Best Telemarketing Software Solutions

Best Telemarketing Software Solutions

In the business world, inbound and outbound calls are increasingly managed by a contact center, also known as a call center. Customer service teams at these centers use a range of strategies and call center software built specifically for the industry.

These centers manage customer interactions as well as serve a vital role in lead management. With call center services, enterprise businesses can efficiently answer consumer questions, schedule follow-up calls, troubleshoot product and service issues, and connect with leads.

Is your company looking for a telemarketing software solution? Our guide below shares information on the most popular contact center software. This guide is designed to help you make informed choices when it comes to selecting the contact center solution you need to grow your business.

The Role of the Call Center

The call center is the conduit between a company and its customers. Sometimes referred to as contact centers or customer service centers, call centers provide several essential roles. These include:

  • Inbound services to answer incoming phone, email, and text messages
  • Reaching out to new prospects and creating connections with existing customer outreach functions
  • Automated call distribution services, offering efficiency and quick response times
  • Web chat services
  • Organizing telephone communication channels for any size of business operation

Call center management is facilitated by powerful software solutions. Whether you’re setting up a virtual call center or cloud phone system, are implementing SMS marketing initiatives, or streamlining your sales teams with telemarketing solutions, call center software is the beating heart of contact center operations.

Call Center Software Basics

Call center software takes many forms, and each software platform will have unique tools and features to boosts sales team performance while offering superior customer support.

Software may include functions like:

  • Predictive dialer tools
  • Interactive voice response tools
  • Automatic call distribution
  • Auto dialing
  • Automated lead distribution for sales professionals
  • Call tracking
  • Call routing
  • Call recording

Traditionally, call center software was installed and managed from a centralized location. Now, cloud call center software enables companies to set up virtual contact centers in areas where inbound and outbound capabilities are needed. A cloud based phone system provides robust support, improving the customer experience with every contact. In some cases, cloud-based software solutions may offer a free trial before signing a contract for service.

Customer Relationship Management: Key Features

Telemarketing software has advanced greatly in recent years. Today, many companies are extending their capabilities with a software solution known as customer relationship management (CRM). Seamless CRM integration in a cloud based call center or physical outsourced inside sales location provides even more tools for support teams.

As a form of lead management software, CRM puts data into one place and consolidates communication across all channels. CRM software solutions are designed to manage:

  • Sales documents
  • Sales quotes
  • Purchases
  • Tasks associated with each lead and client
  • Data associated with daily, weekly, and monthly sales volumes

Because a CRM is focused on improving sales efficiency, it is often referred to as a “sales engagement platform.” Small and medium businesses that may struggle with the demands of customer calls and generating leads gain significant advantages when adopting this business software.

Call Center Software vs. Outsourced Inside Sales

It is no secret that technology has streamlined many tasks in the business world. Telemarketing software is no exception. With literally hundreds of choices for enterprise applications, each software platform offers its own unique tools and functionality, allowing the telemarketing industry to select the system that works best for their operations.

While software developments have improved efficiency and workflows, there is one aspect they cannot touch: the human element. The “human touch” is intangible, yet has the potential to unlock new opportunities for you and your business.

Outsourced inside sales professionals at SalesFish provide that human touch, offering a superior experience from the very first customer contact. Our team takes the time to learn your products and services inside and out, giving them the knowledge to answer questions, inform decision making processes, and spurring sales growth.

 

Outsourcing Inside Sales Services

Each call center solution described above represents a significant investment for any business. Smaller organizations may not need the power of these software platforms, but may still require help with inbound calls, outbound calls, and customer management. What’s the solution for these smaller firms?

The answer is outsourcing. Whether your outsourced inside sales provider uses a cloud based platform or outbound telemarketing software, these inside sales centers have the personnel, the experience, and the skill needed to supercharge your sales processes.

SalesFish is the leading provider of outsourced inside sales services. In addition to state-of-the art technologies and processes, our talented team of sales professionals applies real-world knowledge to sales. Visit our website to learn more about the wide range of customized services we provide to our enterprise clients.

Why Outsourced Marketing and Sales Makes Sense

In today’s highly-competitive business environment, your company is expected to be able to handle myriad tasks on the path to success. One of these tasks is maximizing the sales pipeline with lead generation and other sales functions.

