Sometimes You Have to Show People a Solution Before They Realize They Have a Problem
If you’ve ever seen an infomercial you can appreciate that ‘light bulb’ moment when you say to yourself ‘I don’t even like pancakes, but now that I can buy a pan that flips them for me, I’m going to’. Hence, solving a problem you didn’t even realize you had.
Recently OptifiNow met a gentleman at a trade show who has a 400-seat contact center. The center focuses on inbound lead qualification. Essentially, the company runs various media prompting a customer to call to find out if they are qualified to receive an offer. Some of the callers do not meet the qualifications, some decide they are not interested, and the rest meet the qualifications and their call is transferred to another center to complete the sale.
A shocking 80% of the calls do not meet the qualifications. When asked what they did with those leads the gentleman said nothing was done with the leads because they had already said ‘no’. Taken aback, I asked him if they had ever tried re-marketing to those people, and he asked me why they would want to re-market to someone who had already said no once. Why wouldn’t you?
The average prospect needs to be ‘touched’ or contacted a minimum of 5 to 7 touches before they buy. Giving up after the first touch is leaving potential revenue in the trashcan.
How should you go about doing this? In a contact center environment your agents are busy fielding inbound inquiries. Providing them with a lead management system to automate these touches is the way to go. You can setup a series of emails and phone calls, potentially combined with a direct mail program, to facilitate more meaningful contact with the prospect.
You can even go so far as to create a highly personalized campaign. Using the prospect details combined with those of your agent creates the foundation for a relationship and trust.
The best part of this system is you know this person has already indicated their interest in your product or service. You just need to nurture that relationship – 5 to 7 meaningful touches – until the prospect is ready to buy.