Sales Advocate Newsletter

Combining Web and Telesales to Rapidly Grow Revenue

November 2000

Many technology firms have had great success at integrating their telesales and Web programs. It's a likely pairing. Web sites need an aggressive sales complement to turn lookers into bookers. Telesales needs hot leads and a means to immediately demonstrate product benefits. There's more to it, however, than simply running Web and telesales programs at the same time. Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure an effective Web/telesales partnership.

Use a Good Carrot

To draw visitors to your site and get them to provide their contact information, you need a good "carrot" - something you can offer them that's of real value. Free product downloads, trial versions of software, live demos and white papers work well. Whatever you offer, make sure it's of interest only to prospective buyers - specifically the decision makers. Giving away a trip to the Caribbean will bring you many leads, sure, but such a giveaway will inevitably waste a great deal of time and money as your telesales department calls on leads who are interested only in getting a tan, not in buying your product. At minimum, your online carrot must be worth the time it takes to fill in a registration form. Which brings us to...

Gather as Much Information Online as Possible

The more information you get from prospects, the better the leads for your telesales department. Many e-marketers fret over putting Web visitors to the bother of filling in all those boxes. But remember, completing a registration form is a self-qualifying task. Visitors who can't be bothered to fill in an online form for a worthy carrot are probably not very good leads. Qualifying information - such as company size, annual revenue, and when they might buy - go a long way toward helping the telesales department do their jobs. Technology firms should ask IT questions that ensure the prospect is, in fact, a potential customer.

Downloaders are Prospects, Not Customers

Unless they buy something online, Web visitors are not yet customers. Even those who download a free trial version of software are warm leads at best. If you've put good systems and processes in place (another discussion altogether), your telesales team will quickly receive these leads, prioritize them and strike while the iron is hot. However, don't make the mistake of assuming that someone who's downloaded something from your Web site has actually used it. The first objective of the telesales rep should be to ensure that Web visitors have made use of their downloads.

Take Luminate for example, a recent Phone Works client that offered free software from its Web site. The Luminate lead development team walked these Web leads through product demonstrations and discussed product features and benefits. They then passed qualified leads to the telesales group, which was responsible for converting prospects into paying customers. In the first three weeks of combining their Web and telesales activities, Luminate identified more than 30 highly qualified prospects.

Combining Web and telesales initiatives can be an effective, symbiotic sales strategy. A well-integrated model creates an avenue for rapid revenue growth by improving interactions with prospects. When built properly, this model improves the responsiveness of both media, converting Web browsers into buyers, and helping telesales to turn highly qualified leads into revenue-generating phone calls.

You can reach Phone Works at 510.749.9073.