4 Steps for Telecom Agents to Leverage Webinars

Posted on by Cameron Bell

Looking to do more with less? Aren’t we all. In an era where time is money and a call lost is a lost opportunity, as telecom agents, you are all looking for ways to capitalize on the here and now. With so many high-tech marketing tools available at our fingertips, what gets you the biggest bang for your buck?

Webinars are one of the greatest marketing tools available to telecom agents today. They are dynamic, engaging, convenient, cost effective and a simple way for you to make a powerful impact on your audience, while also making new connections. Webinars enable you to do more and reach more people at one time. Follow these four steps to leverage webinars and watch your funnel grow:

1. Identify your audience: Before you can begin developing your webinar, you need to identify your target audience. This will allow you to accurately tailor your message and format your webinar to be effective and relevant. In addition, you will have the knowledge to determine what date, time, and communication medium will fit best with this audience when you begin marketing your webinar.

2. Create a dynamic presentation: First, craft the message you would like to convey and decide how you would like to tell it. What information are you looking to deliver to your target audience? Webinars give you the ability to train, educate, and communicate live without being live, connecting people nationwide. In some instances it makes sense to have a guest presenter or expert on the line to answer questions and add commentary.

Webinars are also inherently feature rich, offering tools such as video, audio, white boarding, chat, and desktop sharing to fully engage your audience. Keep it simple and timely, but give them the ability to interact.

3. Develop a marketing strategy: Once you have identified your audience and crafted your message, you are now ready to develop a marketing strategy that will resonate with your target audience, which includes a strong call to action. Many webinar platforms offer customizable email templates that allow you to include a brief summary of the webinar, in addition to other basic meeting details such as date, time and registration link.

Be sure to be concise, give them just enough to entice them to attend and have a strong call to action. If you have a guest speaker highlight them in your marketing communication and possibly include a headshot. In addition to sending out email invitations, this is a great opportunity to utilize social media and your personal network to drive traffic to the webinar.

4. Follow up, touch base, and stay connected: This is probably the most important piece of the equation. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with your audience. In addition to sending an auto-responder after individuals register for the webinar, also send out a communication thanking them for their attendance.

Do this in a timely manner while your presentation is still top of mind. Your follow up communication should include a link to the recording of the webinar, as well as a link to a survey, allowing you to improve on your webinars moving forward. Finally, invite them to connect with you in the future on another webinar, on social media or give them an opportunity to meet with you to discuss your webinar topic in more detail.

Do more with less by leveraging webinars to communicate and present dynamic content to a broad audience. This cost effective tool will make a large impact and with continued follow-up you will begin to see your funnel grow exponentially.

Have you had success with webinars? What features worked for you? Share your comments below.

Back to School Basics: 3 Social Media Tips for the Telecom Agent

Posted on by Cameron Bell

Fall brings with it color changes, cooler weather and new beginnings. Kids everywhere are excited for a fresh start as they head into a new school year full of opportunity. For those of us beyond school years and deep into third quarter numbers it is important to remember that it is never too late for a fresh start, especially when it comes to gearing up our social media efforts.

Social media is no longer a thing of the future; it has emerged as a practical strategy for Telecom Agents to bridge the gap between themselves and their customers. New communication mediums do present new obstacles and Telecom Agents are challenged today to properly use social media to promote products and services and interact with customers using social media. Here are 3 steps to follow when leveraging this medium:

Solicit feedback: By soliciting feedback and suggestions from your customers and prospects via blogs, tweets or updates through Facebook or LinkedIn you have an informal way to collect information on the needs and wants of your network.
Educate: With the ever-evolving technologies in the telecom space, keeping your network current and armed with the latest information is a challenge. Harness the power of social media by educating your customers with the latest trends and products available.
Be open and honest: Social media provides you with a way to communicate honestly about your ideas, successes and on occasion deficiencies. Your network will appreciate the level of intimacy in your communications, which will in turn help build trust and loyalty.

Don’t hesitate to solicit feedback and educate your customers through social media. Your open and honest approach will encourage loyalty, a key to your success. Head into fall with a new outlook and a refreshed social media strategy, it is never too late to get back to basics.

What social media basics are you using? Do you have any other social media tips you would like to contribute? Please share your comments below.

Hosted Unified Communications: Enabling Your Customer’s Success

Posted on by Cameron Bell

For a lot of us, change can be scary, even if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I recently experienced this when buying a new car. I loved my aging car even though it was having numerous problems associated with an old car with excessive miles. With no money down and a smaller monthly payment than I was paying previously, I was able to get into a brand new car that offered increased reliability and all of the latest and greatest features available on the market. My only question was, why did I wait so long to make the switch?

Unified communications can lower costs, streamline processes, and take corporate productivity to new heights. So why aren’t your customers embracing it more quickly? Customers are sometimes faced with adoption obstacles such as a large capital investment, long deployment times, and limited resources that discourage them from implementing a unified communication solution.

A hosted or cloud-based unified communication solution negates these concerns and offers a more flexible and predictable solution that will enable your customers to be more effective and efficient. Help your customers develop a business case for deployment of a unified communications solution that aligns with their organizational needs by answering the following questions:

Do they need to support a growing mobile and virtual workforce with features that foster collaboration and cross state communication?
Are they interested in reducing the total cost of ownership while extending communications and collaboration to the maximum number of employees?
Are they looking to centralize management, streamline business processes and multiply the capabilities of a lean IT staff?

If your customer can answer ‘yes’ to one or all of these questions, they could be a good fit for a hosted unified communication solution, since it reduces overall costs, centralizes management, offers infinite flexibility and features, and enhances communications continuity. Encourage them to make the switch, and remind them that change can be a good thing!

What questions are you asking to make a business case for a hosted unified communication solution? Anything you want to add? Please share your comments below.

The Art of the Cold Call

Posted on by Cameron Bell

Until we perfect lead generation or can afford to hire the marketing team behind Apple, cold calling will always be a part of the job of an Independent Telecom Agent. Here are a few of ideas to make your calls go a little smoother.

Do your research!
It surprises me how many sales calls I get at work for services I sell myself. This may seem like a rookie mistake, but a couple minutes of research can go a long way for anyone. With a quick Google or LinkedIn search, you can typically find all you need to know about a company. By learning out what they sell, how many employees or locations they have, and what kind of press releases they have posted, you can typically determine whether they are really in your target market before you pick up the phone.

Make friends, not sales
The most successful sales people I have met all have one thing in common – they’re personable. Most of them can make anyone laugh within the first couple minutes of meeting them. It makes sense – people want to work with people they like. Be confident and conversational, not pushy and rushed. New to the independent sales world and think that strength in sales can’t be taught? Think again. Join a group like Toastmasters or find a mentor who has a strong sales record.

Keep track of calls and conversations
What’s even worse than failing to research a prospect? Finding out that you have already given your introductory speech to the person on the other end of the line. There are several free CRM tools out there to keep notes on which companies you have called, to whom you spoke, when the best time to call back is, etc. Use them.

Making cold calls takes a little bravery and a lot of resilience. Making successful cold calls takes a little wit and a lot of preparation. What has led you to be successful on cold calls? Any horror stories?