Unfortunately, inside sales teams often struggle to make inroads, including identifying qualified leads, entering new markets, or closing deals. Your in house sales team can do only so much, and many factors influence the results those teams are able to produce.

The same applies to in-house marketing teams, who may often lack the expertise or resources to get the most from their campaigns.

What if there was a way to supercharge your sales process and marketing campaigns in a cost-effective manner with a solution that goes far beyond internal sales techniques? The answer is outsourced sales and marketing.

In this guide, we will explore what outsourcing of sales and marketing means and how this outsourcing represents a value proposition for small firms and large corporations alike.

 

Is Your Sales Process Holding Your Company Back?

It is no secret that sales is the driving force behind business growth. Sales professionals are expected to possess a wide range of skills and experiences, including the ability to identify and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Your in-house team may not have all of the sales skills required, or your inside sales reps may not have the budget, time, or resources to close deals.

Are you having difficulty entering a new market, making cold calls, or making connections with lead generation? Challenges in internal sales processes do more than slow your potential growth; they can put your company at risk.

Don’t let your sales team keep you from achieving your goals. With sales outsourcing, you can overcome any challenges you face with a small sales team that cannot produce the results you need to thrive in competitive marketplaces.

Sales Outsourcing 101: Essential Information

What is sales outsourcing? In simple terms, it is the process of hiring a dedicated sales team working externally to help your company get the most from your sales pipeline.

An outsourced sales partner and its sales reps works toward building relationships for your company using a range of strategies and tools, including:

Social selling — leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to create connections on social media.

Outbound calling — generating leads through cold calls and by identifying new customers.

Appointment setting — closing deals with qualified leads generated in social and outbound calling campaigns.

Communication — extending your marketing efforts with timely and engaging communication tools.

What is Outsourced Marketing?

The modern marketing environment presents unique challenges to companies of nearly every size and type. In addition to traditional marketing channels like television, radio, and print, your marketing team now has to possess the skills needed to help you remain visible in search results, leverage social platforms, and gain access to new geographies.

Is your in house team capable of producing the results you need to create and maintain a strong brand voice? If the answer is no, an outsourced marketing team is one of the best ways to supercharge your advertising and marketing efforts.

Just like an outsourced sales team, your outsourced marketing team is comprised of marketing experts with the tools, connections, and strategies you need to stand out in your industry. When you outsource marketing, you are getting the benefits of a dedicated marketing firm, allowing you to produce results in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Can your internal team boast those incredible benefits?

Benefits of Outsourced Sales and Marketing

Outsourced sales and marketing solutions have helped thousands of businesses build lifetime value by bringing in new leads, capitalizing on emerging sales opportunities, and streamlining the sales process.

Benefits of outsourced sales and marketing include:

  • Control of operational and overhead expenses over your entire sales process
  • Improving sales efforts with cutting-edge tools and strategies
  • Scaling your outsourced team to meet emerging needs
  • Freeing your internal team to focusing on business-building efforts
  • Accomplishing higher level tactical tasks that internal teams often struggle to complete
  • Gaining access to behavioral data and key performance indicators that help your sales efforts thrive
  • Reducing the costs associated with internal hires; hiring and training of a small team represents one of the highest expenses associated with building out your sales force.

The key takeaways of outsourced sales and marketing are many. In simple terms, an outsourced team helps you save time as you maximize revenue for your business.

Choosing an Outsourced Sales Team

When evaluating an outsourced sales team for your business, what are the key indicators you should look for? Here are some tips:

  • How is lead qualification handled? A outsourced sales team uses proven strategies to qualify leads, helping you to save time and money with quality leads that increase sales.
  • What are the key performance indicators used to improve revenue streams? What data is being collected and how is it used to create an actionable plan for boosting your sales efforts?
  • What do other customers say about the quality and care of the outsourced sales team? Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations can help you make informed decisions about which team to select for your business needs.

Firms that outsource sales functions to a dedicated team of sales professionals gain valuable benefits in lead generation, deal closure, and revenue growth. Can your business afford to “make do” with an internal sales team when outsourced sales solutions are at your fingertips?

Getting the Most With an Outsourced Marketing Team

The marketing environment is constantly shifting, with new tools and strategies developed on a weekly basis. What worked in the past may no longer be sufficient to produce the results your business needs to grow.

