Custom B2B Telemarketing and Lead Generation Case Study for ...

Commercial Expense Management Solution Provider

Client’s sales force, organized into three layers based on geographic area and prospect revenues, was expected to generate and pursue their own leads. Leads generated as a result of divisional marketing programs (website, tradeshows, advertising) were passed onto the sales force via email and not managed through a central sales database or tracking system. Primary issues needing to be addressed:

1. Sales Force lack of motivation to do cold calling and inbound lead qualification, causing missed opportunity and no future sales opportunity pipeline development
2. Inability to track and manage sales force productivity with existing processes and technology
3. Inconsistent self-reporting by the Sales Force caused limited understanding of their close rates, benchmarks for productivity and sales cycle compliance
4. Missed opportunity to capture “live” market data on sources of the best leads, insight into the competition and prospect “wants and needs” across markets caused by inconsistent self-reporting by the Sales Force.

A pilot project with eti Sales Support was defined to do lead generation, qualification, and appointment setting; capture market and marketing program effectiveness data; implement technology and processes to track sales force effectiveness; and to build a sales opportunity pipeline. The results expected ranged from increased sales and revenue to enhanced Sales Force productivity and morale.

Elements of the project included:

1. 1. Outbound cold calling to generate leads and appointments for the Sales Force
2. Joint development of qualifying criteria, information to be captured, and sales force compliance requirements
3. Integration with company marketing programs to follow-up and qualify inbound inquiries
4. Automated outbound and inbound lead distribution and notification to the sales force
5. Online, web-based reporting across all aspects of the project, its progress, and statistics
6. Updating the client’s prospect data base with up to date business and contact information
7. Appointment setting through shared calendars to minimize the need to reschedule
8. Full reporting of Sales force compliance, lead distribution and appointments set

eti Sales Support produced extraordinary results and were contracted for a multi-year contract for 30,000+ hours of calling annually supporting the Client’s Business to Business sales force.

The results included:

1. $400 of revenue generated for every $1 of project cost
2. Over $1B in total annual revenue potential identified
3. 1 in 5 qualified leads resulted in a sale
4. Estimated hours invested/appointment and cost/appointment went down by 15%-18%
5. Metrics and benchmarks were established for sales productivity and the sales cycle itself
6. Sales Force employee satisfaction and lead quality improved quarter after quarter
7. Comprehensive compliance management and measurement process ensured every opportunity was handled appropriately and a sales opportunity pipeline was built

During the next calendar year, the 25-30% increase in annual hours, resulted in 45-50% increase in qualified leads due to eti Sales Support staff’s acquired skills and knowledge of the client’s products and services.

“…we learned more about our market penetration and position in 6 months than we did in over 30 years of doing business.” ‘All project objectives were met or exceeded. The smooth integration of sales and marketing with disciplined lead management had resulted in not only increased sales and sales productivity, but also provided total control over the customer acquisition process.’