Quality Control is Important with Telemarketing / Teleprospecting

Posted on by Mike Dunlap

For our clients, appointment setting phone calls are recorded and saved. Dunlap Marketing has found that because of this process, we gain more client renewals. As a result, there are a number of benefits.

Client Benefits:

  • Dunlap management is able to verify that a proper appointment has been set, and that all necessary qualifying questions have been asked and answered before we distribute the appointment to a client
  • Our clients are able to properly plan and prepare for the upcoming conversation with the prospect
  • Maximizes the time of our clients and their sales team
  • Dunlap is able to establish a “trusting” relationship with our clients

Dunlap Marketing Benefits:

  • The practice is a necessary step in maintaining a quality control process and it’s a great tool to hold our staff accountable to following campaign requirements
  • It is a great coaching tool used to develop and provide advanced training with our staff – both individually and as a team
  • It allows productive 2-way communication with our clients when the need is present to brainstorm specific prospect opportunities or strategies

Appointment setting and telemarketing (teleprospecting) are very productive methods of developing new customers.  Often these new customers are not currently on our clients’ radar as potential opportunities.  For this reason, these new customers represent growth that was not expected.

In summary, the best benefit of all is client renewals.  Our clients renew our services because they receive value in the appointments set and the qualified leads that we produce.  Dunlap Marketing benefits because we enjoy the relationship with repeat business.

For more information, please contact Mike Dunlap or Kaitlin Cuevas.

Mike Dunlap – miked@dunlapmarketing.com – 281.496.9870 x 140

Kaitlin Cuevas – kaitlind@dunlapmarketing.com – 281.496.9870 x 180

A Simple Way to Increase the Number of Appointments Honored by Prospects

Posted on by Mike Dunlap

 

Are you trying to get your foot in the door with new selling opportunities, but the door gets slammed in your face when your prospects don’t honor the meeting time you both agreed to? It’s frustrating when this happens, and unfortunately, it happens to all sales people. You might find yourself wondering if there’s a trick is to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects? The good news is the solution is simple – calendar invites.

Increase the Number of Appointments Honored by Prospects

Calendar invites are an easy, yet effective way to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects. There are a few keys to being successful with calendar invites.

  1. Timely follow up
  2. Jog your prospect’s memory
  3. Be on time
  4. Attempt to reschedule when necessary

Timely Follow Up

Timely follow up is a fundamental aspect of the sales cycle. With calendar invites, timely follow up achieves two things:

  1. It earns you trust from your prospects
  2. It gives you the best chance at your prospect remembering why they committed to meeting with you

Remind Your Prospect Why They Committed To Meeting

Although you will follow up timely, it’s important to remember that your prospect has 100 other things on his/her plate. In your calendar invite, it’s helpful to mention something to jog their memory. It can be as simple as:

“Thank you for speaking with me today. I’m looking forward to discussing your interest in {product/service your company offers} and how {your company’s name} can be an asset to you and your team.”

Be On Time

For a phone meeting, if the prospect either confirms or does not respond to your calendar invite, make sure you are on time for the appointment. It’s important to show your prospect you respect their time and appreciate their willingness to accept an appointment.

For a face-to-face meeting, if the prospect does not respond to your calendar invite, you have a few options, depending on how important the opportunity is to you. If the opportunity is of high importance, show up on time for the appointment. However, if it’s a less important opportunity or a lot of travel is required, attempt to reconnect via phone or email before attending the appointment.

Attempt To Reschedule If Prospect Declines Invite

If your prospect declines the calendar invite, don’t worry. Respect the fact that something unexpected might have come up on their end and send them a message suggesting a few dates/times for rescheduling the appointment.  

At the end of the day, calendar invites are a simple way to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects. Not only does it remind them of their commitment, but it also shows them that you are on the ball.

For more information, contact Mike (miked@dunlapmarketing.com) or Kaitlin (kaitlind@dunlapmarketing.com).

Summer 2016 Internship Program

Posted on by Mike Dunlap

Business guy

This summer, Dunlap Marketing hosted three college interns. They worked on selected, entry-level projects and did exceptionally well. When asked to describe her experience with the internship, Meredith, University of Texas, said, “It has been great – I’ve had the chance to see a side of business and marketing that usually goes on behind the scenes. I’ve gained so much knowledge from it!” Lydia, University of Texas, agreed and added, “I learned how to deliver a message in an effective and understandable way during a phone conversation. Over time, I became very comfortable and really enjoyed getting prospects to cooperate. I had a great time at Dunlap Marketing and really enjoyed all of the people here.”