Outsourced marketing teams are able to leverage those new tools and strategies, helping you to reach the customers that are the foundation of success in your industry. Think of an outsourced marketing partner as your company’s own marketing firm, allowing you to reduce overhead costs while generating superior returns on your investment.

Final Words on Outsourced Sales and Marketing Teams

Outsourcing sales functions to a service provider makes financial sense. The same applies to your marketing needs with an outsourced partner to assist you in penetrating new markets or expanding your business.

An outsourcing firm is comprised of sales and marketing experts who have the tools, the training, and the strategies you need to succeed in competitive marketplaces. Companies of all sizes and types gain valuable benefits from outsourcing sales or with outsourced marketing teams, letting you concentrate on what your business does best: meeting the needs of your customers.

Outsource Sales and Marketing for Your Needs

SalesFish offers superior outsourced sales and outsourced marketing solutions for your company whether you are a large enterprise or small business. From lead generation to stimulating revenue growth and building relationships, our outsourced sales and marketing professionals deliver results.

Reach out today and learn how we can help.

Is Outsourcing Cold Calling Worth It?

Is Outsourcing Cold Calling Worth It?

Very few sales reps want to make cold calls with very good reason. As reported by Zippia, an average of only 2% of cold calls result in face-to-face appointments. In spite of this dismal statistic, when the right preparation and cold calling techniques are employed, this proven process still provides effective lead generation. Cold calling helps many businesses from a variety of industries generate quality customer leads.

Businesses Need High-Quality Leads

Most businesses need to expand their customer base to gain a competitive advantage. In large enterprises, business development teams may collaborate on a campaign strategy to market their products and services to additional potential customers. This might include an informed decision either to utilize cold calling techniques through their own sales team or to outsource cold calling services to reach their goals.

A small business owner, however, may focus entirely on cold calling to locate prospective customers. The push to generate leads for new customers might make use of a sales rep already on staff, or the business may contact cold calling agencies for lead generation and appointment setting.

The success of any cold-call strategy and appointment-setting drive ultimately depends on the research, planning, and preparation completed before any phone calls are made. In order to be successful, the cold call campaign must produce qualified appointments with decision-makers that turn into sales with satisfied customers.

A Cold Calling Campaign Yields Prospects

Given today’s marketing environment and technological advances, is cold calling dead on arrival, or is it still a valid prospecting technique? If you are just pushing in phone numbers, following a one-size-fits-all standardized script, and hoping enough calls garner a few new leads, you are indeed wasting your time.

However, if your business makes use of accurate data, cold callers with extensive experience, and appointment setters who make the right impression, you can uncover more leads and more prospects than you thought possible. This applies whether your company uses its own sales professionals or turns to outsourcing cold calling.

Cold Calling Benefits All Businesses

Whether companies are large or small, the success of cold calling efforts depends on the strategic parameters the business sets. It starts with defining the target audience for the product or service the business offers and continues with follow-up calls and informational services that secure a potential account. Appropriate research and careful nurturing of prospects pay big dividends with B2B cold calling.

When it comes to outsourcing cold calling, choosing ethical cold calling experts not only affects securing the right prospects for your business but also prevents any negative consequences to the reputation of your company.

Vital Traits Ensure an Effective Cold Calling Service

If you have decided to outsource your cold-calling efforts, you will no doubt find a number of possible call center services for this undertaking. Focus your consideration on companies with a call center who do not have a transactional, low touch, call center behavior.

As you evaluate various possibilities and check reviews and references, make sure the cold-calling service meets these requirements.

Involvement of Your Sales Team in the Planning Stages

It is vital that the cold calling company you retain includes you and your sales team right from the start. No matter how talented the cold calling agents prove, they must understand your company, products, services, and goals to secure the best sales leads for you.

Data Security for Your Company During Cold Calling

The sensitivity of company data the cold calling business handles varies with each individual situation, but you want to make sure that appropriate security measures are in place, and the service has a stellar security record.

Cold Calling and Appointment Setting Expertise

The individuals who will represent your business when making cold calls should have excellent training, guidance, and oversight. As cold calling professionals, they should have a motivated and positive mindset and consider themselves members of your sales team. Ask questions about the training and qualifications of the call staff.

