Getting Millennial Employees On-Board In Phone Surveys

Millennial employees can be a headache, if you do not know how to manage them.

But that is the reality that you have to face in Australia’s business environment. Besides, millennials are just the products of their generation. They have been exposed to tons of information that we possibly did not have during our younger days.

As to making them help you in generate good B2B leads, it is all about understanding what they need and helping you get it. They can be really useful when you get them to cooperate in your phone surveys.

But here lies the challenge: how to make them cooperate.

This does sound like a tall order, but it is all about knowing where to start:

1.     Stay on the positive

Unlike the employees of old, millennial employees are driven by positive reinforcement.

It will not do well for you if you threaten them or criticize them, since they are not receptive to those tactics. Come to think of it, no one would really like to experience that, anyway. You have to understand this part if you want to properly push them to the desired direction.

2.     Manage them accordingly

While this rule would also apply to other age groups, this one would do well with a more personalized approach.

The others would do just fine by following set standards but millennials thrive on individuality and uniqueness. This might tire you out, but if you want to generate good sales leads, then this is the way to go.

3.     Be flexible

Keep in mind that millennials are raised in a liberal environment.

In other words, they believe that they are entitled to speak their minds, to make their own decisions, and practically to know everything. You might as well accept that, since there is no changing that reality. Rules should serve as guidelines, not the absolute truth. That is the only way for you to manage them right and get your B2B telemarketing campaign running.

Related: Probe With Open-Ended Questions, Or Don’t Probe At All

4.     Let them have some ownership

Millennials are also driven by responsibility.

If they are given a position of leadership, no matter how small, millenials tend to take it seriously. This, in turn, would make them more committed to your vision and to your business. It is such a little thing, but one that can mean a lot for your lead generation campaign. You should consider this well if you want to get results.

5.     Provide clear instructions

Ambiguity and vague rules are not exactly a millennial’s cup of tea.

If you want them to work better, you have to make sure your instructions are clear and straight to point. Yes, this might be a little bit problematic for you, as the manager, but if you want them working the B2B appointment process right, you should keep this in mind.

Still, if you really find it too troublesome to work with millennials, maybe outsourcing your B2B lead generation needs to a professional marketing agency would help you. Just be sure you choose the right partner.

Do B2B Telemarketing Skills In Australia Come From Nature Or Nurture?

That is a very good question. And this is also the very issue that has long bothered the minds of many entrepreneurs.

You have to admit that generating sales leads can be tough, but to choose the right people for this kind of work could be even tougher. B2B telemarketing is not a job for anyone, and it takes a special kind of marketer to properly carry out a lead generation campaign properly.

You cannot just hire someone and expect them to generate customers for you at the get-go. Some are good at it, no doubt, but there are those who cannot really fit in to the job.

For this reason, a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs are asking themselves this somewhat eternal question:

Are B2B telemarketers born or made?

This has split not only marketers at the business front, but even academics in hallowed educational institutions hold endless debates over the value of educating marketers or training appointment setting representatives if their nature does not allow them to be naturals in generating sales leads.

One side claims that the secret to successful marketers lie in their genetic make-up and that no training or education can make a person with no marketing gene become a first-class business leader. The other side would say that genetics merely provide the platform, but it is the training and education of these people that actually brings out the best qualities of marketers and entrepreneurs.

Both have strong arguments, and the discussion may seem too academic to fit the tastes of many marketers, but this serves as an important piece of the business puzzle.

Markets move and evolve as time passes by, and the skills needed to properly generate B2B leads, nurture them, and convert them into an actual deal can be very challenging.

Not many appointment setters would be up to the task. In fact, most of them might fold at the stress and pressure in this kind of work. But there are those who really shine above the rest.

As for these people, whether they got to where they are currently standing on due to their natural skills or their training, a business owner or manager would not really have to look too deep into it. What matters is that these people can perform the task assigned to them and that they do it in the most effective manner. In a market just like Australia’s, that is a quality that is pretty hard to come by.

Anyway, if hiring the right telemarketers is giving you migraines, then you could just opt for the easier alternatives, like outsourcing to a competent B2B lead generation agency.

Such firms would have the people, the equipment, as well as the skills and training, to properly handle any of your marketing needs. All you need to do is to find the one that matches with your business operations seamlessly, and for you to constantly monitor them for performance. That is perhaps a better option for your company.

Where Does Social Media Stand In B2B Lead Generation?

 

It’s no secret how the B2C industry has exploited (in a productive way) the power of social media.

 

Every day you see products on Facebook and Pinterest, read reviews via Twitter, and watch demonstrations on YouTube. 

But why is it that, albeit knowing that B2B prospects also engage in social media, companies in the B2B industry still hasn’t taken a full grasp at how it could work for them?

Related: An Example Of a B2B Company Utilizing Social Media Marketing

If you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between B2C and B2B lead generation in terms of utilizing social media, and B2B even has a clear advantage when it comes to knowing the features of their products and which group of people would be interested.

They’ve been able to come up with stories around their goods, produced wonderful images, engaged with peers on LinkedIn, and hosted multiple contests and promos.

