Do an online search for “lead generation companies” or “call center services,” and you’ll get millions of results. Even after narrowing your parameters, the number of options is overwhelming.
So how do you determine if a particular lead gen company is a good fit for your needs?
Well, you can start by knowing the right questions to ask during your search process.
Here are 10 questions you should ask a potential call center or lead gen provider:
1. What is your typical process for lead generation?
This one seems obvious, but there are just about as many lead generation philosophies as there are lead generation companies. Does the company prioritize the telephone, email, or text messaging for cold outreach, or some combination of all three? What is their usual cadence of calls, emails, and texts? Do they leave voicemails, and if so, how often? Is there a social media component?
OK, so these are multiple questions. But it’s important to be on the same page before a lead generation partnership begins so expectations are aligned, and the best way to get there is to understand as much as possible about how your partner’s process typically works. But as VSA knows well after more than 22 years, no two lead generation programs are exactly alike. Which brings us to …
2. Do you take a one-size fits-all approach?
If the answer isn’t an emphatic “no,” then our advice is to immediately start looking for a different partner. Sure, there are plenty of proven-effective best practices, but that doesn’t mean every strategy is a good fit for every program.
VSA specializes in designing customized campaigns to meet each client’s specific needs and challenges. Whatever the goal, every program requires some sort of individualized approach, so it’s crucial to find a lead gen partner with the flexibility to accommodate.
3. Do you have experience in my industry?
Just because a company has ample lead generation expertise, doesn’t mean it has the knowledge to successfully work within all verticals, especially in the complex world of B2B sales. It is much easier to grasp variables such as the right decision-makers to reach, the type of messaging that best resonates, and the most likely objections when you have experience working within a particular industry.
VSA regularly calls on behalf of clients in healthcare, education, technology, manufacturing & logistics, government, among other industries. We work with large corporations, local businesses, and everything in between, so there aren’t many scenarios we haven’t seen.
4. How much input will I have in my target list and messaging?
There should only be one response to this question: As much or as little as you want.
While that may seem like a non-answer, the truth is you know your business better than any outsourced lead gen firm possibly can. The combination of your inside knowledge along with your lead gen partner’s infrastructure, experience, list-building resources, and messaging best practices is a roadmap for a successful campaign.
That’s why VSA takes a highly collaborative approach with our clients that begins with a thorough onboarding process and continues with regular interaction for the duration of the program. Whether clients bring their own calling list and messaging or rely on our team to develop or co-develop those materials based on information obtained during onboarding, there’s always plenty of communication.
5. Will I have my own dedicated team?
Speaking of communication, it’s important to have familiar faces in your corner during a lead generation campaign. VSA assigns a dedicated team to every one of our clients, led by a Program Manager who serves as your primary day-to-day contact, along with a group of Business Development and/or Customer Service Representatives who make and receive calls on your behalf.
The Program Manager and BDRs are trained to your specific offering and handle all inbound and outbound correspondence with your prospects, essentially becoming an extension of your sales team. This team-based calling model ensures there is always somebody available to work on your program for your desired weekly hours, regardless of illness or vacations.
6. What types of technology do you use? Can you integrate with my CRM?
A best-in-class lead gen firm obviously needs the right technology to maximize production, so it’s important to understand what resources they have available. VSA’s advanced dialing platform allows us to generate far more sales conversations for our outbound programs than the industry average, while our powerful omni-channel contact center solution enhances our customer service capabilities for our inbound programs.
At the same time, some clients prefer to use their own CRM (Salesforce or HubSpot, for example), so it’s imperative that your lead gen firm can integrate with your system.
7. Are you compliant with data privacy laws?
This question probably isn’t asked nearly as often as it should be. Ensuring data privacy should always be a top priority, especially in today’s cyber climate, but the truth is that many prospecting firms and call centers aren’t willing or able to fully commit to this.
Your lead gen partner should be compliant with relevant data protection rules, such as HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, PCI, FERPA, and others. Otherwise, you risk compromising your prospects’ data and the possibility of hefty fines. VSA takes data protection very seriously and works with an outside firm to ensure ongoing compliance.
8. What type of reporting will I receive, and how often will I receive it?
There’s nothing more frustrating than not knowing how your lead gen program is progressing. Without regular updates, it’s difficult to know which areas of the campaign need attention.
VSA provides our clients with regular weekly reports (or more frequently, in some cases) that address a wide range of metrics, from number of dials to number of conversations to number of conversions. Every call we make is assigned a specific result, allowing us to follow up accordingly and ensuring full transparency for our clients.
9. What if my campaign isn’t meeting my expectations?
The goal is always to create ROI-positive programs, but the reality is that not all campaigns are going to yield the desired results, and any lead gen company that guarantees you a specific number of appointments isn’t being sincere.
One thing that VSA can guarantee, however, is that we will do whatever we possibly can to try and improve production. Sometimes, that can be done with a minor tweak in strategy; other times, a more significant overhaul is needed, but either way, we never take a “set-it-and-forget-it” approach. If clients still aren’t satisfied with the results, they have the option to scale, pause, or cancel weekly BDR hours with one week’s written notice.
10. What will this partnership cost me?
Perhaps the most obvious question of all. If a lead generation firm isn’t up front about its cost structure, it’s probably not wise to move forward. There should also be customized pricing options to meet your unique business needs.
Not every lead gen program requires the same number of calling hours, or has the same needs during onboarding. VSA’s sales team factors in these variables and others when discussing price with potential clients.
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Narrowing down the list of lead generation and call center options isn’t easy, but asking these 10 questions can go a long way toward helping you find the right fit for your business.
If you’d like to learn more, give us a call or drop us an email. The VSA team is always happy to answer any questions you have.