Today, leads flow to marketing from ever-increasing online sources—email campaigns, the company website, Google AdWords and Google searches, Webinars, online advertisements and blogs—as well as from traditional marketing activities such as print ads, direct mail, trade shows and networking. The sheer volume of leads, or "suspects," can be overwhelming. How does marketing prioritize all these suspects and determine which ones to:

• Send immediately to sales
• Move to telemarketing for qualification and appointment-setting
• Keep and nurture with e-newsletters, drip marketing and other activities

One thing we do know is that not all leads are created equal, making lead scoring crucial for marketers so that we can determine the readiness of prospects and prioritize them for appropriate action. Increasingly, automation is key since spreadsheets and calculators simply will not do the job given the volume of leads and their varying sources, interactions and demographics. Marketers simply do not have time to crunch numbers as well as craft innovative campaigns with compelling messages and eye-catching images.

Read the rest of "How Much is an Internet Lead Worth?"

Referral Programs to Increase Leads:
How to maximize lead generation in a slow economy.
By Chris Edwards
The AdTrack Corporation

When the economy tightens, companies look for ways to squeeze every drop of productivity out of every lead. Referral programs are a way to turn one lead into several additional leads. But how do you structure a referral program to ensure it produces the leads you want?

Referral programs are based on the assumption that "birds of a feather fly together." Your current lead or customer will know others who share the same demographics or characteristics of your target market.

Here is a list of tips and best practices to create a motivating and lead generating referral program.

1. Address the WIIFM: WIIFM means what's-in-it-for-me. Your original customer or lead may not be motivated to make referrals unless they receive a reward for them. However, make sure that the rewards you offer are tangible and will motivate your target audience. If your target audience is women age 25-44, it's unlikely they would be interested in a gift card from an auto parts store.

Read the rest of "Referral Program to Increase Leads."

Chris Edwards is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at The AdTrack Corporation, a full service lead management and literature fulfillment company.

800.735.3237 * [email protected] * www.smartlead.com

Utilize "Nurture Marketing"
by Rick Bellefond president and founder of RB Data Services

Any seasoned salesperson knows that anybody interested in their products or services is worth cultivating. The problem is that they''re not all worth investing time in now. As a result, the salesperson must devote his energy to those most likely to purchase soon. But what happens to the other prospects in the meantime? Well, if the salesperson has the time, they can continue to "nurture" the prospect until they''re ready to act.

A common practice is to divide prospects into categories ? perhaps, for example, by the expected time to purchase ? e.g. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, six months, and longer than six months. Good nurturing might ensure that each category of prospect gets "touched" somehow on a regular basis with some type of useful trust-building offer. For example, perhaps the six-month category will be offered an informative white paper, the 90-day category gets offered a customer case-study, the 60-day category gets offered a demonstration, and the 30-day category gets offered a proposal. With continuous nurturing, not only do prospects begin to qualify themselves, but they also develop trust in your company!

This article was written by Rick Bellefond president and founder of RB Data Services. RB Data Services has  specialized in providing our clients with a full range of CRM services since 1989.  We help our clients increase sales with the same or fewer people while improving customer services.  For more information or to get our FREE "Secrets of Using CRM To Dramatically Increase Your Business" eCourse, please contact us at 858-541-1820, email at  [email protected] or by visiting http://www.rbdata.com

How Do Marketers Screw-Up Outsourced Telemarketing

By Michael A. Brown © 2008, Michael A. Brow www.michaelabrown.net

A while back, DMNews International carried this extraordinary quote: "Where you may want to use a service bureau is in the making of programs. They already have a pool of talent and are a way you can get good results. And you don't have to pollute (italics added) your offices with a telemarketing department." Pollute! I can't recall a stronger verb applied to a legitimate business practice. 

The person quoted, a European publisher, has it all wrong of course. The "making of programs" is up to the marketer, not the service bureau. And the "pool of talent" too often isn't.

Nevertheless, the misguided publisher does provoke an interesting question: what other mistakes do marketers make when outsourcing telemarketing? In my work with many companies that outsource telemarketing, and several outsourcers themselves, I have identified six "killers" … three each strategic and tactical.

Read the rest of "How Do Marketers Screw-Up Outsourced Telemarketing."

Michael A. Brown helps business marketers conduct profitable, distinctive Business To Business By Phone^® via consulting and training. Clients include a "who's who" of successful business marketers, from startups to the Fortune 100. Contact Michael in Austin, Texas, 800 373-3966. www.michaelabrown.net. E-mail is [email protected]

CanDoGo Launches New Site with free advice!

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Now is a really important time to hone your skills and CanDoGo's advice can help you adapt and succeed. I am proud to be one of CanDoGo's renowned experts and I encourage you to check out www.candogo.com or click on one of these three links that go directly to some of important videos on CanDoGo.

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Executive Director