Intensive Training on Your Company’s Sales Calls and Sales Development

Not only should the Sale Agents be experts in cold calling, but they should also be trained extensively on your individual company details, products, and services. They should know your target customer and the right approach to take.

Use of the Right Script

The best script for any cold-calling strategy should be flexible and easily adjusted to the individual prospect. Sales Agent personnel should have the experience, knowledge, and ability to adapt to any situation and keep your business in the best possible light.

Expertise in Identifying Pain Points

The most effective cold calling uncovers issues and problems the prospect may be experiencing so your sales team can offer solutions when meeting with the potential customer.

Regular Phone Consultations

One of the downsides to outsourcing cold calling is that you have less control over the sales process to uncover new leads. The best cold calling services not only update you regularly with real-time reports and email summaries but also conduct phone calls or online meetings so you have the opportunity to discuss progress and any needed adjustments.

Free Quote and Cost-Effective Cold Calling Services

Budgets and costs are always important in any sales expenditures, and outsourcing cold calls is no exception. Make sure to get a written quote and carefully compare cold calling agencies.

An Outsourced Cold Calling Service Is Worth the Investment

Cold calling is an art, and the best results come from professionals who understand the process, know what to expect, and take pride in their results. Specialized cold calling services have trained staff, the right tools and software for the job, and cold calling processes for their clients that have been honed to perfection over the years.

Outsourcing Cold Calling Can Motivate Sales Teams

Very few sales reps enjoy cold calling, and it shows in their results. By outsourcing cold calling chores, your sales team can focus on customer visits, closing sales, and excellent customer service and support.

Outsource Cold Calling Services for Your Needs

SalesFish offers superior cold calls and appointment setting for your company whether you are a large enterprise or small business. Reach out today and learn how we can help.

How to Use B2B Telemarketing for Lead Generation

How to Use B2B Telemarketing for Lead Generation

Telemarketing services have long been utilized to develop qualified leads. Lead generation is the key to business growth, and with telemarketing, lead generation services provide the quality and the quantity to succeed. Business-to-Business or B2B telemarketing focuses on developing leads among clients rather than consumers, and this can have a profound impact on strategic business growth. B2B telemarketing is an effective and cost-efficient solution to enhance your sales campaigns — one that produces real results. In this guide, we will share best practices for leveraging the power of B2B telemarketing in lead generation for your company.

What is B2B Telemarketing?

Telemarketing is the practice of reaching out to customers or individuals using the phone. Traditional practices include so-called “cold calling“, where telemarketers attempt to connect with people for sales purposes. Cold calling often utilizes prepared lists of people, such as phone book directories.

B2B telemarketing is different, and far more advanced, than traditional telemarketing practices. In a typical campaign, experienced telemarketing experts are not making sales calls; rather, they’re connecting with stakeholders to generate quality leads. The team in B2B marketing allows sales personnel to focus on what they do best: to close sales and to drive revenue growth. By funneling sales leads to the sales team through this critical pipeline, conversion improves. Lead generation is efficient and powerful for companies that want to expand their footprint. Ultimately, a B2B lead generation program identifies qualified clients, reinforces the processes of decision-makers, and saves both time and money in unlocking new business opportunities.

What is Lead Generation in B2B Markets?

In simple terms, lead generation is the practice by which marketing experts and the sales team identify individuals most likely to make purchasing decisions. Whether these individuals are consumers, sales prospects, or business partners, qualified leads are what businesses need to succeed. B2B professionals use a broad range of tools and strategies to identify target audiences — those most likely to take the next step in becoming customers. Rather than trying to complete sales through telemarketing, B2B teams are more concerned with providing relevant information to interested individuals; the sales professionals then follow up with tailored sales calls or other communication tools.

Best Methods for B2B Telemarketing Lead Generation

To get the most from lead generation campaigns, B2B professionals rely on numerous strategies as they help their clients achieve success. The experience and skill these telemarketing services professionals need can also vary, depending on the industry niches they work in or the needs of individual clients. Marketing skills are critical, as is the ability to share relevant information with stakeholders. What each B2B lead generation services client needs can differ greatly; flexibility and effective communication skills are some of the most critical aspects of this marketing tool.

