When it Comes to Choosing a List Services Company, a Little Research Goes a Long Way

There are very few purchases you make without doing some comparison shopping. After all, smart shoppers want to know they are getting the best value for their money. They also want to take some time to investigate all their options.

GoLeads believes that when you compare our products and services to those of the competition, you will be impressed with what we have to offer. That’s why we don’t mind when potential customers take the time to look around.

At Goleads, we know that generating sales leads is an ongoing task for any business. There are countless ways to generate leads. These include things like attending meet-and-greets, setting up a booth at tradeshows, and staying active on social media.

However, when it comes to generating leads, you can always being doing more. That’s why the tried-and-true method of partnering with a list services company for new business leads is an important way to ensure that you are never short on prospects.

One of the most important ways a list services company can help you to refine and perfect your lead generation efforts is by allowing you to selectively target prospects by narrowing those prospects down by the specific perimeters you choose. Need prospects close to your headquarters? Want to get in touch with CEOs? Looking for nonprofits? No matter what you are looking for, a list services company can help you find it.

If you have decided that a list services company is the right decision for your business, the next step is to find the list services company that meets your specific needs. It may take some time to find the right match but it is definitely well worth the effort if you want the highest quality leads.

The best way to find the right list services company is to do some old-fashioned comparison shopping. By obtaining lists from companies you are considering hiring, you can quickly discern which company is best for you by trying out their lists and then answering a few questions:

  1. Do the leads match the criteria provided?
  2. Are the leads interested in what I am selling?
  3. Is the information up-to-date or will I spend a lot of time chasing down information that is missing or incorrect?
  4. What is the overall response rate of the leads?
  5. Does the amount I am paying per qualified sales lead make good financial sense?

Once you have answered these questions, you should have a good idea of what list services company is right for you. While comparing list companies might take some extra time, it is well worth the effort. Remember, high quality sales leads are the key to the success of your business.

Nearly 100 million U.S. Smart Phone Users

With nearly 100 million U.S. smartphone users, you should have a mobile app for your business. If you don’t use mobile applications as part of your social marketing, you’re missing thousands, if not millions of potential customers. Look at these stats:

More interesting stats about mobile phone usage:

Mobile Stats

  • 98% of iPhone users use the data features of their phone, 88% use their iPhone to surf the internet and 75% download apps. Source: The Neilson Company
  • 60% of iPhone users access the internet at least once a day. Source: Rubicon Consulting Research
  • The App Store is popular among iPhone owners, with 55.6% accessing news and information via a downloaded application, compared with 22.1% of smartphone owners, and 6.3% of all mobile phone users. Source: Comscore
  • Smartphones are used everywhere: 95% – “downtime”; 82% – at work; 81% – shopping; 80% – at home; 65% – commuting to work. Source: Questus
  • 37 percent of smartphone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past 6 months. Source: Compete’s Smartphone Intelligence Survey 2009
  • 50% of iPhone users are under thirty, and 15% are students. Source Rubicon Research Consulting
  • The largest age group of iPhone users is 35-54 who account for 36% of all users, followed by 25-34 at 29%. Source: The Neilson Company
  • 75% of UK iPhone users are males, mostly between the ages of 18-44. That figure is slightly up from UK smartphone ownership demographics, which suggests males comprise 65 per cent of owners. Source: Comscore The Neilson Company has revealed that 5% of iPhone owners are between 13 and 17 years old. Source: The Neilson Company
  • By mid-January 2010, three billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s app store alone. Source: Apple
  • Apps that break the top 50 are generally downloaded over 10,000 times daily. Source: AdMob
  • Mobile Analytics firm Flurry suggests an app ranked in the top five is downloaded more than 50,000 times a day. Source: imediaconnection.com
  • In the US, mobile marketing budgets leapt by 26% in 2009, in contrast to a reduction of 70% in overall marketing spend. Source: MMF Panel.

Get in the hands of your prospects. Get a mobile application!

Hire Professionals to Write Online Content

content-marketing

Inbound marketers know it’s all about content marketing. This is what gets you noticed online-content, SEO work, content and more content! But knowing this doesn’t mean anything unless you’re providing consistent, quality, custom content. As a business owner, or inbound marketing leader, do you really have what it takes to provide exceptional content that makes your phones ring? Can you engage your audience; entice them to come to you? Can you influence buying decisions with your SEO and social media prowess? Were you an English or journalism major? If you answered with even one “no,” hire professionals to write online content.

