Telemarketing produces twice the ROI as pay-per-click and internal call center activities

The Challenge

Our client in the software industry was at risk of failing to meet their year-end revenue goals. As a result, they came to us to help them quickly and significantly increase the volume of leads. Pay-per-click advertising and internal telemarketing efforts were simply not generating the number of leads needed for a banner year. What they did have working for them, though, was a high-performing inside sales team. Previous campaigns had shown that our partner’s sales staff was extremely effective at closing business with qualified leads. They just needed more of them.

The Solution

Effective telemarketing to the right list produces targeted, high quality, high value leads. In collaboration with our partner, we developed a sustainable outbound telemarketing program to deliver qualified leads to their skilled inside sales team. We began by assessing the target markets and prospecting lists provided by our partner. Based on their customer characteristics and demographics, we created a tailored call guide and thoroughly trained our call center staff. Then we refined our technique with call strategy and frequent debriefing sessions during the first week of calling. After the call performance met everyone’s expectations, we launched the program at a rate of 250 telemarketing hours over three months.

The Results

An average of 3.6 introductory presentations were made during each hour of calling, helping us to produce 119 qualified A-level leads (3%) over three months. These A-level leads constituted companies who requested a rep call from our partner’s inside sales team. Beyond these immediate hot leads, the campaign also produced 193 qualified B and C leads. These were companies who were not ready to purchase but had future potential. Accordingly, B and C leads were identified in the database so that they could be nurtured into A leads.

Most impressively, the average value per sale was twice that of other marketing communication leads (e.g. pay-per-click, internal telemarketing), and our campaign was cost-effective at a cost per lead of $120. Based on our strong numbers, our client decided to dramatically expand their lead generation efforts. In fact, they decided to make telemarketing one of their key revenue drivers for the year.