Work in this marketing field begins long before the phone rings. Success is dependent on a careful analysis of potential leads. Demographic information and details on related business interests are collected. The team then prepares a list of prospects to call. Unlike traditional telemarketing, the focus is on stakeholders rather than consumers. For example, an insurance carrier may wish to expand its roster of independent agencies or brokerages — and selling insurance products and services to these agencies is not the goal but instead, new partnerships are being forged. Lead generation is not just about sales, but rather about exploring new opportunities.

Best methods for lead generation include:

  • Using remarketing practices in campaign materials.
  • Testing processes and initiatives.
  • Creating opt-in opportunities for stakeholders.
  • Rolling out superior offers by illustrating partnership benefits.
  • Using technologies to more accurately identify those most likely to make critical business decisions.
  • Improving the quality of ads and other marketing materials.

Whether you are seeking one lead for your business growth, or want to have your telemarketing team bring in thousands of quality prospects, this innovative telemarketing approach can provide the tools for success to help you grow your B2B business.

B2B Lead Generation Services

Now that this impactful telemarketing strategy sounds like a viable solution for your business prospects and growth goals, how can you assess the experience and skill of a given lead generation service provider?

The answer consists of several components. First, while it may be helpful if the telemarketing company has previous experience within your given industry, it is more important that they have tenured outsourced sales performers. Set up and specialized training in best practices is also part of this component. The best service providers work closely with clients before the telemarketing campaign begins so set a solid foundation, such as adopting brand guidelines and agreeing on sales goals. If a client has specific needs for its qualified leads, the team will incorporate those into any initiative, long before the first call, the campaign takes shape through this partnership.

Next, budgets are taken into account. Advertising is expensive, and companies naturally want to get the best results for their investments. Through a careful process of identifying both financial and time limits, real results are more cost-effective and impactful than possible with other marketing practices.

Finally, the contact between marketers and stakeholders is critical. The service company knows that in order to help unlock opportunities, pre-written scripts are often inadequate for every potential client. These teams create custom language and materials to reinforce the message before the first marketing call takes place.

While not every business needs this specialized form of client outreach for those industries that want to improve their revenue, their service areas, and their growth, B2B telemarketing represents a powerful tool in their marketing arsenal.

Writing your own copy? Here are 3 things to consider.

Writing your own copy? Here are 3 things to consider.

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

In the competition between quantity vs. quality – quality wins every time.

 “In years past, a copywriter was someone who wrote ad copy to sell a product or service. Today, customers want education, inspiration and satisfaction.” – Neil Patel

 In the 1970s, CBS News reported that the average American saw between 500-1,600 advertisements each day.

Thirty-some years later, the Yankelovich marketing research firm estimated the average person then saw 5,000 ads per day.

In 2017, according to Forbes, the average American was exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements every day. And that number is likely only increasing with the evolution of technology and the passage of time.

What that means as a collective, is that we are becoming savvier about what ads we ignore and screen out of our awareness, and what ads we pay attention to. And our children are even more discerning, at even younger ages than we. We are much pickier about what we will give our attention to.

To capture the attention of your audience, your copy shouldn’t sound just like everyone else’s. We’ve seen it all and are easily bored. You must put in the work to get anything out of your copy.

Clarity is your friend.

 “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” – Dr. Suess

 Your audience has other things to do besides reading advertisements and ad copy.  Before they give you their time to consider your offer, you have to provide them with a reason to read in the first place.

You need to know what you want to say. Good copy uses specific language with clear, concrete details. Your content should have purpose and direction and contain all the critical information required.

Remember that unnecessary words can dilute your message, or worse, lead to confusion. The easier your content is to read, the easier it is to be understood and acted upon.

Authenticity and resonance are kings.

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know.” – Ernest Hemingway

Copywriting is the art of persuasion through the written word, compelling an audience to take action.  Persuasion is mostly a matter of education and building trust. When you write like a robot and use dry, uninteresting content, it’s difficult to build trust.

Nobody enjoys boring, stale content they can’t connect with.  “You don’t get me or my life!” Nor do they enjoy reading material that seems to be written by a machine.

Human beings are naturally wired to desire connection with other humans. No reader can be forced to consume content they don’t want to consume.

Take the time to put humanity, feeling, and personality into your copy. Your copy should add something positive to your audience’s experience, evoke emotions, and create a connection.

