Long term outsourced lead generation gets results

At Forrest Contact we understand that it can be difficult for businesses to see the results of an outsourced lead generation strategy in the first few months. But we know from experience that companies who stick with it for three months or longer are more likely to achieve long term success.

“Some small sales were closed during the first few months, however, regular sales were being closed from about the 6-month mark.”

That’s because it is the consistency of a long term strategy that generates sales.

Similar to inbound marketing strategies, like SEM and SEO, you can’t just turn it off and then expect the same results as soon as you turn it back on.

“At the 3-month mark, I was sure this would be a part of our long term sales strategy”

To demonstrate the importance of committing to a long term outsourced lead generation strategy we spoke with Steve Ross, Director at Gibsons Business Consulting who has partnered with Forrest Contact since 2013, booking face to face appointments. We wanted to share his experience with anyone considering starting or continuing an outsourced lead generation campaign. Some of the highlights can be found below – or read the Gibsons Business Consulting Case Study for the full story

Q. At what point were you really confident the your outsourced lead generation campaign was delivering the results you wanted?

A. For me it was fairly early on – probably after about 3 months and I was sure this would be a part of our long-term sales strategy. My business partner did take longer (but he is definitely there now).

 

Q. How did you feel at the conclusion of the first few months of your campaign?

A. In the early days, some of the appointments being made were not quite right. We talked through this with our Account Manager and the script was updated to make sure the qualifying questions were right and we had a detailed look at the database of prospects we were targeting. This showed me that Forrest Contact was the right partner for us, working through the issues until we were both happy. It was not a case of setting up the initial campaign and that was it.

 

Q. Why did you decide to continue with an ongoing outsourced lead generation campaign?

A. We continued straight on with no question. I always knew when we first started that we needed to give the partnership a reasonable chance. In my mind I had committed to at least 6 months before we even started – there is no way that a few months is long enough to have a real idea of what the eventual outcomes will be.

 

Q. What would you say to others who are concerned about demonstrating ROI in the first few months of their outbound lead generation campaign?

A. I would say that the first few months are a time of learning. Some people think that partnering with a company like Forrest Contact is a magic pill – you sign up and it will cure everything and leads will land on your desk. This is not the case and the initial few months is the time to get it right. Work with your partner, talk through anything you are concerned with and make changes until everyone is happy. This is what we did with Forrest Contact since 2013 and have not looked back.

 

Q. At what stage did you start to see a consistent flow of sales leads in your pipeline and sales closing?

A. As I mentioned, we did close some sales quite early on however they were smaller deals. It did take a bit of time for us to close the volume of sales we were looking for regularly. The quality of the leads was great early on, but we didn’t have the systems or support set up internally to maximise converting those leads into sales.

At about the 6-month mark we were regularly closing sales that were coming from the Forrest Contact appointments. Historically we have seen a sales cycle of around 3 months from the first appointment to sales being closed, and we have found this is consistent with the leads that Forrest Contact is bringing in.

Are you looking for an outsourced  lead generation solution?

If you’d like to know more about Forrest Contact’s outsourced lead generation campaigns can how we could help build a consistent pipeline of sales opportunities for your sales team, please call us today.

We can share with you our experience in your industry and develop a personalised ROI calculator to show you what the likely returns would be for your business.

Learn more about our Lead Generation and Appointment Setting services.

Or read about how we support Sales Teams and partner with Marketing Teams to help them achieve their targets.

Want to read more about outsourced lead generation?

Read our Blog What would 10,000 new sales prospects do for your business this year?

Contact us today to learn how we can do the same for you.