Hey Bryan,
Avoiding Anger
If they are going in cold - they need to know it and they need to be able to show value quickly. What is the purpose of the call? It better not be to sell something, because if the client wanted to buy, they would have done so on their own time. From the tele-sales rep's perspective the purpose of the call is easy - to learn more about the prospect so that the two companies may work together in the future. The harder question is what is the purpose of the call from the prospects perspective. If the call is cold, the tele-rep should be able to add value in some way. I wouldn't recommend calling a cold list more than 3 times.
At what point do the leads go through?
You need to keep tele-reps busy. What leads should go to the tele-reps? It is my opinion that you should ask them. They know what calls they enjoy making. They are incentivized to be successful. Do what you can to help make that happen!
Timing is Everything:
- Call when: Someone has a explicit request to contact (bonus points for reducing the time to <48 hours... super bonus points for reducing the time to <5 minutes).
- Call when: Someone has an implicit behaviour that suggests interest (event, webinar, large number of site visits etc...).
Note, context is even more important in the latter point - otherwise you can create frustration. If neither of these has occurred and the call is colder - context is even more important. Frustration is more likely if value isn't created.
Is tele-prospecting/tele-nurturing growing or dieing?
You can have a great ROI for creating leads/opportunities regardless of the medium. A nurture is usually a short - I was thinking of you - this will help you - keep in touch. As such, I see it being better suited for emails. A call is generally more expensive to make each connection. However, a call is also more personal and usually implies a two way sharing of information. It can also build trust on a personal level if done properly. You have a great resource at your fingertips - a tele-sales team. Tele-sales teams aren't dead, they just need the appropriate context.
How are Conversations Approached?
Tele-reps are taught to demonstrate value then listen, listen, listen. BANT/unqualify/qualify/follow up.
