What does Time really mean to Sales?

Sales are directly affected by time; whether its time of day, day of the week or month of year. Although your company’s experience may not be a replica of those featured within this article, it illustrates the importance of examining trends.

The findings below are based on analysis of website traffic and conversion data over a 5 year period*. Please note that ‘conversion’ refers to a website visitor who requested contact and ‘qualification’ refers to conversions qualified through needs analysis and BANT.

1. The early agent catches the sale.

• The highest level of website activity is during work hours (53% above average).By 9am activity is up 69%, yet often some sales agents are still eating breakfast, checking emails or arranging their desks. Staggering agents’ working days (alternative shifts) to ensure motivated agents are raring to go by 8.30am could be more productive. 

• Lunchtime website activity (12pm-2pm) can be up to 90% higher than average and qualification rates increase by 12% just before lunch begins. Staggering sales agent schedules could help avoid an empty office at lunchtime, or even having a different lunch schedule that fits around this time of rich opportunity. Research suggests the faster you respond to a conversion the more likely they are to qualify.

• Conversion rates peak in the evening by up to 15% between 9pm and 11.59pm.The title of this article could have been ‘3 reasons to live in your office’ as research shows that weekday evenings also boast high conversion rates. The sales team is unavailable during these hours but it’s a great time to send out knowledge documents

2. B2B Sales hates Mondays.

• B2B website activity is highest mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday), with traffic peaking at 30% higher than average on Tuesday. High rates of website activity mid-week mean it’s imperative that you have enough sales agents to meet demand. Tuesday may be the best day for launching campaigns, interacting with social media and avoiding staff holidays. 

• Conversion rates fall below average on Monday and Friday. Hate Mondays? You’re not alone; many people avoid external interaction on Monday preferring to prioritise inbox demands. Monday is still 21% above average for website activity so blogs or white papers may perform well. Mondays and Fridays are also good days to consider for data gathering or other housekeeping tasks.

• Qualification rates are 4% higher than average from Tuesday to Thursday. It’s important to reinforce the necessity of having enough sales staff mid-week. Responding to a call back request within 5 seconds is 29% more likely to result in a qualification than a call 5mins later.

3. ‘Tis the season to avoid conversion?

• January through to May has the highest conversion rates (February performing a massive 10% higher than average). The beginning of the year has far better conversion rates, this is the most effective time to begin a new campaign as companies often have, or are in the process of planning, new budgets. For high-end, complex sales, beginning to nurture potential clients 3-6 months ahead of this period will increase likelihood of an existing relationship during January to May.

• Conversion rates dropped significantly during the summer months and December (December was 12% below average). Conversion rates fall during the summer, so this is the ideal time for the sales staff holidays or company events. The noticeable dip in December is likely to be the result of companies preparing for the New Year. December could be considered an important month for human interaction, account nurturing and campaign planning.

• Qualification rates are 2% higher than average from June to August. During these summer months qualification rates increased, which may be based on the conversion rates simultaneously falling below average. With less warm leads coming through agents have far more time to ensure they reach the right people and analyse each companies potential. 

Timing has a direct impact on your business. Research how your customers interact with your website, sales agents and social media in order to build your schedule around them.

Seasonality is also extremely important in B2B sales! So although this research may not reflect personal experience it’s vital that you plan your year to ensure it reflects your own company trends. Analysis of your monthly sales figures over three years could be a start.

*Software Advice

6 Key Ways To Influence Decision Makers

Every day we make decisions. No matter how big or small, the influences on our decisions are the same. The psychology around the decision making process and persuasion has constructed many marketing frameworks. So how is this useful for telemarketers?

By understanding and analysing the 6 key factors people consider when they make decisions to buy (or not to buy) you can shape your telemarketing plan to maximise sales.

1. Reciprocity – “I owe you a favour”

This is essentially a social etiquette. For example, if someone sends you a birthday card do you send one back? Most probably yes. You feel obligated to return the act of kindness. The same can work in business, by offering customers an incentive or free gesture.

