I have personally known Scotty Carter for more than 20 years. He is a well-respected waterman along the Laguna/Dana Point Coastline. After many years of knowing him, I was introduced to his mini-wave art in the mid 2000's and I was taken aback by the striking beauty of his work. I already found myself fascinated by the ocean but Scotty was able to capture an element of the ocean that you and I would walk by and not even think twice about what we saw. With the naked eye we would not be captivated by what we saw. Scotty's magic is that he can take things that aren't magic at all but spin it in a way where it is nothing but magic. He would tell you, that making something out of nothing and being surprised and mesmerized is absolutely the magic!
How does he do it you ask? Let's just say Scotty Carter likes mysteries!!! One day Scotty will release secrets to the world and it will be an amazing day. Until then, we are left to enjoy the beauty of his images that would make a fine addition to any modern and stylish homes decore.
Showing posts with label huntington beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label huntington beach. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Attributes of A Knowlegeable Data Provider For Direct Mail and Telemarketing Campaigns
Who cares anyway? Well, companies that depend on their mailing and telemarketing results should care because their success is predicated on return on investment and keeping cost per acquisition down.
Purchasing Agents are out there acquiring data looking for the best price. Hey, I get! But, what if that strategy was creating ineffective mailing and telemarketing campaigns?
Do we tell the purchaser, " Great job, you saved us money on data", when the results were horrible. Heck No!!! You simply cannot allow this to happen.
Data has too many facets and attributes to discuss in a small blog. From experience, I can tell you it is challenging and involved. I spend off hours all week vacuuming up knowledge from compilers that have spent their entire working lives in the data business. I could not put a price on that.
I would love to help companies out there get more out of their targeting. There are filtering strategies out there that companies just aren't aware of. Like many industries, data has buyers and sellers of data that are so myopic that the the combination of this type of purchaser and seller is a recipe for "DATA DISASTER"!
To avoid common calamities in your data purchase, consider Rob Brack at Lead Research Group. 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430. My pledge to you is that I will lose sleep figuring out how to best filter your data.
Purchasing Agents are out there acquiring data looking for the best price. Hey, I get! But, what if that strategy was creating ineffective mailing and telemarketing campaigns?
Do we tell the purchaser, " Great job, you saved us money on data", when the results were horrible. Heck No!!! You simply cannot allow this to happen.
Data has too many facets and attributes to discuss in a small blog. From experience, I can tell you it is challenging and involved. I spend off hours all week vacuuming up knowledge from compilers that have spent their entire working lives in the data business. I could not put a price on that.
I would love to help companies out there get more out of their targeting. There are filtering strategies out there that companies just aren't aware of. Like many industries, data has buyers and sellers of data that are so myopic that the the combination of this type of purchaser and seller is a recipe for "DATA DISASTER"!
To avoid common calamities in your data purchase, consider Rob Brack at Lead Research Group. 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430. My pledge to you is that I will lose sleep figuring out how to best filter your data.
Scripting: Avoiding The Fast Food Drive Thru Approach
If I were a call center manager and my livelihood depended on the sales of my agents, then scripting would be worked on daily. At Lead Research Group, I work with companies small, medium and large in the debt settlement and loan modification industries.
I have the ability with many of our campaigns to listen to recorded calls and consult on the quality of scripting. After listening to thousands of calls, the idea that companies lose money due to poor scripting has been cemented in my mind as a problem that would not go away.
Fast Food Drive Thru Scripting: XYZ Company, this is John, How Can I Help You?
If I were hired in an organization to manage sales, the first thing I would do is announce that the next person to ask "How Can I Help You"as an opening to an inbound call will be sent home for the day.
Why am I so fired up about this? Pretty simple really! I hear potential customers in recorded calls every day tell the person answering the call things like the following: " Yes John, you sent me a mailer, you don't know how you can help me?" or "Its your Television Commerical, so you tell me how you can help me."
