Lead Generation: Has this happened to you?

The other day I got a call from a company offering me Lead Generation Services.

Since this is our core offering — I couldn’t help but go along with the Caller….so I asked a few questions:

Me:  “Good Morning this is Cheryl. How can I help you today?”

Company A: “I’m calling to offer you an opportunity to get qualified leads.”

Me: “Great! How do you determine if it is QUALIFIED?”

Company A:  “We run various programs to ensure we are talking to the correct person at the correct company.”

Me: “Really? Did you run that program to target me?”

Company A: “Yes we did!”

Me:  “Are you calling me from a home or an office?”

Company A: “My home — but we are attached to our head office. They are lots of us scattered across the country.”

Me: “Hmmmmm — so what does my company do?”

Company A: “Ummmmmmmmmm”

Me:  “Well- you said you ran your program to target me. So what do we do here at Idea Factor?”

Company A: (furious key strokes) “…oh — it looks from your website that you offer telemarketing services for lead generation…”

(Sound of dog barking)

Me:  “Ahhh– yes. We actually compete.  So I’m not really qualified am I?”

Company A: “I guess not…”

Me:  “Where did you get my name from? Did you buy a list?”

Company A: “Yes — we have a big list and I just start at the top and work my way through”.

Me: “I think we are done. Do you?”

Company A:  “Sorry Mrs. Cappellano. Good bye.”

I couldn’t help but laugh when I got off the phone. I felt sorry for the woman that called me and even sorrier for the company she works for because my image of them — is definitely not what they want it to be. Targeting a company that is your competitor is pretty bad — but hearing a dog bark in the background is over the top.

If you are considering out-sourcing your lead generation — here are some things to look for:

1. Number of years in business?
2. Location of out-bound call team?
3. Are they supervised?
4. Can you listen to a soundfile?
5. Can you approve the script?
6. How do they pre-qualify before calling?
7. Where do they source their lists?
8. Can you own the list after?
9. What happens if the meeting is cancelled?

If you are happy with how these questions are answered — you should get some great leads for your pipeline. Paramount to any initiative is making sure that your brand will be not harmed in any way.

Happy selling!

ABOUT IDEA FACTOR

Idea Factor provides a full suite of marketing services including B2B lead generation (gathering qualified sales leads), surveys, data mapping, event tele-boosting, trade show follow up, in-bound and out-bound omnichannel contact center services, data cleansing, list cleaning, customer retention and loyalty programs.

Our commitment to excellence in customer service has awarded us repeat business for more than 25 years, from both our global and community clients. To find out more go to http://www.idea-factor.com or look at our Services here.