Efficiency. Reporting. Standardization. Any one who has ever headed up or been involved in a campaign fundraiser knows that getting people to effectively volunteer, get into place, on the phones, and actively calling is like herding cats. First, you need to get volunteers to show up at the local HQ. [...]

If you are a mortgage broker you have certainly received the frequent call from pay per lead mortgage lead providers. They tout high quality, superior ROI, and dramatic growth; which all may be true, but only if fits your business. This type of marketing requires a specific understanding of the marketing used to generate the [...]

A good calculator to calculate quotes, fees, discounts, and commissions right?
Ever closed a deal with a good calculator? Ever wowed a customer with your quic response and memory of your last conversation with a calculator? Ever book more deals with a new calculator?
No, No, No. I have others do my calculator work because I have [...]

How many leads are you dropping on the floor?
As Internet advertising, and resulting leads, continue to get more expensive lead retention is becoming the buzz in the lead generation and lead management business. The lead retention process has some similarity to other data management problems, but it goes beyond the technical because you are managing [...]

I get a lot of questions about lead quality. You want my opinion?
It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter.
What does matter is understanding what you are getting. If I am getting leads originated from public records, trigger files, “get a free ipod” emails, affilitate pop ups, or Wall Street Journal Online real estate media, it [...]

One of the Brokers over at brokeroutpost.com asked a great question that bares repeating: “What sites, blogs, and newsletters should I read to stay informed and improve?” Here are my thoughts:
I think it is more important to know why you are reading than necessarily what sources you use so I will outline the why and [...]

Brian Carroll does a nice job in addressing this topic in his eBook, Eight Critical Success Factors for Lead Generation:
“…buyers…clearly choose the sales person who has not only been a resource but who has also developed an ongoing relationship with them, regardless of their timing to buy.”
What are you doing to be an ongoing resource [...]

Are you buying or generating the optimal number of leads? Hopefully, this is a question your marketing and sales teams can conclude from your lead management process. However, I bet the majority of you don’t know the answer to this question and quite honestly it will vary by the capabilities and process of each sales [...]

The sales process is a series of conversations with a customer to build trust, gather needs, educate, present possibilities, finally fulfill their need. Throughout this process it is critical to communicate and keep your customer informed. Silence in any sales process is deadly. It leaves your customer uncertain and anxious about their expectations.
When using an [...]

There are a lot of solutions like predictive dialer and negative dialers that specifically help call centers increase their call speed, but a successful sales team knows that the real key is increasing call velocity. Velocity is the combination of speed and direction. This describes calls that progressively move sales through your pipeline.
I always emphasize [...]