Engaging with Senior Decision Makers regarding B2C Lead Generation / B2C Telemarketing

Over the past year, I have been constantly looking for new ways to generate business, and for ways to engage with SDMs positioned within the businesses we are trying to target.

I recently listened to a speech from Steven Bartlett, CEO of Social Chain and someone I have followed intently over the last 6 months. A large part of his speech covered how he set off on his journey, and how he engaged with the businesses that he was looking to work with; this really got me thinking about my current situation…

As a B2C telemarketing company which offer many different services, including B2C Lead Generation – I’ve really been trying to think outside the box when it comes to generating our own leads for businesses that could engage with us.

I’m very much a believer in the saying “Be different, or die”, especially in the highly competitive B2C lead generation field. One of our biggest methods of generating new business is through email marketing, but we are having to send out high volumes to engage with 4 or 5 companies usually, 1 or 2 of which eventually work with us. The open rate and click though percentages are often low, so our message explaining what we can do for these businesses is not even being seen.

Is it the subject title? Is the email going to junk? These are just a couple of questions I have asked myself  as to why this could be. Then I found myself going through my own emails one morning, deleting emails without even reading them as I ‘knew what they were about’ so ‘didn’t need to read them, as I had no requirement’  

So, if I’m not even reading cold emails, why am I thinking the people I’m looking to engage with are any different? I receive hundreds of emails a week, from many different companies all offering different services – but they are all using the same methods to attempt to reach out. Yes, you may get the occasional lead here and there – but is this something which will grow my business to the level I want? I’m not sure.

As I mentioned above, I want to be different. I want my business to be different. So after listening to this speech, I really started thinking about how I respond to other businesses offering their services. Like many business owners, I tend to put off cold calls, and I may respond to an email if the timing is right, but I always open a letter. Could this work in 2016? Could this work with a small B2C telemarketing business targeting bigger businesses to acquire their services, in a time where everybody’s attention is on Google Pay Per Click and Social Media? The honest answer to these questions is that I don’t know, but fashions come around in circles, so why can’t this apply for methods of communication in a social or professional environment?

I have allocated some time in the beginning of September to personally sit down and write a handwritten letter to these SDMs to test the water and record the engagement I get, and I’m very interested to see the results.