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Are Telemarketers the only people that CALL YOU?

Written by: Trent Leyshan

Article Overview: Picture this: You are sitting at your desk going through your To Do list and suddenly the phone rings, ¡§RING, RING!¡¨ Given you know how challenging lead generation can be, you say to yourself, ¡§Great this could be an opportunity I don¡¦t have to chase!¡¨

Are Telemarketers the only people that CALL YOU?

Picture this: You are sitting at your desk going through your To Do list and suddenly the phone rings, ¡§RING, RING!¡¨ Given you know how challenging lead generation can be, you say to yourself, ¡§Great this could be an opportunity I don¡¦t have to chase!¡¨

In an enthusiastic manner, you answer the phone, ¡§ABC Widgets, good morning, how can I help you?¡¨ The person on the other end of the phone opens the conversation with, ¡§Am I speaking with the business owner?¡¨ You realise, quickly, it¡¦s yet another bloody telemarketer! ¡§Damn you telemarketer!¡¨ you proclaim underneath your breath, as you politely tell them you¡¦re not interested and promptly hang up.

Does the above scenario strike a cord with you, often?

If the answer is yes, don¡¦t despair, you¡¦re not alone, this is common and there is a common reason for it: To put things simply; your business is not interesting to your potential customers. Moreover, your value proposition (what your company stands for), is not compelling enough for your customers to go to the trouble of seeking-you-out and initiating contact with you.

This is a sad reality for too many businesses; but a true one at that. However, it can be resolved with a simple tweak of your thinking and strategy. If you want your customers to seek-you-out, first; you have to be interesting to them, and second; more often that not, you will need to be radically different to most, if not all, of your competitors.

Let me explain what radically different means; it can mean a difference in offering of only 5-10% if all of your competitors are selling the same thing in the same way. Radical is not as hard to achieve as you my think; it¡¦s the concept of being different that makes it so challenging. It's much easier to run within the safe confines of the pack isn¡¦t it?

„X What does being different achieve? You stand out from the crowd!
„X What does standing out achieve? People notice you!
„X What happens when people notice you? They become interested in you.
„X Is being interesting enough? No, but it¡¦s a start!


The next step is to transform their interest in you - into their best interests for contacting you. You have to give your customers a compelling reason to contact you. Simply placing your contact details on your website or handing-out business card is not enough. Give your customers a choice: either the ¡¥same¡¦ or you. And please give them a reason to contact you today, as apposed to next week or never.


If your company doesn¡¦t have a strong ¡¥Call to Action¡¦ (a compelling reason for your customers to contact you now) unfortunately, you will have to get to the back of the line and hope your potential customers work through their buying process of elimination and eventually get to you. But in most cases they never do. This is analogous to being on the second page of Google in a hotly contested category, the chances of your customer's finding someone relevant and suitable in the top 3-5 listings is likely, highly likely.

How do I create a radical Call to Action?

Step 1: Find out what your competitors are all doing and do something radically different, or radically better. (Remember in competitive markets with everyone selling the same thing in the same way ¡¥radical differentiation¡¦ can mean as little as a 5% margin in value proposition.)

Step 2: Ask your best customer¡¦s what¡¦s important to them, then trial 3 key responses into your call to action based on what your customer¡¦s value.

Step 3: Do the exact opposite of what your key competitors are doing - give your customers choice: either the ¡¥same¡¦ or you!

Step 4: Take action today and lead by example!

Related Articles
  The Do Not Call List
  How to Sue A Telemarketer by Stephen Ostrow, Esquire
  Tele-phony
  Are the only people that CALL YOU Telemarketers?
  Referrals and the Do Not Call Registry

Article Tags: abc, business owner, confines, crowd, desk, despair, enthusiastic manner, lead generation, phone rings, sad reality, telemarketer, true one, tweak, value proposition, widgets



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