They are calling because they need help. Do not insult people with " How Can I Help YouItis!!!!!!! If it is not these very sarcastic responses it is long sighs and exasperations and muttering under their breath. Prospects calling in on a product or service hate this and it is clear as day.
The best way to gain control of a conversation is something to the effect of:
XYZ Company, this is John, How are you doing today?
Why???? Because it is an ice breaker that gets a prospect answering questions from the onset of the call. In the sales equation, reps that get people to answer questions properly qualify people more than reps that do not.
Proper surveying requires you ask questions. When you have a prospect answering questions they are doing more of the talking than the rep is and that is the idea.
Help your reps by requiring them to ask every inbound call which advertisement they were responding to and what was it about the piece that has them calling in today. This is highly effective and gets them engaged in the process and more easily walked into a sale.
For effective direct mail and inbound tv campaigns for debt settlement and loan modification companies, Call Rob Brack Lead Research Group. A Free Webinar on call approach is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am Pst. www.explodeyourphones.com. Go to the site click on shortcut to the direct response webinar. Hope to have you there!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
I have the ability with many of our campaigns to listen to recorded calls and consult on the quality of scripting. After listening to thousands of calls, the idea that companies lose money due to poor scripting has been cemented in my mind as a problem that would not go away.
Fast Food Drive Thru Scripting: XYZ Company, this is John, How Can I Help You?
If I were hired in an organization to manage sales, the first thing I would do is announce that the next person to ask "How Can I Help You"as an opening to an inbound call will be sent home for the day.
Why am I so fired up about this? Pretty simple really! I hear potential customers in recorded calls every day tell the person answering the call things like the following: " Yes John, you sent me a mailer, you don't know how you can help me?" or "Its your Television Commerical, so you tell me how you can help me."
They are calling because they need help. Do not insult people with " How Can I Help YouItis!!!!!!! If it is not these very sarcastic responses it is long sighs and exasperations and muttering under their breath. Prospects calling in on a product or service hate this and it is clear as day.
The best way to gain control of a conversation is something to the effect of:
XYZ Company, this is John, How are you doing today?
Why???? Because it is an ice breaker that gets a prospect answering questions from the onset of the call. In the sales equation, reps that get people to answer questions properly qualify people more than reps that do not.
Proper surveying requires you ask questions. When you have a prospect answering questions they are doing more of the talking than the rep is and that is the idea.
Help your reps by requiring them to ask every inbound call which advertisement they were responding to and what was it about the piece that has them calling in today. This is highly effective and gets them engaged in the process and more easily walked into a sale.
For effective direct mail and inbound tv campaigns for debt settlement and loan modification companies, Call Rob Brack Lead Research Group. A Free Webinar on call approach is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am Pst. www.explodeyourphones.com. Go to the site click on shortcut to the direct response webinar. Hope to have you there!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
Data Nostalgia-Cold Calling Sees Upswing
While many companies tussel with the ins and outs of media purchases for radio and television and sophisticated online ad word type campaigns, telemarketing seems to be on an upswing lately.
With a good phone script and transfer of enthusiasm from the rep to the prospect, telemarketing can be quite effective. That is where data comes in!
Lead Research Group is a wholesale data provider with a gnack for understanding ideal prospects and helping customers understand data filteration in a way that helps them reach their target market faster.
The data universe is so vast that you need people that work with it daily to truly consult your business. Sure, data may be a commodity. Many people sell it, but few sell it with the business acumen and customer centric approach of Lead Research Group.
While data and telemarketing will never be the "sexiest" or most "tantalizing" Sales Strategy Employed, it still represents a cost effective way to grow business.
Call Robert Brack of Lead Research Group to discuss your campaign needs. If you have an ideal target, let's talk!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
With a good phone script and transfer of enthusiasm from the rep to the prospect, telemarketing can be quite effective. That is where data comes in!
Lead Research Group is a wholesale data provider with a gnack for understanding ideal prospects and helping customers understand data filteration in a way that helps them reach their target market faster.
