VSA has a long history of successfully partnering with clients in the education space to assist with their lead generation needs, but we know there’s always more to learn. Each new program presents its own set of challenges, requiring plenty of homework on our part if we want to stay at the head of the class.
Such has been the case with Literacy for Texas, a company providing premier print and digital educational content to schools and districts throughout Texas. Literacy for Texas works with top publishers to support a variety of preK-to-12 literacy initiatives, with each solution customized to meet the needs of individual school communities.
The company began its collaboration with VSA last winter, seeking a partner to reach out to leads across the state and develop them into active prospects by setting sales appointments with librarians, curriculum directors, and other key decision makers.
As with many lead generation campaigns, there were some growing pains when the program launched back in January. Literacy for Texas’ certified librarians and collection development specialists assist schools in a variety of ways, including product purchases, consulting, and onsite services, so it took some time to determine which messaging resonated the best with which prospects. On top of that, the content sometimes differed based on the region of the state we were calling, or even the sales rep we were setting appointments for, requiring us to be nimble with our target lists and phone scripts.
There were also external factors that affected schools’ level of interest, including budget constraints and recent divisive legislation regarding book bans.
Through it all, we managed to deliver positive results, but we were continuously looking for ways to increase production.
“Both VSA and Literacy for Texas kind of looked at the spring as a chance to get our feet wet and work out the kinks before back-to-school time in the fall, because that’s when the budgets are released,” says Christina Louka, VSA’s Program Manager for the campaign. “We learned a lot those first few months and were really able to make improvements in the program.”
VSA and Literacy for Texas mutually decided to pause the calling campaign in July, and since relaunching in August, the program has been consistently successful, with multiple appointments scheduled per week, including eight the last week in August and seven the second week in September. Weekly program hours have increased from 20 to 30.
“The sole reason we hired VSA was to get appointments, and that has been successful,” says Literacy for Texas Owner J’aime Garcia. “I also really appreciate the data VSA provides. I can ask Christina for certain reporting, and in 20 minutes, she can tell me who we’ve called, where we’ve called, and what the response has been. We’ve worked with other outside teams who don’t come close to that level of detail.”
Here are three key reasons why the program has been productive:
1. Close collaboration with the Business Development Representatives
Most VSA clients don’t meet regularly with the BDR teams assigned to their program, instead communicating through the Program Manager. But J’aime has been extremely hands-on with VSA’s BDRs, developing a rapport with them and helping them firmly grasp the nuances of Literacy for Texas’s multiple offerings and the overall industry.
“Not only has the BDR team truly learned our business, but they have made quite a few adjustments and shown the ability to adapt to a challenging environment,” J’aime says. “They’ve done a really good job of asking why we’re hearing certain things on the phone, what it means, and learning how to best respond.”
VSA’s goal with every program is not just to assist our clients’ sales teams, but to become their team. That has certainly been the case with Literacy for Texas. One of their target librarians with an existing relationship with the company was so impressed with our BDR’s knowledge and professionalism on the phone that they assumed she was a new full-time Literacy for Texas sales rep.
2. Sensitivity to the client’s (and the prospects’) needs
Concerns inevitably arise during any lead generation program, and VSA prides itself on rectifying these issues in a timely manner. Early in the program, J’aime was worried about our BDRs mispronouncing certain Spanish names.
VSA quickly turned to a bilingual member of our team to assist the BDRs with the pronunciations.
“It was a perfect example of Christina going above and beyond for my customers and me,” J’aime says.
On a broader level, VSA’s BDRs have been able to successfully navigate the controversial topic of book bans in school libraries when prospects bring it up.
“The team has definitely had conversations about the legislation, but J’aime has trained them to be able to react professionally and to keep it very high level,” Christina says. “Every area has different issues, so the overall message is always, ‘We’re here to ensure that whatever your particular district needs are, we will meet them.’ ”
3. Effective list management
With any lead generation calling list, it’s not just about who you call, but when you call. Timing can play a huge role in the conversion rate.
Since the re-launch of the program, VSA has prioritized certain lists and called prospects immediately after Literacy for Texas’ reps have attended industry events, such as vendor fairs and librarian conferences. This allows our BDRs to “warm” the call by referencing the specific event, regardless of whether the prospect had direct interaction with the Literacy for Texas rep (or even attended).
We have also divided up the new lists by territory and sales rep, which allows our BDRs to schedule appointments more efficiently.
As with all programs, the success rate fluctuates from week to week, but overall, VSA’s partnership with Literacy for Texas has been truly a win-win, which is exactly the way we like it.
“Christina and the VSA team have really taken the steps necessary to understand the industry and our customers,” J’aime says. “I really appreciate their flexibility and willingness to try new things. They’ve definitely learned a lot to take on this program.”
If you’re looking to grow your sales funnel the way Literacy for Texas has, give us a call. We’d love to see how we can help you.