Still, B2Bs cannot significantly show, let alone prove that social media has returned their investments.

 

That reality doesn’t stop marketers from embracing social media, though.

According to BtoB Magazine’s report entitled Emerging Trends in B2B Social Marketing (April 2013), only 6% of US B2B companies have no involvement whatsoever in social media, and that rate is expect to go even lower to 4% in 2014. The percentage of companies which are “very involved” in social media is currently at 22% this year, and the projected increase next year is at 37%.

Even without a clear return, companies are somehow “trapped” in the social media bandwagon, leaving them no choice but to concede to its obvious power.

But that power is only limited to exposure; customers almost “expect” a company to be on social media, and if your competitors are all doing it, a company would be silly not to respond.

Social Media Examiner went deeper into understanding why companies can never let go of social media.

 

In their study entitled 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report (May 2013), they found out that the top 3 reasons why they do it are: increased exposure (89%), increased traffic (75%) and providing marketplace insight (69%). The least reason: Improved sales at 43%.

Perhaps in the near future marketers will be able to figure out how to wrap a tape measure around their social media efforts, but for now it seems that they are committed to maintain their social presence out of sheer necessity, and not (yet) for the sake of productivity.

The Five Traits Of Good Telemarketers

 

 

You have to admit that finding good telemarketers could be so hard. And it is not helping that B2B telemarketing is so badly perceived by most people who hear of it.

 

Well, this comes with the territory. It is up to the people who use it to make it more acceptable. Anyway, in a B2B lead generation campaign, you would not be dealing with private individuals per se. Rather, you want to do business with the company as a whole.

 

Now, to be successful in this regards, you would need to choose people with the right qualities.

 

And what could these qualities be?

  

1. Being Assertive

   
   Good B2B lead generation representatives know how to assert themselves.
   
   Not in the sense that they are aggressive or rude, but more about being able to prove the merits of their offers. This is basically the middle ground between passive and aggressive sales tactics. You know that both ends of the spectrum will not work, so you have to stick to the middle.

   
   

2. Being Self-Aware

   
   Being aware of how they feel and the mood they are in is important for any marketer.
   
   Most would just plug away at their task, without taking note of their outward expression. And what you feel inside would most likely be displayed. You do not want to unconsciously frown in front of business prospects, right?

   
   

3. Being Empathetic

   
   In order to effectively establish rapport, your marketers need to possess empathy.
   
   To be able to put oneself in the shoes of the other person, that is a skill and a personality that effective marketers possess. For your B2B appointment setting campaign to be successful, you have to earn the trust and confidence of your sales leads prospects. And you can only do that if you have empathy.
   
   Related: The Five Qualities Of Excellent Telemarketing Teams

   
   

4. Being Solution-Driven

   
   You have to admit that your customers are only with you if you can provide them with a business solution.
   
   If you cannot provide one, or if the solution you have is not what they need, then they will not buy from you at all. For you to get the deal, you need to first offer the solution. Only then will they be your customers.

   
   

5. Being Positive

   
   Having an optimistic outlook in life and work is a mark of good telemarketers.
   
   You know that this kind job of can be a soul-draining, one that can heavily impact your business later on. By having people who can see the bright side of things, you would have a better chance of interacting well with the market.
   
   Related: 6 Vital Arts To Master In Outbound Telemarketing

Well, if finding people for your telemarketing campaign is hard, then you can always go for another option.

 

Outsourcing your marketing process to a competent B2B lead generation agency can also be a good business investment. As long as you choose well, and you supervise the people assigned to you properly, then you will be able to reach your sales leads targets. Who knows, this might be the business solution that you are looking for.

Probe With Open-Ended Questions, Or Don’t Probe At All

Professional telemarketers uncover information from prospective clients that may lead into business opportunities.

They also have to maintain an atmosphere of confidence and trust, which goes outside the usual, transactional survey-ish style of telemarketing.

Leading them into a cyclone of inquiries and not letting them talk much may have them lose attention and eventually lose interest with the call.

While opening spiels are usually harmless, what could be detrimental to the success of the telemarketing call are the questions that follow. Asking wrong or too many questions may force clients to end the conversation. If they do decide not to end it, oftentimes they’d just refuse to give out anything.

And surveys usually sound like a bombardment of yes-or-no questions.

Business-to-business (B2B) telemarketing requires skills in extracting information, or probing. The way to make them perceive the call as a normal conversation is to engage them to do the talking. Obviously, close-ended questions would not allow them to expound on specific aspects of the answer they would have. Making them respond predictably eliminates the “personal” touch of the conversation and kills the momentum that’s needed to sustain the life of the call.

Related: The Triple A of Telemarketing, Article 1: Attitude

Open-ended questions are more elaborative, like “How does your current operation work?” or “What services do you need in your next campaign?” Sometimes, even non-questions could work, as long as they allow the prospect to elaborate certain details, like “Tell me about the adversities you’ve had in your department.”

