Sally Chapman is Telesales Manager for Direct Marketing Services.
Here Sally talks to us about her telemarketing top tips and how easy she has found direct marketing is to understand.
So Sally, tell us a bit about your background before you came to Thomson Local.
I worked at Exchange and Mart for over 20 years, starting as a Classified Advertising Representative and working most recently as a Regional Sales Manager.
What attracted you to working for Thomson Local, selling Direct Marketing Services?
After having worked at Exchange and Mart in the B2B publishing sector for so many years I was keen to work for another blue-chip company. It’s great to be selling products and services that help small businesses, especially in the current economic climate.
What do you think of the direct marketing products and services Thomson Local offer?
Considering that I had no prior knowledge of direct marketing I thought it might take me a little while to pick up the products and have a good understanding of how they work. In actual fact, I have been pleasantly surprised with how simple and easy to use they all are. What’s more, the number of testimonials we have from existing customers shows just how effective they are too.
Do you have any advice for improving telemarketing success?
If you have bought data it is very important that you use it on a regular basis when it is freshest to get the most benefit from it.
For example, New Connections data is sent out on the fifth working day of every month and it’s very important to start using it as soon as it hits your inbox. If you struggle to remember to look out for it, you should schedule a reminder for yourself in your email system. Setting aside as little as half an hour to call the data could be all that is needed to start making your business more revenue.
Once you have called the data and sent an email confirming your conversation, it’s also important to follow up. A lot of prospects need time to consider the information before they will commit to a purchase, but if you haven’t heard back from them in a couple of weeks you should call definitely them back. Maybe they are interested but have just been too busy to get back to you – you wouldn’t want to miss out on that sale after doing all the hard work already.
What is the one piece of direct marketing advice you have picked up that you think is most useful for small businesses?
You absolutely must remember to call the data as soon as you have it. And if you’re not sure how best to use the product you’ve purchased from Thomson Local, give your Account Manager a call. They’re always on hand with direct marketing advice, or they can give you a product demonstration or highlight which data fields you need to focus on. At the end of the day, we want customers to be happy with their purchase and we’re here to help make sure they are.
