I am happy to try anything once and so I have arranged a meeting with a telesales marketing company.
It's not that we need more clients, but we would like more of the right type of client.
Does anyone have any experiences they could share?
Related resources
Replies (6)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
Mixed experience
We've done it in three specific tranches, the first time was very positive, we generally got a decent level of meetings, most of which are still clients today (apart from those who have retired/died).
Second time was dreadful, although we had looked at clients a little further from the office which might explain the low quality prospects. Third time was reasonable.
It is a drain on your time, and can be expensive but in right circumstances can work very well.
I think the success depends on the quality of the telemarketing firm, if it is a numbers game, forget it, if they will work with you to identify the right clients, then it can work
PM if you want any more info
Same experience as mgandc.
First time we obtained a lot of good client who are still on board today. The second campaign was a waste of time, money and effort.
To add to what was said above, I think it also depends on the number and quality of businesses in your area and how far you are prepared to travel.
What we also noticed is that certain types of potential client meet up - those fee conscious, and therefore just looking for work done cheap, as well as those who don't want to do things properly, in which case we refused to take them on.
Thanks
Murphy1 is expressing my main concern - that the interested potentials are looking only to reduce their costs. It must be difficult to sell the idea of a better 'accountancy experience' at a higher cost.
Incidentally - what was the fee structure? Was it based on number of calls, number of leads, hourly rate, flat fee?
Different firms have different offering. Our first was 3 appointments per week, all followed up until signing or saying no, for 12 months. It worked out at approx. £ 160 per apt, but we did sign 166% of what we paid out, but it comes down to an accountant becoming a sales person!
Our second, was for a total of 15 appointments, which took 6 months to get, and most I wouldn't sign.
Interesting
Sounds like maybe the first time out the company was keen to impress and then either got a little complacent or it was just tougher for them to meet your brief.
Not work
Hi Andy,
I tried telemarketing about 2 years ago. Two telemarketers give up saying that London is tough market since so many accountants are using telemarketing.
One of the telemarketing company was a reputable and an established business.