In Appointment Setting, Put Preparations Over Presumptions

One of the perks of quality appointment setting is that your lead generator can already identify a certain level of problems and advise you on what objections to expect. However, you need to know the fine line between preparing for a problem and simply presuming it.

At first, there doesn't seem much of a difference. After a short exchange of telemarketing calls and emails, your lead generator sends you all the information you need about an upcoming appointment. You then start creating a presentation regarding the problems that have been discovered and the potential objections a prospect might have.

However, it is at that particular step that your preparations should not be confused with presumptions.

Review the process again and evaluate how you view the problems that your B2B leads pointed out. Do you dedicate a significant portion of time to answering an objection because you are so sure or do you give any chance for your prospect to bring it up?

• Presumptions - Making presumptions is all about the former option. You feel so certain that your prospect will raise a certain objection that you answer it even without them asking. This is not a good idea. For example, not all prospects are that hung up about price. There are also times when a prospect is already aware of a certain obstacle to their buying decision but have taken measures to address it. In short, your presumed objection might not always come to surface.


• Preparations - The difference between making preparations and making presumptions is that you simply set aside a response without thinking you will always resort to it. The trick is to test if a prospect would really make an objection or actually affirm the problem. Once a prospect has openly admitted to one or the other, then that is the only sign you will ever need. A few tips you can try is by really encouraging them to voice their objections and ask more questions. After all, what is the purpose of B2B appointment setting if you do not have much of a dialogue?

Furthermore, this might not just apply to presumed problems and objections. These could also apply to presumed solutions. No matter how sure both you and your appointment setter are, always let the prospect establish the need. Do not simply go ahead and present them something that they were not really expecting.

And at this point, you should also be reminded to listen carefully to your appointment setters too. You never know when they might be saying one thing but you are hearing something completely different. When they finally deliver you your information, analyze it carefully.

The Right Strategic Plan to Win the Market

A solid marketing plan is one of the most crucial determinants in when it comes to winning a particular market for the long-term. Unfortunately, too many companies make the mistake of diving headfirst into a market battle arena without so much as a judicious plan in place to guide them.

Although winning one's target audience is never an easy feat to undertake because of the influx of competitors and available information through our current technology, both of these two play a part in making a fickle market. The key to getting ahold of a changeable market though, is to comprehend and address the competition through a well-planned strategy.

Assessment of Market Position Through A Customer's Perspective

With this information, we can glean that there are strategic ways of winning your target consumers using both the customer's perspective along with marketing and technology know-how. How so, you may ask?

Well for starters, you have to first evaluate your position in the market. This information will pave the way in order for you to properly align your strategy with the said data. Once this is in place, you can then identify the most effective advertising method befitting your current market position.

This is where knowing a customer's perspective can come in handy since you'll be able to know the specific needs of your target market. After which, you will be able to adjust your campaign, pricing or products accordingly in order to better reflect the demands of your consumers.

Simply put, be customer-obsessed. In this age of consumerism, there is no better way to get your desired audience but to understand the fundamental elements of their behavior - what motivates and compels them to buy the things they do.

Technological Know-How and Market Engagement

On the other hand, winning the dynamic digital consumers of your market will have to be done by connecting and serving them through technology. Although there are a lot of risks associated in this age of instantaneous digital communications, it can be wielded to your advantage by knowing where the opportunities lie.

Watch Out for The Goo!

Creating a great offer is one of the best ways to get your product or service into the hands of your prospective customers.

But you do have to make sure the offer is a good one... and an appropriate one.

For example, here's the relevant part of an e-mail I received last month:

To celebrate the festive season, until Christmas, we are offering an upgrade to the GooSync one-time subscription for $19.95. (This is the same price as a 12-month renewal of your current account.) This of­fer ends December 25th, 2008, so treat yourself to an early Christ­mas present and order yours here today...

Okay, a little background before we get started.

What Am I Doing Today?

We use the Google Calendar system to manage our personal and business calendars. You can have separate color-coded calendars, and share them with designated people, each with a distinct, user-defined set of privileges.

For example, we created a calendar item called "Misc. Public Events" for non-business-related activities that Lorie and I do, like getting together with friends, triathlons, trips, etc. Only she and I have access to these events.

Similarly, there are two calendar categories my staff use for schedul­ing phone calls for me: one I use to designate "Call Blocks," when I'm available for calls, and another one, "Calls," where they actually indicate the calls they've scheduled for me.

Terry and Jama, who are on my virtual team, have "read-only" access to the Call Block calendar, and "write" access to the Calls calendar.

In addition, there are a variety of other calendar categories for personal tasks, dates blocked out for live programs and related travel, and several others.

This approach works absolutely great when I'm sitting at my com­puter with a live Internet connection, and is one I highly recommend. (Note: a related product, Google Mail, is where we host our mail servers, and its spam filters work with near 100% accuracy. As a bonus, both the mail and calendar products are absolutely free!)

