There are many things to take think about when attempting to determine which is the most effective way of generating new sales prospects for your company.
You need to choose which medium is likely to be the most effective and as an outcome supply you with the lowest cost of sale.
There are various areas that could be adopted and each will have its distinct benefit.
Advertising
Probably the most clear way of producing prospects as it is observed to get the highest coverage, however the expected return for this is low as it is reactive and you can only manage who is targeted so far.
You can aim at certain demographics or certain publications but there is no real way of ensuring that you are contacting the correct contacts.
Typical Cost per Lead £900+
Trade Show
Now there are distinct benefits to this type of lead generating however there are also some pitfalls. Firstly a tradeshow is expensive and time consuming to organise with a large cost prior to the show. You have the cost of the stand space at the show, possibly for the stand to be designed then you have to pay for the advertising with such as flyers and making prospects aware you are exhibiting at the event. Then of course you need to follow up the prospects generated over the duration of the event to establish who was actually serious and who was merely just having a lookaround.
Essentially a lot of time and money for what could be only a handful of good leads.
Expected Cost Per Lead £400+
Direct Mail
Once again with direct mail there are a lot of expenses upfront and there is also the probability of the mail really getting to the right decision maker. It is regular for the mailshot to be intercepted by secretaries and for the proposition not to be seen by the correct person you were targeting in the first place.
Expected Cost per Lead £425+
In-house Telemarketing
A more cost effective strategy to be sure however there are still a lot of setup costs and work required to get a efficient team up and running, Setup physical infrastructure (workstations, PCs, telephones etc)
Hiring of staff, Training of employees, Management of employees
This can clearly pay dividends in the longer term by supplying you with a goodly stream of possibilities however; theres a great deal of cost, time and work that needs to be put in to set up an internal telemarketing team. You also have to bear in mind staff turnover and that you may have to frequently train new employees when staff move on. This is a very good way of producing prospects but can be quite expensive and time consuming which not all businesses can manage.
Typical Cost per Lead £300+
Outsourced Telemarketing
The most cost effective way of generating new leads. For starters most telemarketing agencies dont charge an initital fee. You also have the added benefit that you are using a professional service provider who will have trained their staff in-house and will have a team of expert staff who are specialists in closing and questioning techniques. You then have the benefit of knowing that your message will be heard by the correct decision makers and that the outsourced telemarketing agency should be able to supply you with a notion of the anticipated results for both the appointment booking and lead generation. Also outsourcing enables you to use the resource as and when needed to suit your financial or sales requirements.
Expected Cost per Lead £150
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