September 2016 | Blue Donkey

How the telephone is still your strongest sales tool

Posted on 28 September 2016 by bluedonkey

Over the past decade, the internet has come to dominate the world of sales and marketing. Social media networks, online ads, banners and email campaigns have been utilised by millions of people around the world, with many businesses seeing great results from their online efforts. Incredibly powerful, virtually ubiquitous and versatile, the internet has transformed sales for good. However, there is still one sales tool that’s stronger than the internet: the telephone. Tried and tested, the telephone will always be the best tool for an equal balance of personal and professional. A great way to connect with clients, customers and collaborators, the telephone can help companies to boost their brand awareness, build business relationships and grow sales.

If you’re still not convinced of the power of the telephone, here are a few reasons why this established sales tool is still the best there is.

Businesses and the telephone

Though many companies spotted the potential of the telephone when it was developed in the 1870s, it wasn’t until the mid 20th century that businesses really started to take advantage of this powerful communication tool. Telemarketing really came into its own in the 1970s, when companies began to use the telephone to contact potential customers and to network with other businesses.

Building business relationships

In the world of B2B sales, relationships are everything. This is because, even in the largest companies, it’s often up to individuals to make decisions on purchasing products and services, and individuals are much more likely to buy from people and businesses that they know. In fact, according to Marketing Donut, only 2% of sales are made at initial meetings, with the other 98% made once two companies have built a relationship.

For building a business relationship, the telephone remains king. It’s a lot easier to discern humour, pathos, sincerity and other emotions over the phone than it is by email. What’s more, callers can expand the topic of conversation, allowing them to answer client queries and enabling them to really get to know a customer, their needs and their requirements.

Building trust

When we speak to someone over the phone, we automatically analyse everything they say, the subtleties of their tone of voice, as well as the words they actually use, to decide exactly what the person we’re speaking to means and to decide whether or not they’re trustworthy. The more we speak to someone, the more trustworthy we’re likely to believe they are. Companies that trust a supplier are much more likely to do business with them, both initially and in the long term.

Showing commitment

It doesn’t take long to write a generic sales email and fire it off to a number of potential clients. According to Smart Insights, on average only 13%-25% of emails are opened, with an average click through rate of just 1.3%-5.4%.

Making a phone call however takes time. Not only does this show you value a company’s potential business enough to take a few minutes out your day, it also shows a commitment to your on going business relationship and demonstrates your company values the personal touch.

Personal, professional and direct, the telephone is a confident and powerful sales tool. To find out more about developing an effective B2B sales strategy, give our team a call today.

The art of discourse in business

Posted on 21 September 2016 by bluedonkey

All good businesses have discourse as one of the major cornerstones of their company – as a business that communicates at every level, succeeds at every level. Across all sectors, discourse is what sets a business apart, both at a major and micro level. As technological advancements have impacted business communication, we have seen business discourse come into its own, developing what some have called its own language. Blue Donkey has understood the importance of discourse in its two decades of operations, specialising in telemarketing and placing a great deal of importance on tailored communication which acts as a bridge between a company and its clients.

The art of discourse is an ancient and elaborate one, first articulated by the Ancient Greeks. From Aristotle to Plato, it was these philosophers who founded the cultural framework of our modern society. Plato’s three works Republic, Symposium and Phaedrus each laid out the rich tapestry of discourse, dissected by Plato in the form of narrative dialogue between characters. As James Henderson Collins puts it, Plato composed dramatic protreptic speeches in which someone converts (or tries to convert) a person to a new way of living.

Focusing on love, aesthetics, politics et al, it’s from Plato’s intense and beautifully brocaded speeches in these three works that form our understanding of just how discourse should work in a society. Its primary functions in forging bonds, winning an argument and most importantly, keeping order, is what businesses need to refresh themselves in.

What we can forever learn from the Ancient Greeks is how to continue perfecting our discourse in the business environment. The art of persuasion, most of all, is imperative for all business structures to subscribe to. This mode of discourse was summarised by Aristotle in three parts: pathos, ethos and logos.

Powownow gives some advice on how Aristotelian methods of persuasion can help us win over a meeting: “Firstly, in terms of logical (Logos) appeal, it is smart to make sure your meetings and calls have solid content and agendas, with clear facts and evidence to back up your points. Secondly, in terms of the character elements (Ethos), it is important to run meetings fairly and honestly so that people can trust your advice and lead, based on your background and experience. Finally, all the writers and research over the years reinforces that it is smart to recognise the emotional (Pathos) content too; we can add creative openings and bring our business ideas to life with good examples, stories and personal information – to bring the right level of emotional engagement into a meeting.”

In The Guardian, Jules Evans lists 7 methods from Ancient Greek Philosophy, from the likes of Plutarch and Epictetus, that help business leaders become better at fostering an atmosphere of positivity and personal growth for their employees, which ultimately leads to a successful business culture. Scouring the mountains of knowledge the Greek philosophers imparted to us, Jules has sourced such pearls of wisdom as how to let people seek fulfilment, daring to disagree, keeping track of your ethical progress, the art of happiness, building a resilient mindset and being a good role model, each can easily be incorporated into every business model. “I’ve met and interviewed hundreds of people who have used ancient Greek and Roman philosophies to help them live their lives better” he says “Including soldiers, astronauts, politicians and business leaders. They all used philosophy to help them achieve “eudaimonia”, by which the Greeks meant “flourishing” or “the good life”.”