  • Professional writers know how to present fresh content. Inbound marketing teams may have good concepts, but professional writers know how to execute them online with engaging content, proper grammar, SEO infused sentences and interesting ideas. Business owners know their products and services, but professional writers know how to discuss them.
  • Custom content for the Internet is created for specific audiences. Professional writers know how to speak to each market. They understand the audience and create quality content marketing pieces for each group.
  • Professional writers thrive on deadlines! Inbound marketers understand the importance of maintaining a schedule, but do their jobs depend on following it down to the minute? Most professional writers are driven to get the “story” in before deadline-it’s in their nature, training and vocation. Professional writers get online content out on a timeline, not when “they can get to it.”
  • Inbound marketing teams often have several products/services they’re marketing. Instead of using insider’s technical jargon (which often happens when they are used to produce online content) professional writers are adept at research and turning their findings into useable, teachable language the masses appreciate and understand. Professional writers “speak” to their audience.
  • Professional writers are just that-professional writers. They are trained to write well. They understand the language and how to effectively share a thought with written words. Professional writers create quality content, enjoyable posts and concise thoughts.

If you don’t have a professional writer on staff, use a business that does! GoLeads uses a team of professional writers to create their online content and lead inbound marketing efforts. GoLeads Plus also provides the services of professional writers to all its users.

Call today to find out more: 402-334-1824 or visit the website at http://www.goleadsplus.com/.
 

4 Tips to Get your Call Returned

Telemarketing is a part of many businesses. Most companies make outbound calls, receive inbound calls and hope to close the sale with these. Unfortunately, most callsthat result in left messages do not get returned. Koka Sexton, Director of Social Strategy at InsideView, is one of the most recognized social experts in the technology industry, said, “92% of executives you try to contact will not return your phone call. You should already know why, unless you have an amazing reason for them to listen to your message, they will delete it in the first 5 seconds. If you don’t give them a compelling reason to spend the time to call you back then you get forgotten about.” Make good uses of your telemarketing time and your phone call return rate should improve.
  • Use your contacts: You work hard to build your business connections. Whether you use telemarketing to reach your contacts’ firms or not, ask them to introduce you or provide a reference to the company you do make outbound calls to. Again, Sexton has some proof-positive information regarding this: “84% of the people you try to connect with leveraging an existing connection will respond.”
  • Know who you make your outbound calls to: Whoever your call reaches is a person, not just another phone number. Check their names and look them up on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Google +. You’ll find valuable information that will provide good insights on how to best to approach them.
  • Give a head’s up: Send a simple introductory email to your prospects. Sexton uses this as an example: “I’d like to introduce myself. I’ve noticed your company has been actively growing the size of your widget factory and I’d like t know if I can help with anything.” Let your telemarketing prospect know you’ll be calling within a few days, and be sure to follow up.
  • Talk up your prospect: After you’ve done your homework and you know a bit about your prospect, structure the first call around them. Focus the outbound call on them and their company, sliding a sales pitch in covertly. Focusing on your lead keeps them engaged and willing to listen to more. Use this time to share how your services/products have helped companies similar to theirs. Make your telemarketing call relevant to them.
Telemarketing is effective, but most times leaving a message does not result in an inbound call back. Use these tips to make the most out of your telemarketing and see your callback rates rise.

The Changing World Of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Just when you think you have figured out how best to leverage search engine optimization (SEO) to effectively promote your business and website, Google changes things up. Last month, marketers began to notice changes in Google’s algorithms but no one expected anyone at Google to comment on these changes. And then, uncharacteristically, they did.

Google tells us that changes have been made to its primary algorithm which measures quality content. These changes are related to how often content is shared across social media channels, as well as the amount of time visitors spend on a website. The following article spells out these changes in more detail: http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2409919/has-google-turned-up-social-signals-as-a-ranking-factor

Change can be frightening, especially when your business and livelihood are on the line. While there is no reason to panic, the changes Google has put in place are an important reminder of why it is crucial to have a solid SEO strategy in place. A strategy that is focused not only on sustaining your current SEO ranking but on increasing it, as well. Your SEO strategy also should ensure that you avoid penalties that lead to poor rankings. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246371?ctp=BizDev&src=Syndication&msc=FoxNews

We’ve known for quite some time that mobile websites are vital to a company’s success. With more and more people accessing the internet from their mobile devices, companies without mobile apps are seriously lagging behind the competition. And with new changes to the Google algorithm, a mobile friendly website is more important than ever. http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2402354/mobile-optimization-and-the-google-algorithm-change-7-steps-to-stay-friendly

Running a successful business can take up a great deal of your time and energy. When you have the added pressure of keeping up with SEO changes, producing quality content, and constantly updating your social media sites, you may be wondering how you can possibly do it all. At GoLeads, we’re here to help. We can provide you with the guidance and support you need to make sure that your business takes advantage of the changes in SEO, including its emphasis on mobile apps and social media. All while leaving you free to concentrate on your core business.