It takes experienced copywriters years to master their craft, but you can easily improve your copy by keeping these points in mind as you write.

Call SalesFish today and our high-touch, dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals, and the marketing and sales tactics best suited to your specific needs. And, yes, we will also advise you on the best A.I. tools that actually work and complement the real people in your business!


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
Is Outsourcing Cold Calling Worth It?

Attending To Marketing

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

“The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.” – Seth Godin 

While they do go hand in hand, marketing is not sales, and sales is not marketing. For your business to be successful at making sales, marketing is crucial.

Too often, small businesses focus on the sales aspect of their business but spend inadequate focus and resources on their marketing. They may consider marketing to be an expendable entity, or an afterthought when revenue seems good. With such anemic marketing efforts, businesses that don’t take their marketing seriously can hardly expect to reap many rewards.

Marketing isn’t just key to your business success–it’s a responsibility. It’s a vital vehicle for developing and maintaining long-lasting relationships with your customers. During your busiest times, during your most uncertain times, schedule and keep a regular chunk of time set aside exclusively for studying your audience, discovering opportunities, and future market planning.

What should go into your marketing budget? 

Here are some of the most common marketing expenses (depending on your industry) that you’ll need to include in your business’ marketing budget:

  • Website (design, security, hosting, and maintenance)
  • Newsletters
  • Email marketing services (Aweber, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, ConstantContact, etc.)
  • Social media management services (i.e., companies that manage your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts, etc.)
  • Online advertising (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media ads, Google Adwords, LinkedIn ads, geotargeting, Yelp ads, etc.)
  • Online directories that you pay for (depending on your industry)
  • Network referral memberships, public relations
  • Referral and Affiliate programs (perks or pay offered to customers or affiliates who refer your business)
  • Business cards (including design)
  • Birthday and holiday cards
  • Promotional materials on the business premises (posters, sales signs, educational material, sound system announcements, pamphlets, etc.)
  • Direct mail (postcards, letters, etc. – including design, printing, and postage)
  • Traditional Advertising (including phone books, TV, radio, billboards, etc.)
  • Appointment reminder services
  • Booths at local events, (home shows, open house, art fairs, city events, etc.)
  • Sponsorships
  • Welcome bags or “goodie bags”
  • Branded promotional “swag” (t-shirts, pens, hats, mugs, etc. with your logo or other marketing on it)
  • Raffles, prizes, or giveaways

How much should a small business budget for marketing?

It’s a mistake to base your marketing budget on just whatever is left over once all other business expenses are covered. Instead, the investment should be a percentage of your company’s gross income set aside every month. What the percentage should be can vary depending on the industry.

Both the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Entrepreneur.com agree that companies that have been in business for five years or less need to invest more funds into their marketing budget than established companies that have been in business longer. 10 to 20 percent of your gross (or projected) revenue if you are ramping up a new business and 6 to 12 percent for more established companies. For slim operations, no less than 3 percent is recommended.1

A healthy marketing budget is one that balances short-term and long-term needs. Focus on creating a calculated, focused marketing strategy for your brand that invests your money wisely.

1 U.S. Small Business Administration, 2013. (https://www.sba.gov/taxonomy/term/15051?page=37)

Entrepreneur.com, 2015 (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243790)

Call SalesFish today and our high-touch, dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals, and the marketing and sales tactics best suited to your specific needs. And, yes, we will also advise you on the best A.I. tools that actually work and complement the real people in your business!


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
Create Magnetic Calls To Action Using A Personalized Touch

Create Magnetic Calls To Action Using A Personalized Touch

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

A “Call To Action,” a.k.a. a CTA, is a specific image, element, or phrase on a webpage that guides a visitor to take a specific action.

The purpose of a good CTA is to catch the attention of potential leads and existing customers and guide them towards taking a specific action. Hence the term “call to action.”

If you think of a visitor who is visiting your website as someone who is taking a road trip, the calls to action on your website act as traffic signs along a highway. These signs are there to guide the user to the right onramps and exits that help them to reach their final destination.

Calls to action help the user find their way and navigate through your website, sales funnels, ordering process, etc. by telling them what to do. Most simply, good CTAs provide direction and drive conversions.

Typical calls to action are often recognized as webpage buttons with short quips stating something like “Buy Now,” “Join Now,” “Click Here!” and the like.