The diversity of knowledge businesses can apply by simply taking the time to understand what the Ancient Greeks meant by healthy discourse, is indeed a formula for success.

The dangers of ‘big data’

Posted on 14 September 2016 by bluedonkey

While data and databases have become the lifeblood of a company’s new business activities, it’s really important to remember the human element that underlies the myriad of marketing disciplines. Too often businesses can fall into the trap of thinking about marketing in its more abstract form, devoid of the vast amount of differing personalities that play an integral part in every aspect, from the most esoteric to the most ubiquitous.

It’s tempting to think that in B2B database terms ‘big is beautiful’. However, this perception is loaded with peril. After all, who wants to be treated like a record on a database? As Jess Marranco writes on ‘The Era of Human Brand’ – In 2013, advertising agency, Hill Holliday, and brand strategy consulting firm, Lippincott, released the “Welcome to the Human Era” report, which evaluates brands and separates those that are Human Era brands as opposed to Industrial Era. What exactly does it mean to be a Human Era brand? According to the report, being a Human Era brand goes beyond merely saying that one is more “human.” It requires an authentic story delivered consistently through an inspiring experience. It requires hard work — establishing organisational values and commitments that are customer driven, while also driving them toward daily leadership decision-making and employee behaviours. Those brands who fit the Human Era brand mould are creatively paving the way for a new world of marketing that sparks an emotional connection with the audience.

Success in business to business sales is all about uncovering and engaging the right buyers with a sensitive offer that is built around their needs and wants. So approaching decision-makers with a standardised or shoehorned message of any kind is a fundamentally flawed way of tackling the task of B2B sales. Instead by approaching marketing using a practice commonly described as the ‘segment of one’ enables companies to treat every potential buyer as unique and tailor their messaging specifically around their needs.

This means you have to segment the data very carefully and then engage with potential buyers to understand more about what their needs are well before you try to transact with them. Increasingly, service and customer experience have become important as markets continue to become more saturated. Reach Force’ article ‘The 3 Most Popular Methods of Segmentation for B2B’ dissects the protocol for engaging with your potential buyers, segmenting customers by three specific means – firmographics, tiering and, finally, needs. They say “customer segmentation is powerful, because it allows the marketer to draw an accurate picture of their customers, group them according to similarities, and devise pinpointed messages to specific segments of their customer base. Inevitably, these messages are personalised and tailored, which results in a significantly higher number of conversions. But there is no one single way of segmenting customers that is clearly the best option.”

Only companies who are able to adapt around the needs of unique customers or prospects will really get the benefits that good customer experience, referrals, and repeat purchase can deliver. For the Human Era brand, two-way communication, focusing on the client’s unique needs and requirements is what sets a company apart. Blue Donkey has seen the benefits in this regard, by understanding that no brand is the same and each client needs that one-to-one experience, in order to forge lasting and mutually beneficial relationships.

Benefits of outsourcing areas that aren’t your company’s expertise

Posted on 7 September 2016 by bluedonkey

Outsourcing non-core business functions is increasingly making more business sense for both large and small organisations, with business owners having to become far more savvy than they once were and the necessity of having to explore different avenues in running a modern day business, whether it be, for example, due to the wider problems of an unstable global economy and thus keeping costs down, outsourcing becomes the best option, or simply because a business has reached a point where core staff must keep their eye on other equally important duties, leaving them lagging behind in other areas, such as telemarketing, which for many businesses is crucial in helping relationships with potential and existing clients.

With cost control and efficiency becoming the bywords for any sensible business out there today, as well as an important driver that helps keep a business successfully afloat, it stands to reason that an organisation that is doing a particular task or activity regularly will be able to do it with more skill, and less time wasted and less financial resources, by outsourcing.

We can also take technical advancements in recent years playing one of the biggest roles in the growing appeal of outsourcing, with the increasing sophistication and reliability of IT systems giving businesses the option to broaden their scope and, in many cases, turn a local business into a global one, it means an organisation based many miles away from you can be as effective as if they were in the next room or on the next floor. In other words, the barriers of separate geographic location are no longer there. We have seen a major shift right across the board, with businesses in the private and public sector alike refashioning their operations in ways that bring the concept of outsourcing to the forefront. For potential clients, particularly those who operate in specific sectors where outsourcing is the rule, they will appreciate a business that has the wherewithal and far reaching sense to outsource effectively.

Outsourcing telemarketing is a particularly attractive proposition. Most organisations know it’s really difficult to recruit staff who are both competent and consistent using the telephone as a marketing tool, and hiring someone who lacks the qualities of good communication and customer service skills can cause a dramatic downturn for even the most efficiently run businesses out there. With both large and small scale companies having their time taken up by focusing attention on myriad other areas, outsourcing telemarketing becomes, by far, the best option, as all the hard work in finding the right candidates falls in the hands of professional agencies. One such agency is Blue Donkey, who, with its long experience in the field and careful attention paid to each client, will find the right buyers, make intelligent and sensitive connections with them, and nurture relationships until the point where they’re ready to make buying decisions.

Most senior decision-makers within organisations have a very low boiling point for mediocre telephone calls. Outsourcing telemarketing to a specialist who has trainers on tap, the technology to integrate effectively, and whose objectives are the same as the client organisation will help engage and create an enduring and consistent pipeline of high quality leads.