The data universe is so vast that you need people that work with it daily to truly consult your business. Sure, data may be a commodity. Many people sell it, but few sell it with the business acumen and customer centric approach of Lead Research Group.
While data and telemarketing will never be the "sexiest" or most "tantalizing" Sales Strategy Employed, it still represents a cost effective way to grow business.
Call Robert Brack of Lead Research Group to discuss your campaign needs. If you have an ideal target, let's talk!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Manage Sales in the Holiday Mind Set
Just like any other employee, sales representatives are prone to drifting into the unproductive holiday zone. Some would call taking the foot off the pedal being festive and enjoying the holiday season. Many believe it is a rite of passage and earned in a year of hard work.
The question is can you afford to have employees mentally and emotionally check out for the holidays. My humble opinion is NO!! I too am thankful for the extra day off and family time but all sales are built on a pipeline. Maintaining a pipeline means consistent effort and not taking days off.
For Managers and Owners it is important that you show gratitude to your salesman and staff while reinforcing the need to stay on course and grow into the first quarter of 2010. The economy, unemployment and stagnant GDP growth means now more than ever we cannot take the foot off the gas.
No matter what your business does for marketing during the holidays, much of your competition will pack it in for the end of the year. Golden opportunities are out there to take advantage of a competitive battlefield with less players. Grab extra opportunity where you can and sail full steam ahead into 2010. Some companies will be kicking themselves for not heeding this advice.
The question is can you afford to have employees mentally and emotionally check out for the holidays. My humble opinion is NO!! I too am thankful for the extra day off and family time but all sales are built on a pipeline. Maintaining a pipeline means consistent effort and not taking days off.
For Managers and Owners it is important that you show gratitude to your salesman and staff while reinforcing the need to stay on course and grow into the first quarter of 2010. The economy, unemployment and stagnant GDP growth means now more than ever we cannot take the foot off the gas.
No matter what your business does for marketing during the holidays, much of your competition will pack it in for the end of the year. Golden opportunities are out there to take advantage of a competitive battlefield with less players. Grab extra opportunity where you can and sail full steam ahead into 2010. Some companies will be kicking themselves for not heeding this advice.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wholesale Data Provider Extraordinaire-Lead Research Group
Lead Research Group is a wholesale data provider. When comparing prices versus our competitors it is clear that we are fairly priced and very often beat the competition. Is that alone enough to change data providers? No, but I have not given you the whole picture. What separates us from the competition may be the human element that we bring to the table. As a performanced based marketing firm Lead Research Group cannot afford to give little thought to the filtering done for our customers. For that reason our discussions with end users of data are thoughtful and insightful with the focus on helping the telermarketer waste less time getting to a good prospect. It reduces cost and frustrates the sales staff less. A double victory!!!
Every customer has an ideal prospect and data can be molded around the characteristics of that person. That may mean filtering by age, gender, marital status, presence of kids in the home, homeowner, consumer, ethnicity, net worth, income, interests, mortgage holder, gun enthusiast, magazine subscriber, business opportunity seekers, homeowner new phone connects, businesses by number of employees and revenue, years in business and many, many more.
What is most notable about our data capability is our time spent with a master data compiler in thought and discussion about filtering. That helps you! We care! We want you to succeed! And yes, we want the re-order!!! Any time you can work with a marketing company that has the kind of dialogue that Lead Research Group has with its customers, do it, because that adds value and sales to your company that is measureable in sales growth and a reduction in cost per closed deal.
Every customer has an ideal prospect and data can be molded around the characteristics of that person. That may mean filtering by age, gender, marital status, presence of kids in the home, homeowner, consumer, ethnicity, net worth, income, interests, mortgage holder, gun enthusiast, magazine subscriber, business opportunity seekers, homeowner new phone connects, businesses by number of employees and revenue, years in business and many, many more.