2. Scarcity – “Will I miss out?”

Scarcity in marketing is used in two ways, either with limited time or limited quantity. People desire what is less available and this often encourages people to buy now rather than later. It can even make them believe a product is more valuable.

3. Authority – “The expert said it was good”

We view authority in different ways, such as titles or uniforms. Marketing authority is more closely aligned with credibility; credibility through expertise and trustworthiness. This is often achieved in the form of case studies or testimonials.

4. Consistency – “I said I would do that”

People like to be consistent. If they make a public statement to do something then they feel obliged to carry out their promise. A restaurant reduced the number of unattended bookings by simply asking “WILL you let us know if you need to cancel?”, instead of “Please let us know if you need to cancel.”

5. Liking – “The Sales Rep was nice”

Attractiveness sells. It is much easier to say yes to someone you like. In sales it is not necessarily about the physical attractiveness, but the way in which we listen, advise and respect the client. Training in social styles is an important part of the sales process.

6. Consensus “Everyone else uses them”

A simple concept of word of mouth. Our decision-making demands far exceed our mental capacity or the amount of time we have to consider all the options. So we take short-cuts. We ask a friend or colleague what suppliers they use. If you researched your decision a little more you may find a better alternative; but in a society where time is limited, following others can seem like a safe choice.

So how can this framework be implemented into a telemarketing environment?

Reciprocity – Give away some helpful tips or free research results.

Scarcity – Implement a time or quantity limit when delivering your sales pitch.

Authority – Train your staff to have excellent product knowledge or quote testimonials.

Consistency – Use terminology which makes your prospect commit to further conversations.

Liking – Nurture your prospective client by taking advantage of the benefits of human interaction.

Consensus – Be aware of previous work you may have done with the client or similar companies.

How Big Data is affecting the Single Customer View

In 1999 Seth Godin wrote about the idea of ‘permission-based marketing’, and to achieve it marketing departments soon realised they would need a Single Customer View (SCV). But how has the evolution of Big Data affected SCV?

Every day we gather information on our customers and store it in different databases, different departments and even different buildings. An SCV, or single marketing view as it’s sometimes called, seeks to merge all that data into one point that is accessible by all.

The problem was that for some companies, achieving an SCV was a journey that could take years. Many large organisations needed to build 5 year plans and it was not unusual for projects to over-run.

As a result, SCV slipped a few places on corporate priority lists. But Big Data may change things.

According to Bryan Eisenberg, founder of the Digital Analytics Association, the world is currently generating more data in 2 days than in all the days before 2003.

The sheer Volume, Variety and Velocity of information has increased; largely as a result of the explosion in digital marketing and the data it generates.

Managing the ‘3 Vs’ has been a problem. But Eisenberg believes that as new companies enter the Big Data arena, and provide cloud-based solutions, the capabilities that had previously been accessible only by large organisations will find their way into smaller companies. Big Data for the little guys.

Duncan Stuart, Director at Deloitte Canada, confirms there are compelling reasons for companies to pursue Big Data, “Instead of looking at my customer’s behavior once a month, I can look at it every minute of every day. That kind of insight is very, very powerful. It allows me to serve my customer better”.

The result could be that SCV becomes easier, or essential, to implement.

With SCV companies will have a platform that can profile, segment and enhance data to make the most of the intelligence and insight a unified view provides – and they can do it minute-by-minute with Big Data.

This will enable you to make your marketing more relevant, and relevance is important. A recent study by Transactis* asked customers about their relationship with companies they had already given information to. It showed:

• Nearly 80% UK customers would shift their business to a competitor if a company kept sending them irrelevant offers and communications
• 86% of customers say they would withdraw permission for a company to even contact them in future if it continued to send them irrelevant communications and offers
• 88% of customers would simply refuse to hand over further details on themselves if a company kept sending them communications and offers that they find to be of little use or interest

Proper integration of Big Data into an SCV provides clear insight so you can tailor, personalise and track the outcome of marketing messages and offers faster than previously possible. All of which is vital for customer acquisition, retention and profitability.

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The 3 Vs of Big Data
Bid Data refers to the explosion of data that organisations gather and the issues surrounding the management of that data. It is measured using the 3 Vs.