The interns worked a fulltime schedule and even put in their fair share of overtime. “This job has taught me patience and tactful persistence,” said Grace, Texas A&M University. “It can be tiring trying to get to the decision maker, but having a positive attitude can go a long way. The person on the other end of the phone can tell a difference when you speak in a happy tone and they’re more likely to help or listen to what you’re saying.”

Each of the interns agreed that saving time is the biggest value Dunlap Marketing’s services provide to its customers. “Instead of spending time on setting appointments, sales reps can focus on their expertise and actually sell,” said Grace. Meredith added, “We [Dunlap Marketing] are the middle man between our client and their prospect. Dunlap Marketing reports back with details gathered from prospecting calls and the client can use that information to advance the sales process.”

Meredith summed up her experience by saying, “I have definitely improved and gained confidence in speaking with individuals as well as businesses on the phone. It’s a great skill to have in general, but even more important to me because I’m majoring in business. It’s essential to have these skills.”

Dunlap Marketing kicked off its internship program in the summer of 2015. It was a great success for the interns, Dunlap Marketing, and Dunlap’s clients. “The internship was extremely rewarding as well as eye opening,” said 2015 intern, Matt, University of Texas. “The program has proved to be a win-win for both our customers as well as business men and women in the making. Our client campaigns that staff interns flourish with the added enthusiasm. Additionally, these upcoming business leaders gain valuable, real-life knowledge and skills,” said president, Mike Dunlap. With such a fantastic experience for both the interns and clients, Dunlap Marketing will continue with the program. Please email Kaitlin, kaitlind@dunlapmarketing.com, for more information.

Business Bankers – Appointment Setting Case Study

Posted on by Mike Dunlap

money chest

Business Bankers – Appointment Setting Services

Goal – To generate a steady flow of “new business” appointments targeting companies with revenues from $2.5M to $10M.

Background – In the fall of 2014, we developed an appointment setting campaign for a regional bank that has 80+ branch locations inside of three major metropolitan areas – their goal was to generate a steady flow of “new business” meetings and to test appointment setting as the method to create increased sales activity. Over 20 business bankers were to participate in the program.

Preparation –
1st – We wrote a message for the telemarketers that professionally represented the bank. The call strategy was low-key and focused on asking decision makers about their current banking relationships and probed into upcoming bank needs.
2nd – Dunlap Marketing built a specific prospect database around companies that produced annualized revenues ranging from $2.5M to $10M inside specific industry classification, targeting headquarter or single location facilities. Once the database was built, we suppressed existing bank customers from the list.
3rd – Internal processes were setup for scheduling appointments and distributing them to the appropriate bankers. CRM applications were built to properly track and manage sales activity. Bankers were held accountable to report on the outcome of every appointment assigned to them.
4th – Kickoff meetings were conducted in all three markets to assure that the calling staff and business bankers were all working in unison with messaging and proper qualification requirements for each appointment set.
5th – Implementation of the calling campaign started and a few days later, appointments were being delivered to the bankers, and steady flow was established and maintained month over month.
6th – Management review meetings were held monthly between the bank and Dunlap Marketing to assess the campaign and modifications were made as necessary to meet bank goals.

Actual Results – 379 appointments were scheduled for the business bankers – after the first meetings occurred, bankers reported:
o 64 of the 379 were considered “immediate opportunities” and
o 138 of the 379 were “interested, requiring follow up steps”
o Significant sales momentum was established that carries into 2015

Because of these sales results, Dunlap Marketing was awarded an agreement to continue appointment setting services throughout 2015.

Summary – The opportunity to significantly increase new business growth is high for our bank clients and the risk is very low. Our pricing is built around a performance-based model; therefore you pay for the appointments we set. Additionally, Dunlap Marketing prides itself on presenting a very professional image to prospecting. Our services are intended to complement business development activities already in place with bankers.

These services are not for every bank – a 15 minute conversation should be sufficient in determining if Dunlap Marketing can become an asset to your business growth in 2015. Please let us know if you have interest in a brief conversation.

Contact Information:
Mike Dunlap
Phone: (877) 386-6275 or (281) 496-9870 ext. 140
Email: miked@dunlapmarketing.com

Interview #1 with a bank client – click here

Interview #2 with a bank client – click here