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Cold Calling’s Unique Ability to be Tested

Unlike virtually any other marketing tool, cold calling lets companies change courses at almost any time.

In today’s ever-changing business environment, this flexibility is critical.

Companies new to cold calling must watch early results closely.

Testing, assessing, and refining the program from the onset are critical first steps. These actions can result in a long term program that produces a predictable stream of sales opportunities.

Veteran cold callers also must work. Constant attention is needed to keep the program sharp. Here’s a recommendation: continue with the program that works, but apply a portion of your tele-prospecting investment towards testing new approaches that may surpass your existing model. When you find one that is more effective, replace your existing program, but continue to test new approaches.

It’s easy to test and change cold calling campaigns. Unlike print ads, radio spots, billboards, or most other marketing vehicles, cold calling programs make testing and applying those results to the program easy.

Here are some of the items that every program should assess:

1) The offer. Do you want to set a sales appointment? Do you want to invite people to a webinar? Do you simply want to collect email addresses for a campaign? Are you offering a free assessment, or a free trial? Do you need an incentive to enhance your “call to action?”

2) The list. Are the decision makers and the companies on your list the best prospects?

3) Talking points. Do your callers have the conversation points to highlight the key aspects of your program? Is there something compelling that needs to be added? Are the talking points too complicated or long?

4) Your calling team. How well do they represent you? How effective are they in talking to decision makers? Can they ask for the appointment?

5) Your ability to close the leads. This is the part that comes after a cold calling lead is identified. Can you cost effectively convert that lead into a sale? Do you have the people and processes in place? Are you getting qualified leads?

Case Studies

Here are short examples of savvy VSA clients who tested, assessed and refined their programs.

1) A software company implemented a program which successfully produced leads. However, the company was unprepared to convert the leads to sales. Now, this company plans a product-specific website, marketing materials and the right expertise to make sales calls. A second cold calling initiative is scheduled.

2) An online marketing company completed a program that produced poor results. The company has changed its offer to simplify steps prospective companies must take to enroll. A second campaign has been launched.

3) A commercial roofing company implemented a program and generated desired results. Later, the company realized the prospective clients were not a good fit. The company has implemented a second campaign targeting a different prospect list.

If you are planning a cold calling program, please call us to talk about the factors that can make or break your campaign. We’d like to know what marketing tools have worked for you in the past and show you how we can add to that success. We are happy to help.

July 28th, 2008 Posted by Valerie Schlitt, President of VSA, Inc. | Business | no comments

Improving your golf swing for idiots

For some golf trainers, the very 1st lesson they will teach their students is how to grip the golf club correctly. Why? Because if you don’t grip the golf club correctly, it could cause you to slice the golfball almost everytime.

Many amateur golfers often slice the ball have reported that their slice disappeared when they learned to fix their grip. Imagine that, you can instantly improve your golf swing just by learning how to grip your golf club correctly.

Regardless of which way you grip your golf club, never grip the club too tightly. This is one of the biggest causes of slicing the ball. You want to hold the club firm, but not “choke hold” it, meaning, you want a firm hold while not tensing up your hands or forearms, this makes you feel more relaxed and focused as well as giving you better control.

You can improve your putting even in your living room or at the office. You need a putter, a little space and you can get putting aids that you can attach to the head of the putter. The putting aids can help you center the stroke until you are comfortable enough with hitting the ball with the center of the putter.

This really does make a difference, it may not seem like it would, but it has been proven to help golf swings. You can buy handles and re-grip your clubs if you want to go that route, that way you don’t spend a fortune on new clubs, just fix your old ones to fit your hand size, check out a pro golf shop and ask them about getting your grip measured and about getting grips to fit you.

Many amateur golfers have shaved 3 or 4 strokes off their games just by practicing 5 or 10 minutes while waiting for dinner or supper to be served. Putting is something you can easily practice at home.

If you want to purchase a golf training aid you should know that there are several systems available on the market. The training aid includes the driving mat, the practice mat, the practice net, the swing training aid and of course the golf putting aid. Most of these aids are small enough to fit in a bag and all of them want to help you improve your golfing skills.

Whether you are already a die hard golfer or are a beginner, you want to learn how you can get the best golf swing so that you can start having fun and enjoying the game.

July 28th, 2008 Posted by Jim Duggan | Travel & Leisure | no comments

Classic Car Parts

Even the car enthusiasts seem to use the terms classic cars and vintage cars interchangeably. There seems to automatically be the assumption that anything older is a classic. But this is not true. A classic car is an automobile that was manufactured between 1925 and 1948. And, just the word classic alone, means that it is something that has a lasting significance, and will increase in value over time.

The other definition is if the car was manufactured over 25 years ago, then it can be considered a classic. There is also the school of thought the believe these types of cars were manufactured in a lower quantity, thus the higher value and costs. In any case, these cars definitely stand out in a crowd.

So, yes, the classic car will increase in value over time. But as this appreciation is happening, so is the cost of the classic car parts. These become even more difficult to find. And as with any slight knowledge in economics, as the supply goes down, the price goes up. But there are those that believe the higher prices for parts is not enough to outweigh the pleasure of owning one.

Classic parts: It is not easy to find genuine parts for the classic cars as they are not used much and so not much in demand. But established communities of car lovers who have a special love for classic cars ensures that there is a heavy market for the classic car parts and would flourish. All the parts of classic cars were built in limited quantities and are thus rare like the classic cars.

