Aberdeen: Sales Organizations Increase Lead Quality By Partnering With B2B Teleservices Providers
Top-performing sales organizations are increasing the quality of leads, as well as the overall size of their pipeline, by turning to business-to-business teleservices providers, according to a new research study published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company. The report, B2B TeleServices: The 2009 Buyer's Guide, released last week, details how outsourced partners help best-in-class organizations achieve more sales success.
"We're pleased to have validation from the market—and from fact-based research leader Aberdeen—that outsourcing B2B teleservices is a common theme among ‘top performing' companies," said Dan McDade, PointClear president. "This report reveals what we have experienced with our own client base since 1997: Companies that outsource what we call ‘prospect development' are able to dramatically impact the success of the sales organization."
Specifically, the report points out, along with outsourcing lead generation, intelligence gathering, appointment setting, event recruitment, database construction and inquiry qualification, best-in-class companies attain an average 90 percent achievement of overall sales quota, an increase in the average revenue per sales rep of 10 percent year-over-year, and a seven percentage point improvement in the bid-to-win ratio.
PointClear client Customer Effective, a Microsoft-technology CRM solutions provider, was featured in the study, which examined 206 organizations and their experiences deploying outsourced B2B teleservices. Like other best-in-class companies identified in the report, Greenville, S.C.-based Customer Effective, serving midmarket and enterprise organizations worldwide, values leads provided by its outsourced partner, PointClear, because they're supported by qualifying data.
"These delivered leads take the form of set appointments, but are always accompanied by background information about the prospect and, most significantly, a digital recording of the vendor's call with the prospect," according to the report. Currently about 25 percent of Customer Effective's supply of qualified opportunities are delivered by PointClear.
Peter Ostrow, Aberdeen's sales effectiveness research director and the report's author, commented: "When organizations deploy an outsourced B2B teleservices provider to acquire and deliver some form of sales opportunities, they are essentially seeking to fill the selling pipeline with as many qualified leads as possible. Leading companies are building substantial, multi-faceted relationships with solution providers that go far beyond the simple acquisition of flat data or sales appointments," he added.
About PointClear
PointClear is the prospect development company. Founded in 1997, the Atlanta-based company helps B2B companies drive revenue. PointClear closes the gap between marketing and sales—nurturing leads, engaging contacts and developing prospects until they're ready to close. In addition to providing high quality opportunities companies need to drive sales, PointClear delivers the effective market coverage and actionable market intelligence they need to succeed.
PointClear's prospect development services include lead management; lead generation, qualification, and nurturing; event support; and data segmentation and management. The company stands out because of its strategic approach to planning; the quality of its people; and a multi-touch, multi-media, multi-cycle prospecting process. This unique combination provides best-in-class client companies such as Microsoft, Customer Effective, UnitedHealth Group, LXE, SGI and D&B more predictable forecasts and more sales success. For more information, visit http://www.pointclear.com/.
About Customer Effective
Customer Effective, with headquarters in Greenville, S.C., is a leading innovator in customer interaction solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, CRM Consultant and Solution Implementer having completed hundreds of Microsoft CRM implementations and development projects.
Recent CRM and Microsoft awards include recognition as the 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Financial Services Partner of the Year, being named to the 2009 Microsoft Dynamics President's Club, recipient of the 2008 and 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle distinction, and member of the 2008 Inc. 500 list. For more information, visit http://www.customereffective.com/.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information about Aberdeen, visit http://www.aberdeen.com/, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, visit http://www.harte-hanks.com/.
SOURCE: Aberdeen Group