar, white paper, free trial, or gift to encourage prospects to learn more about your product or service. Callers need to build rapport with each prospect and demonstrate that they are calling to help them improve their business operations.

5. Arm your callers with good tools and ongoing training
Provide a comprehensive sales guide that includes appropriate elevator pitches, discovery questions, solution details (product capabilities), and objection-handling tips. Train each caller on the details of the offer and the sales process. Use role playing and real-time call monitoring to reinforce best practices. 

6. Motivate your callers
The key to a successful outbound program is to manage and motivate the calling team. A team of well-intentioned reps, if left on their own, will seldom exceed their goal. Set both individual and team goals and publicly track progress. Use bonuses to increase participation and forge healthy competition to boost results. Promote the campaign to the entire sales organization and upper management to increase the team's visibility.

7. Analyze results and make adjustments
With real-time metrics, you’ll be able to make immediate adjustments to improve your success rate. Testing various components of the campaign allows you to determine the most effective list, offer, message or media that will deliver the highest quantity or quality of leads. Your closed-loop lead process will help you track lead conversion rates and campaign ROI.

Putting it all together
The most effective one–two punch is achieved when you integrate outbound calling into your lead generation mix. In so doing, you'll boost response rates and the volume of qualified leads entering the sales pipeline. This approach has improved conversion rates of inquiries to qualified leads by 200 percent or more in a single month.