What is most notable about our data capability is our time spent with a master data compiler in thought and discussion about filtering. That helps you! We care! We want you to succeed! And yes, we want the re-order!!! Any time you can work with a marketing company that has the kind of dialogue that Lead Research Group has with its customers, do it, because that adds value and sales to your company that is measureable in sales growth and a reduction in cost per closed deal.
Holiday Marketing-To Market or Not To Market
A lot of companies and people start thinking about other things during the holidays. Family, parties, events, kids and time off school and all the busy work that goes into being prepared for the holiday season. For many, the shopping, the food preparation, the detail coordination and the time consumption is overwhelming. This presents two ways to look at marketing as it relates to the notion to pull back marketing or push forward marketing during the holidays for debt settlement, loan modification and tax resolution companies
Since many companies automatically pull back marketing for the holidays, many of you will find more opportunity and less competition because you marketed anyways and your competition did not. Those that pull back lose sight of the fact that their industries and sales staffs are built around the sales pipeline. The volume of marketing you do now affects the pipeline 2-4 weeks down the road. In this economy, I am not starting the first quarter of next year having let December get away from me. No way!!!
So, let's say the response is typically liter during the holidays. The response you get during the holidays should be better and convert at higher percentages because someone that calls despite the hoopla of the holidays is a motivated buyer with genuine interest.
So, this marketer says: " Do not let your competition take your pipeline for December and January with a pull back of marketing"! Strategically place marketing based on dates and timing yes, pull back for the holidays no. Your holiday sales performance and first quarter of 2010 will depend on marketing!
Since many companies automatically pull back marketing for the holidays, many of you will find more opportunity and less competition because you marketed anyways and your competition did not. Those that pull back lose sight of the fact that their industries and sales staffs are built around the sales pipeline. The volume of marketing you do now affects the pipeline 2-4 weeks down the road. In this economy, I am not starting the first quarter of next year having let December get away from me. No way!!!
So, let's say the response is typically liter during the holidays. The response you get during the holidays should be better and convert at higher percentages because someone that calls despite the hoopla of the holidays is a motivated buyer with genuine interest.
So, this marketer says: " Do not let your competition take your pipeline for December and January with a pull back of marketing"! Strategically place marketing based on dates and timing yes, pull back for the holidays no. Your holiday sales performance and first quarter of 2010 will depend on marketing!
Sales Call Approach Webinar
I was spending time looking at marketing campaign performance statistics and call recordings and decided that we needed to offer companies sales scripting and sales call approach support. Let's face it. Sales Reps can and often are lazy and complacent. What is the verification of this you ask? Well, we do a ton of recorded call review to gauge lead quality and end user scripting for debt settlement and loan modification firms on Inbound TV and Mail Campaigns. From my time spent in recorded calls and lead quality verification, it was obvious that despite the efforts of marketing managers, upper management, ownership and sales managers there was a need for a marketing company to step up and assist them with their efforts.
Our webinar is ongoing. It happens every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am by registering at www.explodeyourphones.com. It should be helpful to anyone in the debt settlement, tax resolution and loan modification industries who want to enhance current sales numbers and get every member of the sales team on the same page. Honestly, coming from a 13 page scripted background in the mortgage industry, I can tell you that how reps approach calls in these industries needs work. But this is nothing new. Sales Reps sticking to a script and representing the company and the product perfectly takes ongoing review, training and work at it. I want to be clear about this. Our goal is to help the companies we work with and create awareness of the representation their company is given to the potential client. Where there are opportunities to shore up loose ends or create a different approach, we would like to help.
Bring as many people as you like. Make it a part of new rep training! Make it a part of refresher trainings or ongoing trainings! That would be great! All are welcome. We are looking for win-win partnerships. When we support your growth your support us with customer loyalty.
