Lead gen game: do lots of little things right - Telenet News

Lead gen game: do lots of little things right

by Direct Marketing News • October 01, 2011

Direct Marketing News features lead generation cold-calling advice from TeleNet Marketing Solutions’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Kathy Rizzo.

Read her advice below, and visit the Direct Marketing News website (link below) for more advice from marketing experts.

Kathy Rizzo, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, TeleNet Marketing Solutions
Even with the increase of social media and online marketing, cold-calling remains prominent as a 
component of b-to-b lead 
generation strategy.


Cold-calling is one of the few marketing tactics focused on proactively initiating two-way conversations with decision-makers. When executed well, these conversations lay the foundation for long-term business relationships. Here are five tips to ensure a successful cold-calling approach.


1. Clearly define lead criteria. Marketing managers should meet with sales counterparts and jointly determine the criteria for qualified leads. Think two steps ahead, and delve into information that will be valuable in the sales follow-up process such as current infrastructure and competitive landscaping.

2. Set an agenda to guide the conversation. Verbatim scripts cannot start a real conversation. However, a call without clear direction will also fail. Conversation guides that equip callers should include key messages as well as pertinent open-ended questions to engage the prospect in a natural back and forth discussion. 

3. Be relevant. Effective cold-calling should be tailored 
to a specific audience. As you prepare your approach, ask yourself two questions: “What 
is the reason for this call?” and 
"Is it relevant to the target prospects?"

4. Create a voicemail 
strategy. A voicemail message acts as a mini-advertisement to prospects. A relevant message — touching on common critical business issues — will “warm up” cold calls and lead to a more productive and successful dialogue once your caller and your prospect connect. 

5. Integrate multimedia. Cold-calling tactics benefit from the use of multimedia content. Whitepapers, webinars, and social media elements 
provide value to the target 
prospects and in many cases 
offer a logical next step after
a successful conversation.

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Tagged: lead generation, targeted lead generation, teleprospecting, coldcalling lead generation, telemarketing lead generation, targeted teleprospecting