The only concern, when using a PC-, Mac-, or Internet-based calendar, is that you may want to access the calendars on your mobile phone.

Sync Me Up!

And that's where GooSync comes in. It works with most phones, whether they're Windows Mobile, Palm, or just plain old basic phones, with built-in propri­etary calendar functions.

Instead of syncing by plugging the phone into a USB port on your computer, it syncs your calendar events and contacts "over the air" using your carrier's phone network, or Wi-Fi network if available and supported.

So when we got new phones a few months ago, we signed up for the one-time fee program since this was something we were planning on using for a while.

So, needless to say, I was a bit surprised to receive an offer to upgrade to the level we had already purchased for a price that appeared to be less than what we originally paid.

A quick e-mail to the company explained that the $19.95 was actually an upgrade fee and the total would end up being the same price as what we paid.

Their response, however, did not explain why we received the offer in the first place.

And that's the Magic Lesson I want to share with you this month:

Match Your Message to Your Market

This is an extremely important concept that we've discussed many times, but normally in the context of targeting new products and services to specific market segments. You wouldn't want to send an offer for premium steaks to a list of vegetarians, after all.

Well, the same rules of niche marketing apply when making offers to your existing customers. You don't want to send an offer for a particular product to a customer who's already purchased it.

Fortunately, there are clear and easy steps you can take to make sure this doesn't happen. Here are three ideas to consider so you don't do something like this with your own marketing efforts:

1. Does the Right Hand Know What the Left Hand is Doing?

When you create a market­ing campaign with a predefined sequence of steps, delivered via various media, and at predetermined intervals, there's one thing you need to plan for: what happens when prospects do respond.

You need a mechanism - manual or automated - that will allow you to remove prospects from your mailing campaign when they accept your offer. (You also need to be able to remove them from your mailing sequence when they request you to do so.)

2. Send the Right Offer to The Right People

It's critical to tailor your offers to specific market segments. You can do this by customizing your materials for each segment. This allows you to more effectively connect with each group and it person­alizes your message just for them.

3. "Service After the Sale!"

After someone has responded to your offer, that's the beginning of the work, not the end of it. You need to solidify the relationship within the first 30 days of the initial sale.

This means that just as you had a definite sequence for acquiring the customer, you now need an equally well thought out sequence for retaining the customer.

Keeping these three basic prin­ciples in mind will help ensure that you're always getting the right message to the right market - a neces­sary formula for success, particu­larly in challenging economic times like these.

Selecting And Evaluating A Solo Ad List Broker

Let's talk about...

Selecting a solo ad list broker is half art and half science.

The art involves searching on Google or other search engine sites, visiting each website, reading the information presented and making a judgment of which sites can best help you. Next you will want to make contact with the list owner.

Developing your list is the keystone to building your online business successfully. Yes, it takes time but it is time well spent to grow your business.

However, it doesn't have to be that time consuming because as a member of Networking Insight's Inner Circle Kevin Hokoana provides you with a list of Solo Ad brokers to start evaluating for yourself. Watch his videos and if you pay attention you will see who he uses throughout the demonstrations.

What I look for in a Solo Ad list broker; first is a guaranteed delivery of the number of clicks purchased. Second I want to have total control over my subject headline and the body copy. Third the ad must go to targeted traffic related to my ad. Fourth I want my ad to be the only solo ad that the Solo Ad list broker sends out. I don't want my ad to be one of many on the page.

Once you identify a few possible Solo Ad list brokers send an e-mail and introduce yourself. Tell them what you want to purchase. When is it possible to send the ad? How many slots are open in the time frame you want the ad to be sent? Ask if ads similar to yours have been placed. Include a copy of your ad for review. Wait for a response.

You goal is to develop a friendly and professional relationship with the Solo Ad list broker that is build around courtesy and appreciation.

Here is where the science comes into play.

I believe very strongly that you must always measure your outcomes and set up systems that are repeatable. You will pay more attention to the things you measure. In the healthcare industry we use metrics to measure results that help us to make better decisions. As an example:

I use twelve column accounting paper and in each column header I list the following: Solo Ad list broker's name, number of clicks, purchase date, dated ads start coming in, cost of the ad, cost per opt-in, number of opt-ins, percentage of opt-ins, and number of sales.

Over time I am developing data about which Solo Ad list broker gets the best results. Once I know where the best results are I will get a better return on my investment. You probably use an excel spreadsheet to build your metrics. However you measure your results be consistent. Money is a precious commodity, use it smartly. Don't let calculating the numbers frighten you, its just arithmetic. Test and evaluate must be your standard operating procedure. Trial and error in selecting and evaluating a solo ad list broker is not an option.

I'll see you in the front row of success