Volume: The amount of data, normally measured in Petabytes.
Variety: The different types of data; video, sound, documents, web logs, etc.
Velocity: The speed at which the data changes.

There is perhaps a fourth V… veracity. All the data in the world is meaningless if it is not accurate and checked regularly, and one of the best tools for B2B data cleansing is telemarketing.

Stay legal. Free CTPS check on your B2B data

There is a legal requirement for companies using B2B telemarketing to check their data against the CTPS register. The fine for failure can be up to £500,000 and is payable by the company that instigated the call… that could be you.

On Monday 2 July, BBC Panorama investigated B2C telemarketing. As a result, the spotlight in now on all forms of telemarketing – including B2B.

To help companies meet their legal obligations, we are offering to check your B2B telemarketing data against the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS). Free of charge.

The CTPS register is a list of companies that have ‘opted-out’ of receiving sales calls. It’s illegal to call them and can result in huge fines.

This offer is for UK data only and is limited to 100,000 records. The offer ends 31 August 2012, and for the rest of the details please read The Small Print below.

If you are calling Sole Traders as part of your telemarketing you might need to also check your data against the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). The Direct Marketing Association manage both CTPS and TPS, but any fines for failing to comply are imposed by the Information Commissioners Office.

If you want to protect your brand and ensure your telemarketing campaigns are legal, then please call Brendan O’Flaherty, CEO, on 020 8846 3950 or email boflaherty@scisalesgroup.com

Further information
Direct Marketing Association – www.dma.org.uk
Corporate Telephone Preference Service – www.tpsonline.org.uk
Telephone Preference Service – www.tpsonline.org.uk
Information Commissioner’s Office – www.ico.gov.uk

The Small Print
1.We will only check 100,000 telephone data records free of charge. Additional records can be checked for a fee.
2.We will perform one free CTPS check per company in one month only. Subsequent checks are charged at £50 per 100,000 records, per month.
3.CTPS is a list of UK companies that have requested not to receive sales calls, therefore this offer is limited to UK data only.
4.Your data must be supplied in .csv or Microsoft Excel format only, and must have unique ID for each record.
5.The telephone numbers must be in standard 11 digit telephone number format only.
6.This offer applies to CTPS only. If you are calling Sole Traders or consumers as part of your telemarketing you may need to check your data against TPS as well. Please ask for details and extra charges.
7.This offer is not available to other telemarketing or marketing agencies/consultants.
8.We reserve the right to postpone or refuse to complete the CTPS check due to our workload or other operational issues.
9.This offer ends 31 August 2012.

How does telemarketing compare to other marketing channels?

B2B Marketing magazine recently published an insight into the effectiveness of various business-to-business marketing channels. It looked at current trends and attitudes in the UK market.

One question revealed some interesting results. UK B2B Marketing Managers and Directors were asked “Which type of marketing channel has proven to be the most/least effective for your business?”

The results were displayed as a percentage of respondents, but we have analysed the figures and expressed them as an Index Score. This shows the difference between those that feel the channel is effective and those that don’t. The higher the score, the more effective the channel.

We have listed the top 5 most effective channels and the bottom 5 least effective.

No surprises that email marketing tops the chart, although the reliance of Marketing Managers on digital marketing does raise the question “Whatever happened to multi-channel marketing?” – a subject we will discuss in future issues.

Some people may be surprised that in the age of digital marketing and social media that Telemarketing makes it into the top 5. We are not surprised at all. The question was about the effectiveness of marketing channels and telemarketing can still deliver results that other channels can only dream about.

If you want to view the ROI figures for some of our recent telemarketing campaigns and judge for yourself whether Telemarketing is effective please click here.

Now for the least effective channels.

Press advertising is at the bottom of the list and, surprisingly, online banner/button adverts. Sponsorship, Exhibitions and Direct Mail to potential customers also make an appearance (but Direct Mail to existing customers is considered to be effective, ranking 3rd).

How do these charts marry with your experience? Which are the most and least effective channels for you?