However, a good call to action should highlight the benefit that the user will gain by taking action.

A case study cited by Unbounce demonstrated that swapping out a single action verb, “Get information” vs. “Order information,” resulted in a conversion rate increase of an impressive 38.26%. The verb “get” helped users to see how they would benefit, whereas the verb “order” simply gave them a task to complete.

Words mean things, and being selective with your language and vocabulary can make or break the final desired outcome. Strong action verbs are essential to the overall picture.

While short, two-word CTAs can be useful, even sometimes important, they can also be rather nebulous and boring. A website full of only this kind of call to action will get old fast.

The most effective call to action phrases will be more interesting, personalized, and will speak directly to the user. Good CTAs use strong action verbs and give your visitors a reason to take the desired action.

Which would you find more attractive and likely to drive conversion? “Join here,” or something more creative and personal like, “Discover the tribe that has been waiting for you!” A “click here” button, or “Get my playbook if you want to be better at copywriting.” Which one is better at telling the user where they are going and why?

Hopefully, these examples will inspire you to evaluate your current CTAs and start optimizing.

Focus on:

  • Writing compelling, engaging copy
  • Prioritize the action verbs you use
  • And place your CTAs on your website strategically

Following these tips will help motivate your audience to take action.

Call SalesFish today and our high-touch, dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals, and the marketing and sales tactics best suited to your specific needs. And, yes, we will also advise you on the best A.I. tools that actually work and complement the real people in your business!


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
It’s Not About You…

It’s Not About You…

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

“Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.” – Stanley Marcus

What are you focused on? Your benefit, or your customer’s?

Whether business-to-business or business-to-consumer, it’s essential to interact with the real world of your customer. Get to know their challenges. Get to know their prospects. The moment your focus is self-centered is the moment you begin to lose your capacity to serve your customer.

According to a McKinsey survey, 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

Marketing is not just about advertising—It’s about listening to your customer, tuning in to their responses, and developing more profound insights into your client’s behaviors, needs, and aspirations. It’s about finding better ways to help your customer and deliver results.

Keep your friends.

Instead of preparing for what you will sell and what you will say next, pay attention to what your client is saying and be a steward for their ideas. Be conscious of your next encounter. Don’t assume you know best – let your customer tell you.

When you partner with clients to design and deliver the solutions they want, you can nurture a growing relationship with a loyal audience who welcomes your increasing success.

According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, loyal customers are worth, on average, up to 10x as much as their first purchase. Paying attention to your customers’ needs is more than just a feel-good methodology. It has the power to increase customer loyalty and reduce your marketing costs while driving engagement and profits.

Active listening improves strategy and magnifies results.

When you’ve taken the time to get to know your clients better and understand their point of view, you clarify efforts and reap more focused results.

Your marketing efforts must be relevant and up to date. Your audience won’t trust you if you don’t speak their language. Develop a strategic marketing plan, so you don’t waste money advertising the wrong message in the wrong place to the wrong audience.

To improve insights, smart marketers glean from consumer feedback, interactions, and experiences. Excellent listening and observational skills contribute to better quality marketing— and better marketing leads to improved relationships with customers. ­­ 

Serve your people. Solve their problems. 

There are few things more valuable than trust. It’s not enough to just get your product out there: focus on making real connections and developing deeper relationships. Trust takes time to build.  Understanding the needs of your clients will go far to help you create win-win relationships that lead to mutual success.

Call SalesFish today and our high-touch, dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals, and the marketing and sales tactics best suited to your specific needs. And, yes, we will also advise you on the best A.I. tools that actually work and complement the real people in your business!


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
Marketing During Times of Uncertainty

Marketing During Times of Uncertainty

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

 “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you MUST advertise.”
– Association of Business Information Companies 1

Unless you sell facemasks, hand sanitizer, or toilet paper, you may be concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on your small business. During uncertain times, many small companies become discouraged by a sudden drop in revenue and start eyeing their marketing budget to reduce expenses. However, this is precisely what businesses should not do.

If you stop marketing now, you risk becoming invisible.

Businesses need to maintain an image of stability and connection with their customers to survive uncertain times.

