The Author Tom Robbins famously said: ‘I’ve decided to take advantage of outsourcing. My next novel will be written by a couple of guys in Bangalore, India…’
I think it’s a great quote because it concisely summarises why many business owners are worried about outsourcing their telephone follow up. After all, it is hard to trust another company to represent your company in a way that fits in with the reputation you have worked so hard to build. Other worries I come across are to do with level of expertise in your field and familiarity with long standing clients and contacts.
You know what, I agree with each and every point made. There is no question that you are the best person to represent your brand and advise people on your expertise in a familiar way. But then there is the age old question of time and where you best spend yours. Here is what you should consider:
- Do you currently send out regular communication to your clients and contacts?
- If you do, when was the last time you, or your team, followed up on any of the campaigns by telephone?
At this point there are two possible outcomes:
- You have not followed up recently (or ever) in which case you obviously lack resources, time, inclination or all of them and you need to find another solution.
- You do follow up regularly or near enough in which case I have a few more questions for you:
- DO YOU ENJOY FOLLOWING UP ON THE TELEPHONE?
- ARE YOU GOOD AT IT?
- IS THIS THE MOST PRODUCTIVE WAY FOR YOU TO SPEND YOUR TIME?
If you answered ‘YES’ to all of the above then carry on doing it. We have already agreed that you will do it better than anybody else and if you have a sales person in place then you have it covered.
If you answered ‘NO’ to more than one question especially the bottom two then do yourself a favour: OUTSOURCE YOUR TELEPHONE FOLLOW UP!
If making these calls does not come naturally to you and you hate it, you will come across this way resulting in nothing at best and a negative impression at worst. You see, speaking to people about an e-mail, a Blog or a letter they may have not seen whilst keeping their attention and striking up a meaningful conversation is a skill. By definition this means that not everyone is able to do it well.
So today I wanted to give you the freedom to admit that you hate following up on your marketing campaigns and that you might not be so skilful at it…Don’t worry we won’t tell anyone. Perhaps we could even do it for you if you so wish.