The benefits of using open-ended questions in probing:

• Facilitates enhanced cooperation and understanding
  

  
  

• Provides the opportunity for others to express themselves more openly and honestly
  

  
  

• Encourages prospects to provide information including their ideas, concerns & feelings
  

  
  

• Encourages  a positive learning and sharing experience
  

  
  

• Encourages others to flow with their thoughts and feelings & allows you to support this flow
  

  
  

• Lays bare your willingness to invest time with others
  

   

Telemarketers do need to obtain specific information from prospects, such as statistics, dates, and technical details; however, engaging them in a meaningful exchange of words is still worth the distance and can benefit on the bigger picture.

That way, prospects would feel comfortable and at ease. Letting them express their grievances can make them feel appreciated and important. By earning their trust, they will often offer the information that was targeted in the first place, and it will have been done without sounding like a grilling android.

7 Worthy Ambitions Every Content Marketer Should Live By

Content marketing has provided a paradigm shift for traditional marketers.

Gone are the days when all they do is stuff keywords and optimize their sites for search – now, they focus on content as the major driving force in attracting and maintaining a following.

But it’s more than just writing how-to articles or adding infographics on conventional blog posts. Content marketing must be executed with a much deeper goal than content itself, to separate those who genuinely using content from those who think they are.

A true content marketer aspires to achieve most, if not all, of the following ambitions:

1. Put the customers on a pedestal.

It’s high time that marketing content would focus on the customers more than the product – explore their pains, acknowledge their needs, and see things in their points of view.

2. Make customers smart.

Companies in industries such as telecommunications and computer hardware aim first to educate their customers on how to make their user experience become more productive. Through content, you can help overcome objections and complaints, as well as illustrate the benefits of using a product or service.

3. Bridge the gap between buyers and sellers.

It is one of the tasks of content marketers to find a common ground between companies and consumers to help them better understand each other and work out a healthy, giving relationship.

4. Attract new people.

Aside from catering the existing customers, it is also an objective to bring more people in the loop.

Prospective customers sometimes do research before deciding to buy something, and through blog /articles they can be provided with an easier path in decision making.

5. Developing new ideas.

If you’re contemplating on new business propositions or re-positioning your key products, you can use content to see how people would react to them.  

Content is a breeding ground for innovation and reaction analysis, giving you a low-risk avenue to “test the waters”.

6. Build reputation in search engines

The right way. Google no longer rewards sites that use traditional SEO tactics to gain high rankings.

They now focus on originality, relevance, and credibility. This leaves marketers with no choice but to use high quality content to build a search reputation.

7. Tell the right story.

The effectiveness of a story relies mainly on the type of audience, the timing of the post, and the approach used in conveying the message.

Whichever way a content marketer chooses to walk on, the story must be able to sell the idea. To do this, paint a picture of their lives would change by using your product or service.

They should be able to “mentally try your product on for size” to facilitate them in their buying process. Harness the power of storytelling and use it effectively.

The Five-Step Plan For Better B2B Lead Generation Teams

 

 

Here is the deal: B2B lead generation campaigns can be a real headache if you do not know how to manage them. Just imagine how worse it can be if things do not pan out according to your plans. 

 

Yes, you want to generate more B2B leads, but you must understand how to best do that – it depends on the strength of your B2B appointment setting team. 

 

If you have an excellent marketing team to do the job, then it would not be a problem for you to begin generating sales and business for you. And in the event that your team is on the rocks at the moment, then you should also know how to bring them back on track. 

 

And here is how to do it:

  

1. Know the problem
   
   A poor-performing team can be caused by a myriad of factors.
   
   Identifying and isolating that factor is the important first step in the solutions process. Basically, you have to get right into the root of the problem and then identify what are the proposed solutions for it. Mind you, there are practically a lot of those.
   
   
2. Know your team
   
   This will call for a little self-examination on your part.
   
   If you can identify what kind of team you should be organizing (cooperative, competitive, solo, or ad hoc) then you can devise an effective management and marketing process that will help you reach the business goals you have set out. This must be the kind of team that will best represent the kind of business that you have.
   
   
3. Know what is missing
   
   In this regard, what is it in your marketing team that makes it so hard for you to generate good sales leads?
   
   Is there a missing piece that you should be adding? How sure are you that your team is well-rounded enough for the job? These are some questions that you have to answer if you want to truly understand what is missing.
   
   
4. Know their opinions
   
   All right, once you have devised a business plan that your B2B telemarketing team can use, then that is the time to have a meeting with them.
   
   You need to be sure that everyone is on the same page as you. In the event of disagreements or varied opinions, then you should take these into consideration and make the necessary changes to make your plans work.
   
   Related: How To Make Productive Lead Generation Meetings
   
   
5. Know your milestones
   
   Since you have probably invested a lot in your business plans, you have to make sure that you are doing it properly.
   
   And what better way to do that than by setting up specific milestones that marks the reaching of your goals. This will help divide your work down in stages, as well as ensure that you are on track with your business targets.

Really, it is not that hard to follow these plans. 

 

As long as you keep these five steps, then you will be able to change your B2B lead generation team for the better. There is always room for improvement.

It is up to you to create that space.