subject: Lead Generation Truths [print this page] Lead generation is going through some elementary changes. Lead generation companies across the world are adopting some practices and processes that they didn't follow previously. The aim is very basic. Sales lead generation campaigns must not harm the brand image of the client company. Customers are intolerant about pushy telemarketing agents trying to hand them products/services. They like to take their time and make the purchase.
When the outbound call center agents tries too hard, it reflect poorly on the brand image of the company. No company would prefer to taint their brand name in the process of telemarketing leads. That is the very reason why the adopted procedures are being changed at the strategic level.
To begin with, outbound call center agents have been told clearly that they are not to exaggerate or distort facts about a product/service to make a sale. That has been there as an undercurrent for some time. The call center agents, in a bid to push for sales, often say things that are not technically correct. Customers sometimes expect something more from the product/service.
When the agents see that the customer would not buy if a little something is not part of the deal, they fabricate and add that little detail! The sale is made! When the customer finds that what he wanted is not there, he calls up the inbound call center desk. That's their problem then on.
This has got to change. The answering service may solve the issue and pacify the customer who has really no other choice having made the payment. But the whole episode reflects poorly on the brand value of the company. In this day and age, there is not a shred of doubt that information flies fast and thick. Once you embark on such malpractices in sales lead generation, it won't be long before you start earning a bad reputation for the client.
As a lead generation company, too, you will be making a bad impression. Getting telemarketing projects in the future will be tough for the call centers who adopt such means. The ideal way to deal with it is to ensure that the BPO agents are providing the right information and carrying on the marketing lead generation through fair means.
Lead generation through the social media platforms is another way of conducting telemarketing. The outbound call center agents create personal and corporate pages on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The idea is to network and promote awareness about the product/service. Somewhere down the line networking goes out of the window and the only work done is to add friends/followers and push web-links.
Now this is akin to spamming and can have disastrous consequences for the brand image. No body on the social media platform would like to have a spammer trying sales lead generation. They will promptly delete you or just block you. You have to be careful about not being a pile-on. If you have decided to promote your product/service on social media networks, do so smartly.
