Radio Sales Café

Today's Friday poll is a two-parter:

1) What role does telemarketing play in your overall sales effort?

2) Do you use dedicated in-house telemarketers, your regular full-time sales staff, or do you outsource your telemarketing?

Thanks for your replies!

1) About 2-3 % of monthly revenue.

2) We outsource to National Telerep.

Just restarted a dedicated telemarketing effort. Will have to see where is goes. I believe we have a good person heading up the effort.
In the past, we have had limited success with dedicated in house people. Have had the regular sales dept do a couple of efforts each year with good success. Holiday greets and Grad salutes have worked well and far enough apart to allow full market harvest. FFA has not been as strong but will produce enough to keep it alive.
Rick

Our BDC-Business Developement Center / telemarketing helps with about 50% or better of our new client introductions depending on the time of year and promotion.
It helps overcome a major pit-fall with sales reps (walking in uninvited) and creates accountability when you pass out a hard appointment. When executed correctly an over the phone needs analysis can help you target your introduction pitch to fit the customers marketing needs, or budget prior to the visit. This will require a form or good note taking by your telmarketer.
Our station uses a form that identifies: customer name, currently advertising on/with, budget, interested in learning more during the meeting about (remotes, fall football, specific sponsorship opps)
"Proper positioning of your sales staff prevents poor performance at the prospects place"

"Proper positioning of your sales staff prevents poor performance at the prospects place"

I like that, Boni! :-)

We used an in-house, part time telemarketer about 3 years ago with very limited success. The sales staff does a phone blitz once a year for Holiday Greetings, also limited success and also limited success in collecting the money a month or so later! We are in a small market and not sure if that makes any difference as far as success or not.

We depend on telemarketing for 20 - 25% of our revenue plus lead generation and public relations contact with the business community.

We use a part-time in-house Inside Sales staff with a full time Inside Sales Manager.

From RSC member Bill Taylor: We have not telemarketed in years. I detest them calling me, so I don't inflict this on others. Plus the "Chicago Boys" and 800 numbers are all over the other stations. Due to the economy, I may consider a promotion but with a very low cost. It has to be really low ball. $49 and when they whine. I believe them as I see no traffic. Local government wants to raise taxes because sales tax collections have fallen. When Wally lays off people we know we're down. We're lucky, we have 340 ft self supporting tower that we can really hang stuff on and that is our redeaming grace. Bill Taylor owner KQSS FM Globe/Miami AZ

At our stations we employ full time Customer Service Reps (6 right now). We have been doing it for 16 years in counties of 35,000 and 46,000. My CSR department bills more than many large market stations annually. Clients under contract always add addition $$'s during the month and many Mom's and Pop's buy 3 or 4 events during the month. Those Mom's and Pop's are the very ones that if approached by and outside rep to buy $500 would turn you down...but at $100 a week they feel more comfortable and spend.
Some of our very best clients have come through our CSR department......new business or businesses that where not called on regularly but changed ownership or management and outside reps didn't catch it. The CSR department is our very best source of leads. We have helped a lot of small businesses with solid advertising that produced results. We sell out as far as 100 miles with our big FM and 30-40 miles on the smaller stations. There are a lot of small businesses that never get approached for advertising except by yellow pages. How many businesses can your sales people see in a day? My CSR department contacts 200-300 each and every week day. If a business doesn't want us to call again we don't. We have developed some great friendships over the phone in the last 16 years. Don't tell me it can't be done or shouldn't be done. We're living proof that it will.
NEVER OUTSOURCE......those sellers don't live or work in your community and they don't care about the results produced for your clients.

We look at telemarketing as "over the transom" business. We have done quite well by outsourcing it to Multimedia Sales & Marketing (MSM) in Chicago. This is our 10th year with them, and we're very pleased with their service.

We do no telemarketing at all as Ketchikan is a town of 14,000 people on an Island in Alaska. Everyone knows everyone here and telemarketing is not effective at all. We do a lot of short term sponsorships for graduation, mother's day, Xmas and Thanksgiving and use them as a great way to introduce new clients to radio and further cement relationships with long term clients. Our regular salespeople sell these sponsorships and we concentrate on consultative selling...that is getting to know your client better. Once you establish a relationship with a client, then it is harder for them to say no.

I agree with Bill Taylor - I don't like telemarketers and I don't want to destroy client relationships by inflicting what I don't like onto a client. Telemarketing may work in larger markets, but for Alaska....it is pretty much a bust.