McGraw Hill Research’s Laboratory of Advertising Performance (LAP) conducted a study on marketing during recessionary periods. They discovered that firms that maintained or increased their advertising budgets during a recession “could boast an average sales growth of 275 percent over the preceding five years.” 2

It may seem counterintuitive to spend resources on marketing when the world feels in chaos. Still, it has been studied and proven time and again through many national and international events: businesses that continue to market and advertise through tough times, and times of uncertainty, will be stronger than those that don’t.

In fact, businesses that continue to market outpace those that don’t.

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, The Clark Company published this bit of historical advice:

“In the 1920’s advertising executive Roland S. Vaile tracked 200 companies through the recession of 1923. He reported in the April 1927 issue of the Harvard Business Review that the biggest sales increases throughout the period were rung up by companies that advertised the most. After World War II, Buchen Advertising, Inc. decided to plot the sales of a large number of advertisers through successive recessions. In 1947, it began measuring the annual advertising expenditures of each company. When they correlated the figures with sales and profit trends before, during and after the recessions of 1949, 1954, 1958 and 1961, they found that almost without exception sales and profits dropped off at companies that cut back on advertising. Their studies also revealed that after the recessions ended, those companies continued to lag behind the ones that had maintained their advertising budgets.” 3

 Your customers need to hear from you.

Marketing is a crucial investment that should be a continuous part of every business strategy. It may need to pivot and refocus, based on circumstances, but it should never be cut down or worse, cut out.

By not advertising, businesses lose momentum, which is hard to pick up once the downturn passes. Just as wise investing in the stock marketing never involves buying high and selling low, abandoning your marketing efforts when you need them most doesn’t make good business sense.

Be the oak in the storm.

While other businesses will play it safe and hide, strong businesses are bold. Reliable companies display confidence; they know how to be flexible for their customers, and they know how important it is to be seen. As a result, their return on marketing expenditure will be amplified after making their voice heard when many went silent.

“All great enterprises move forward in a recession, and the weaklings move backward.
The dumbbells cut back on advertising. Smart people don’t.” – Ed McCabe, founding partner of Scali, McCabe, Stoves Advertising Agency

 1 American Business Media 2008– “The Importance & Value of B2B Advertising During Times of Economic Uncertainty.”

2 McGraw Hill Research Laboratory of Advertising Performance (LAP), 1985

3 The Clark Company, 2001 (http://www.clarkadspr.com/jobarticles/111501.html)


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
The Key to Dwayne Johnson’s Success

The Key to Dwayne Johnson’s Success

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!

How can you get noticed…by a lot of people?

Ask Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

He currently has about 176 million followers on Instagram alone. That’s more than the combined populations of France, Spain and Italy! If The Rock were a nation, it would be populous indeed!

How has this man become a megastar? How did the troubled son of a family struggling at near poverty become one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved people?

What does Dwayne Johnson do better than anyone else in his league?

There are better actors; bigger, stronger action heroes. Dwayne’s movies and his agents are certainly intrinsic to his success, but what made him surge—in the words of author, Jim Collins—from good to great?

Quite possibly, the number one key to Dwayne’s meteoric rise is not that he says, “Look at me!” but because he says, “Look at me looking at you!” He knows that the love of his fans is the key to his career, and he’s a master at being loveable, approachable, a gentle giant. And he means it—he’s a genuinely caring human being from humble roots, and this inspires him to constantly put his fans into the limelight. He knows where he came from.

It is not hard for people to feel like he’s someone they’d love to hang out with. He’s likable; he’s genuine; he’s us, but with more muscles and “the smolder.”

He has not forgotten his roots, or the people on whose shoulders he rides. In sharing their stories, and relating them to his own, he adds to his own ever-growing popularity as a bigger-than-life symbol of us.

As Roy H. Williams, the “Wizard of Ads” says, “Bad advertising is about you and your product. Good advertising is about your customer and their life.” The same goes for publicity, brand building and everything else about your business.

When you’re planning your brand messaging, avoid the temptation to say, “Look at ME!” Instead, focus the attention on your audience—tell their stories speak to them in terms they can relate to. To GET attention, GIVE attention!

Take it from the Rock himself: “If you check your ego at the door…you’ve got a pretty good shot at making a great movie that you can commit yourself to, you can jump off the proverbial cliff with, and have a great time, and the audiences respond to that.”


Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.

Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.

SalesFish B2B Telemarketing Services

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales