Seventy percent (70%) of completed interviews from telemarketing result in a “no opportunity” status. These are prospects that are qualified to buy, but they do not have a defined need, budget and/or focus to evaluate your solutions. Some people believe that once you place a prospect into this category, you should politely exit the call and quickly move onto the next name on the list. However, this tactic can be wasteful. Taking the time to ask additional profiling questions can be immensely valuable to your marketing strategy.
Continuing conversations with these individuals can yield information that might be helpful down the road. Obtaining information in the following categories will inevitably prove to be indispensable:
- Current systems installed: Having this kind of data on record not only permits market analysis, but might also prove useful in the development of future campaigns. For instance, if we find that a competitive platform is quite common in a particular industry, the execution of an industry specific competitive attack campaign would likely be worthwhile. If we exit the call without obtaining this kind of information, we lose out on an opportunity to detect trends in the marketplace. An understanding of what is happening in our target audiences allows for the development of campaigns that will increase market share in what might be unexplored territory.
- Anticipated growth or changes within their infrastructure: Asking questions around what might be happening in the future is vital. Often, prospects are thinking only of the here and now. Asking about what is expected to transpire within their organization over the coming year might sway them to consider that things might not be as