Our webinar is ongoing. It happens every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am by registering at www.explodeyourphones.com. It should be helpful to anyone in the debt settlement, tax resolution and loan modification industries who want to enhance current sales numbers and get every member of the sales team on the same page. Honestly, coming from a 13 page scripted background in the mortgage industry, I can tell you that how reps approach calls in these industries needs work. But this is nothing new. Sales Reps sticking to a script and representing the company and the product perfectly takes ongoing review, training and work at it. I want to be clear about this. Our goal is to help the companies we work with and create awareness of the representation their company is given to the potential client. Where there are opportunities to shore up loose ends or create a different approach, we would like to help.
Bring as many people as you like. Make it a part of new rep training! Make it a part of refresher trainings or ongoing trainings! That would be great! All are welcome. We are looking for win-win partnerships. When we support your growth your support us with customer loyalty.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Raw Targeted Data Lead Versus Opt-In Leads and Pre-Screened Leads
There is much confusion in the lead arena between Raw Data, Opt-in Data and Pre-Screened Leads.
Raw Targeted Data is records of consumers, businesses and homeowner that have been pulled with very specific filters.
Example: In the Mortgage industry, raw targeted data for a company focussed on FHA Loans may be filtered for an interest rate level or higher, minimum loan amount or higer, current FHA Loan Holder with loan seasoned 6 montths or greater and in the area the company is licensed to originate a FHA Loan and fico score level or higher. Rather than call homeowner blindly, this will help you get to people that can use the service quicker. It will require that you warm the prospect up afterall, it is a cold call.
This data by itself does not represent someone who has asked to be called or is currently looking for a Streamline FHA Loan. It does however allow the mortgage company to target people that fit their criteria for completing a new loan. The data however must be put into action in a mailing, predictive dialing campaign or cold calling campaign. Data by itself is useless.
Opt-In Lists are like an internet lead. People have requested information or contact based on clicking on a banner, contact form, landing page or website. These people fit a profile and are looking for help related to a particular product or service. This is a much warmer contact than cold calling based on filtered data.
Pre-Screened/Scrubbed Leads are usually inbound transfers or leads verified thru a telemarketing group that does some level of pre-qualification before transferring a call to a sales agent or sending an e-mail notification to contact an interested and pre-qualified prospect.
There is a benefit to all three of these. It is important to understand what you are getting and how they work so that you employ the right strategy and have the right expectation.
If you have questions about what will work best for you, call Lead Research Group at 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430.
Raw Targeted Data is records of consumers, businesses and homeowner that have been pulled with very specific filters.
Example: In the Mortgage industry, raw targeted data for a company focussed on FHA Loans may be filtered for an interest rate level or higher, minimum loan amount or higer, current FHA Loan Holder with loan seasoned 6 montths or greater and in the area the company is licensed to originate a FHA Loan and fico score level or higher. Rather than call homeowner blindly, this will help you get to people that can use the service quicker. It will require that you warm the prospect up afterall, it is a cold call.
This data by itself does not represent someone who has asked to be called or is currently looking for a Streamline FHA Loan. It does however allow the mortgage company to target people that fit their criteria for completing a new loan. The data however must be put into action in a mailing, predictive dialing campaign or cold calling campaign. Data by itself is useless.
Opt-In Lists are like an internet lead. People have requested information or contact based on clicking on a banner, contact form, landing page or website. These people fit a profile and are looking for help related to a particular product or service. This is a much warmer contact than cold calling based on filtered data.
Pre-Screened/Scrubbed Leads are usually inbound transfers or leads verified thru a telemarketing group that does some level of pre-qualification before transferring a call to a sales agent or sending an e-mail notification to contact an interested and pre-qualified prospect.
There is a benefit to all three of these. It is important to understand what you are getting and how they work so that you employ the right strategy and have the right expectation.
If you have questions about what will work best for you, call Lead Research Group at 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Marketing Specialist Team Lead Research Group
Lead Research Group has a fantastic team of dedicated marketing specialists with call center, sales and sales management backgrounds in the mortgage and financial services industries that make them valuable assets to the companies that entrust their marketing dollars to them.
