Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

[Boomyal]

For the last 17 years I owned and ran a small service sales business. I was a dealer for a national manufacturer. A little over two years ago the manufacturer canceled my dealership for my lack of adequate purchases from them. Oregon and Washington were the worst hit in the recession but that mattered not to them.<br /><br />Unfortunately, along with my dealership I had to give up my telephone numbers. They were tied to co-op'd yellow page ads.<br /><br />I immediately began to send out postcards to the customer base, notifying them of my change in telephone numbers and have been able to scrape by by servicing the customers who happened to notice the postcards. It is very obvious that the majority of customers did not understand the cards or thought them to be junk mail.<br /><br />My new idea (better late than never) is to telephone every one on my customer database with a recorded message, notifying them of my new telephone numbers and company name. I would not be trying to sell anything. I want to do it as an automated recorded message.<br /><br />Any ideas how I would find a service to accomplish this?? I'm talking about 3000 calls.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Just thinking out loud Boomyal. <br /><br />If you recieved a recorded message how would you treat it? <br />Personally, I treat them as junkmail - *delete*. <br /><br />My customer base is about 1500, I have had very good success with personalised mailouts. I send them early november and the main theme of the mailout is a Christmas greeting but they always generate way to much work. They take time to personalise and they cost a bit in postage but the payoff is worth it and it also keeps wifey busy for a few days . <br /><br />I find that people treat them as Christmas cards and actually keep them until january, unlike junkmail!<br /><br />I'm not suggesting you wait until early november but there are other options other than a automated recorded message.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[Sea Six]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

So now if you call people who happen to be registered on the Do Not Call list, you can be subject to fines. If you called my house I'd file a complaint! If you want a telemarketer, there are some buried in my yard.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Aldo, I appreciate your musing. In the two years that I have been cut loose from my age old telephone numbers I have sent out 3 postcards and one enveloped letter. The last postcard I sent was in November and I got the poorest response from it. It costs about $1500.00 for each mailing and as I am only going after the service on already installed equipment, it has ceased to be economical. <br /><br />This equipment is pretty much proprietary so the people who have this equipment don't have any options when they need service, except to either call my old telephone numbers and get the new dealer (who knows very little and charges high prices) or to know where they can reach the guy (me) who sold them their equipment and had serviced it when required.<br /><br />My hopes were that an automated recorded message would be less expensive than a mailing and may reach some of those that trashed the postcards.<br /><br />Since I had to drop the manufacturers name from my company name I need to do something to get their attention. As with my mailings I would preface them with my old name (Most likely copy and trademark infringement)<br /><br />I would start the call message with the statement that "this is not a solicitation".<br /><br />I dunno, just the hope of a different vehicle.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Originally posted by Sea Six:<br /> So now if you call people who happen to be registered on the Do Not Call list, you can be subject to fines. If you called my house I'd file a complaint! If you want a telemarketer, there are some buried in my yard.

If you received a call from a trusted servicing vendor whom you no longer knew how to reach, I doubt that you would file a complaint.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

iboats is full of creative and inventive people, I'm sure someone will come to your rescue.<br /><br />I'm dying to know what the product is.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Originally posted by Dunaruna:<br /> Just thinking out loud Boomyal. <br /><br />If you recieved a recorded message how would you treat it? <br />Personally, I treat them as junkmail - *delete*. <br /><br />

Exactly my response. <br /><br />Boomyal, why not set aside ten or fifteen minutes a day to make personal telephone calls to the customers? You can reach a lot of people every week without spending much time on it. You'll get a lot of knockbacks but if you get a decent strike rate it'll still be worth it. Unlike mailouts where you commit yourself to a bulk cost at the start, you don't have to persevere with it if it ain't working after a couple of months. <br /><br />You'll establish a personal connection. You can check if they have any problems with their item and if they have they'll probably give you the work. Offer to send them a business card or fridge magnet or whatever promotional stuff you have for future reference. The ones who want it are potential future customers. Scratch the rest off your list.<br /><br />If the item has a service life why not wait until about the time that it needs attention before contacting people?<br /><br />I'm assuming you're not prohibited by your original contract from doing this.

 

[tomatolord]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

http://www.tti.net/auto-dialer/automated-call-center.html <br /><br /><br />Here ya go boommeee - google - automated call message<br /><br />There are a lot of products on the market that do this service<br /><br />The other thing is to do a fax campaign - if you have there fax #'s available<br /><br />Then all you need is the some fax software - usually something comes with your pc to send basic faxes - You do have to put a disclaimer on the fax saying something like "to cancel future notices call xxx-xxxx or email joeblow@here.net or fax <br /><br /><br />email me as I have spent 20 years doing guerilla marketing on a less than shoe string budget.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Look at the size of the customer base. Set a goal on when the word should be out and start mailing. A high school student makes an excellent worker for mail outs. Sign each one with a personal note such as "hope your doing okay...stop by and see me when you are around...sincerely, Boomyal!"<br /><br />Follow up the mail outs by doing at least 15-30 minutes of calls per day. Do not worry about the do not call list. If these people were your customers then you are not violating the do not call list. (does it even exsist in Vancouver )<br /><br />Be persistant.<br /><br />Bob

 

[chuckz]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Forget about telemarketing and mass mailing campaigns unless you'll be thrilled at a 4% sucess rate. You've probably gotten as much return on those techniques as you're gonna get. You need to re-establish with personal contact. You're selling yourself. <br /> <br />Call the customers individually, show up at trade meetings, buy them lunch, visit their facilities, whatever it takes. Talking on the phone is good but a face to face is better.<br /> <br />Arrange a free seminar on preventative maintenance or industry trends. Give them some value. <br /><br />Your selling a service, an automated phone call is an example of lousy service. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.<br /><br />Set a goal, 10 calls per day. It will take two years but you'll talk to everyone. Ask for referrals from existing customers.<br /><br />Successful selling is hard work. Customers are not going to put a lot of effort, if any, into finding you. They'll complain about the new guy but use him anyway because it's easy. You have to make it easier to deal with you than him. Give them a promotional item with your number, website location and e-mail address. Make sure it is something they will keep.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

I know squat about recorded messages, mass mailings, telemarketing and the like. I do know how I as a consumer respond to them though. A polite "No" if necessary - - an abrupt click if needed. However if I received a personal call from someone I have had dealings with the message that lasts is - - "Hay - he cares about my business." That is the guy that I will deal with.

 

[ndemge]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Yup, personal calls.... automated calls will be deleted or hung up on before I even listen to see who it is.<br /><br />Mail, well, .... I get a LOT of mail with the business name on it,... most of it sits un-opened until tax time to tell ya the truth.<br /><br />...personal calls.... get unlimited long distance plan and start calling... the people that are interested and show that they may need service in the future, THOSE are the people you spend that $1 on postage to send your new Lit to...

 

[funpilot]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Originally posted by Sea Six:<br /> So now if you call people who happen to be registered on the Do Not Call list, you can be subject to fines. If you called my house I'd file a complaint! If you want a telemarketer, there are some buried in my yard.

Actually, the do not call list doesn't apply to business with which you have a prior buy/sell relationship. Nor does it apply to politicians (notice how they got around that...)<br /><br />Good luck,<br />funpilot

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Thanks all for your input. I still might pursue the 'change of name and phone number message'.<br /><br />Tomatolord, thanks for the link, I've emailed them to see what they might offer. Apparently they deal in hardware/software and service.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Need a telemarketer of sorts! Where to look?

Contact a public relations firm or marketing research company. They do polling and opinion surveys all the time. If they won't do it themselves, perhaps they will tell you what company they use.