One of the things you will need to look at when making a purchase of parts for your classic, is the condition and the working age of the parts. If you are buying online, try to get pictures and some sort of warranty or guarantee for the part before you make the purchase.

People who are not into the “car enthusiast” crowd really do not care about the true definitions of a classic car. All they want to see is the beauty of the car. They like the fresh paint jobs and the restoration jobs done on these cars.

Usually the classic car parts do not remain as fresh as the car, because they have been used more than the car. The engine would have worked well when the classic car would have been new, the paint may be chipped and the interior may be deteriorated. Most of the classic cars have been used and so one cannot expect the used car parts to be in very good condition.

The classic car parts may go through proper refurbishments and repairs before they go for sale. Thus, classic car parts are a significant market of the auto market. They are available at special auto parts store house but may be really difficult to find sometimes.

July 28th, 2008 Posted by Rex Simpleton | Automotive | no comments

Affiliate Program Directories

*The sharing of revenue between online merchants and salespeople or affiliates is considered affiliate marketing. Compensation is normally based on registrations, clicks, or a percentage of sales.

*Advertisers and online companies offering affiliate programs are normally referred to as affiliate merchants, while publishers, marketers, or sales people are considered affiliates.

*The high potential of making a lot of money online through affiliate programs is one of the many benefits of affiliate marketing. You can literally automate your advertising processes and receive commissions daily for your clicks, registrations, or sales made. Making money from the interest is easy with affiliate marketing money.

*A vast amount of companies survive and thrive on affiliate marketing. Amazon.com was pretty close to be one of the original companies to adopt affiliate marketing, which results now in them having thousands of affiliate relationships. Affiliate program directories can be found to search for a good interenet marektign online affiliate program.

*Affiliate program directories offer a good source of programs out there that you may want to be a part of. Making money online has never been easier, affiliate marketing should be at the top of your list. You don’t have to adhere to a boss, you control the way you do business, and you can make lots of money doing it.

*You can marketing products you love, use your personal website to offer banners and linkds, or use an existing site the company offers. Earning money on every sale that is made is a great reason to participate.

Starting an online business is hard in itself. Internet marketing online affiliate programs allow you to do so quickly and easily as everything is set up for you. Affiliate mareketing money is easy to start and easy to make money online and has become very popular and one of the easiest avenues to do so.

July 28th, 2008 Posted by Affiliate Marketing Money | Home & Garden | no comments

The Real Story on Debt Management Programs

What most people are looking for in a debt management program does not exist. I find myself constantly on the phone with clients who are drowning in credit card debt, looking for the perfect debt management program. This is the criteria they are usually seeking: - Eliminate all debts quickly - Have a positive effect on their credit - Not have to deal with any phone calls from creditors

The problem: There is no such program!

I have found throughout years of helping people free themselves from debt, that most are initially looking for the option that does not exist. To reiterate, there is no debt relief option in existence that will give you the above benefits. Let’s take a good look at the options that are available and provide some basic information about each one.

Debt Consolidation: Debt consolidation loans are typically home equity loans or second mortgages. This is where you take the equity out of your home to pay off unsecured debts, and then just repay the equity loan with one payment, hopefully lower than the total min payments on all your unsecured debts. The upside is that you can trade in your high-interest unsecured debts for a lower-interest, single payment that can sometimes have a tax benefit. The downside is that most people who have a lot of unsecured debt will not qualify for a loan, or have any equity in their home.

Consumer Credit Counseling: These are the companies that have been getting into a lot of trouble over past years. Typically non-profit, they claim to lower your interest rates and set you up with a low monthly payment to get you out of debt in 5-7 years by splitting your single payment into little chunks to pay each creditor a reduced payment. The upside is well there actually is no upside. Because these programs rarely ever do what they claim, and many credit card companies no longer participate in these programs, this has become a serious waste of money and time. The downside is, in addition to above, that your creditors will each enter a line into your credit reports on every account included that states that the account is handled through credit counseling. This will prevent you from qualifying for pretty much anything.

Debt Settlement: In the past couple years; this has become the most popular and most effective program for getting out of debt quickly. However, you must truly be in a financial hardship and not able to pay your current minimum payments. The strategy here is to negotiate with your creditors and get them to accept a settlement pay-off of less than the balance owed. All creditors will accept settlements as long as you have successfully shown hardship. In my experience, attorneys have been most effective in negotiations with creditors because they cannot be bullied by savvy collectors. The upside is that you can completely settle your debt for pennies on the dollar in a very short period of time; usually 3 years or less. The downside is that your accounts must become very delinquent before creditors will accept settlements. This is not a problem if you are in a financial hardship; after all, you are already not able to make your min payments, so going delinquent was happening anyway.

Bankruptcy: In past years, anyone could file bankruptcy chapter 7 and easily eliminate any amount of debt quickly. Now, since the Bankruptcy Reform Act, most do not qualify for bankruptcy, and you are forced to try other solutions such as debt settlement first. Bankruptcy is a legal court process where those who are completely insolvent are able to possibly protect their primary residence and eliminate debts. The upside is that once a chapter 7 bankruptcy is completed, the creditors literally write off the debt and cannot pursue you further. The downside is that it is a permanent court record, and will also remain on your credit reports as a public record for up to 10 years.

This information should provide you with foundation of knowledge that will allow you to select the best debt relief option for your specific financial circumstances.

July 28th, 2008 Posted by Jon Ochs | Repair | no comments