Nick Loera, Kyle Duncan, Tyler Stapley, Thong Phan and Rob Brack have accepted the challenge of helping businesses grow even in this sluggish economy. We are immersed in marketing for a variety of companies including the gamut of insurance services companies, mortgage providers, loan modification companies, debt settlement organizations, credit repair services, and many others.
We are constantly striving to better the marketing results of our clients. Each of the 5 specialists above is experienced, dedicated and ready to help you explode your business. With our visionary leadership and phenomenal management team, new products will be introduced to our customer base to enhance what they already do. The result will be that our clients will be able to increase their leads and grow their sales base. We are excited for a bright future with Lead Research Group and the explosion of business for our customers.
Until next time, let LRG Grow Your Business!
Nick Loera, Kyle Duncan, Tyler Stapley, Thong Phan and Rob Brack have accepted the challenge of helping businesses grow even in this sluggish economy. We are immersed in marketing for a variety of companies including the gamut of insurance services companies, mortgage providers, loan modification companies, debt settlement organizations, credit repair services, and many others.
We are constantly striving to better the marketing results of our clients. Each of the 5 specialists above is experienced, dedicated and ready to help you explode your business. With our visionary leadership and phenomenal management team, new products will be introduced to our customer base to enhance what they already do. The result will be that our clients will be able to increase their leads and grow their sales base. We are excited for a bright future with Lead Research Group and the explosion of business for our customers.
Until next time, let LRG Grow Your Business!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sales Lunch With the Founder
Today,
Myself and Nick Loera, another top marketing specialist at Lead Research Group, got to eat lunch with one of the founders of Lead Research Group. It had been some time since I actually found myself in a position to be amongst the top sales people in a company. I almost forgot how good that felt. Anyways, it is always hard to pry me away from the phones and doing my best to be a life line to customers marketing campaigns.
I guess it is hard to pass up Ruth Chris and a steak! Anyways, it turned out to be a good opportunity to sit with Ryan our CEO and talk about forward business plans and where he envisions Lead Research Group to be. While Ryan is a young guy he is tremendously gifted. He was telling Nick and I about all the programs that are coming our way and how much more we are going to be able to do for our clients. Ryan's vision and business savvy are at an elite level and it is almost as if he sees trends or strategies before the rest of the market does. He is truly a marketing force and I have no doubt that his products and strategies will help sales organizations for many years to come.
I am so grateful to call Ryan Rasmussen a friend, a mentor and a great leader. When respect is earned much respect is given and my hope is to work with Ryan toe to toe in the effort to make LRG one of the most respected marketing companies anywhere.
Ryan, if you get to have a beer this weekend, have one for me. I will be back in the office working on sales for the first week of March!!!
Myself and Nick Loera, another top marketing specialist at Lead Research Group, got to eat lunch with one of the founders of Lead Research Group. It had been some time since I actually found myself in a position to be amongst the top sales people in a company. I almost forgot how good that felt. Anyways, it is always hard to pry me away from the phones and doing my best to be a life line to customers marketing campaigns.
I guess it is hard to pass up Ruth Chris and a steak! Anyways, it turned out to be a good opportunity to sit with Ryan our CEO and talk about forward business plans and where he envisions Lead Research Group to be. While Ryan is a young guy he is tremendously gifted. He was telling Nick and I about all the programs that are coming our way and how much more we are going to be able to do for our clients. Ryan's vision and business savvy are at an elite level and it is almost as if he sees trends or strategies before the rest of the market does. He is truly a marketing force and I have no doubt that his products and strategies will help sales organizations for many years to come.
I am so grateful to call Ryan Rasmussen a friend, a mentor and a great leader. When respect is earned much respect is given and my hope is to work with Ryan toe to toe in the effort to make LRG one of the most respected marketing companies anywhere.
Ryan, if you get to have a beer this weekend, have one for me. I will be back in the office working on sales for the first week of March!!!
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