Sales Leads and Appointments for Accounting, Tax, and Financial Services

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Outsourcing has seen considerable growth and support among Australian businesses as attested by this article by the Australian Financial Review. Among the services experiencing the most growth, accounting and finance are listed along with marketing (which in turn is the category which lead generation falls under). This not only means good news for accounting firms like yours but can also give you better reasons to outsource for accounting leads.

However, there are still questions that remained unanswered such as the common choice between outsourcing to onshore companies versus offshore. This piece of commentary by Kate Southam of The Punch poses just some of these questions.

Discussing this can be quite tricky (as evidenced by the comments on Southam’s column) and if you’re a company with any foreign accounting experience, you’ll know that it involves not only currency but also ethics. For those supporting onshore outsourcing, the reasons do not do much to touch the subject of costs but on the other hand, it focuses on the advantages of generating work for one’s own countrymen and improving the state of the economy. Another, and perhaps, more obvious reason is the geographical proximity. You will have a much easier time visiting and checking up an outsourced company within your own nation’s shores and not go through the hassle of international travel.

Now on the other side, those who are for outsourcing are quick to mention the costs because costs of offshore outsourcing are generally lower. Another popular argument is that despite the low costs, workers in offshore companies are paid salaries that make for quite sustainable incomes in comparison to that of others. No doubt this touches on the controversy regarding the economic states of developing nations but it does go further and say the money sent overseas can help improve conditions.

At this point, the discussion can get a little heated. Kate Southam’s article cites the Australian BPO Report 2012 which in turn refers to Martin Conboy, head of the Australian BPO Association. Conboy himself is counted among those “who believe Australia doesn’t have enough people with the right skills to meet its outsourcing needs on shore.” As to reasons why, career preferences appear to be prominent which might result in onshore companies suffering poorer quality compared to offshore. Further statistics in the article also hit hard on the notions that question the quality of offshore companies.

Meanwhile, those who are opposed to offshoring have cited reasons that are not so much for the betterment of their own nation but out of concern for the welfare of those in developing nations. It’s no doubt that the stereotype of offshore companies suffering exploitation is a popular one. It doesn’t help the pro-offshore side to add that such exploitation is indeed the result of differences in currency as well the poverty plaguing these countries giving rise to desperate job-seekers.

So once again, the subject of outsourcing can also become a matter of currency and ethics when you face the difference between outsourcing offshore or onshore companies. However, it’s a question that you must face with great impartiality. Whether its outsourcing an accounting group in one’s own country or telemarketing services in another, you need to acknowledge the pros and watch out for the cons.

It’s not that surprising that when people think telemarketing, they still assume an invasive and disruptive sales caller. However, like much of public opinion, it’s not entirely accurate. With today’s technology in both communication and data management, the only reason that a telemarketer might call for would be to dispense information. As for the people they will call, it’s only the people who would care to receive it.

For instance, B2B insurance companies often need to stay in constant communication with their current clients and inform them of any changes, updates, or even new offers. However, on the part of the clients, only a select few in an organization would care for this information. Those who say that email blasting gets it across more quickly don’t really wonder if they need to go that far just to deliver a message to one or a few select persons.

But first off, why again would this information be so important? Obviously because insurance is a controversial industry and there are more than a handful of businesses (not to mention labor rights organizations) who scrutinize the policies involving the whos, whats, and hows of insurance packages. Naturally, you’d want to present yourself as reputable and be completely honest with everyone who does business with you.

Believe it or not but maintaining that integrity can be critical for certain B2B lead generation strategies. Particularly, strategies that involve retaining the interest and continued patronage of your clients. Simply put, if you can’t attract new clients, then nurture the relationship you have with your current ones. That will only work though if you’ve established trust and remained honest with them.

Then again, just because you don’t do everything to inform your clients doesn’t mean you do so for underhanded reasons. Business communication takes a lot out of any company’s pocket. In the case of telemarketing, it’s like investing in your very own insurance call center. The costs of office space, equipment, software, and most of all the experience to train them both in proper communication plus knowledge of your own company will consume a lot of time and money.

In such cases, you should try outsourcing. Plenty of companies already outsource for their telemarketing leads, how much more if you’re just outsourcing them to keep the old ones interested? On the other hand, retaining that interest means you need to open yourself to inquiries and keep them informed. Telemarketing isn’t the only industry that’s suffered a blow in reputation. Insurance companies have their fair share of stigmas as well and most of them involve dishonesty with their clients. But just as how telemarketers these days have improved with what has been available, so should you. If you have to outsource, why not?

Take note, there are moments where the economic climate will make attracting all-new clients difficult and it’s during such periods that companies start turning to retaining their current ones to keep work coming in. The sad part is some of the younger ones can neither afford nor have the expertise to do it right by themselves. In your case though, you know it involves not only being upright and honest with your client companies but also informing the right people in charge.

People think that with new, faster, and more automated means of communications, B2B companies like those dealing in finance find themselves with expanded horizons. However, an excess dependence on new technology really does have its negative consequences (cliché they may be). First off though, it’s only fair to cite a few reasons why people prefer contacting and communicating with potential finance leads en masse.

1. It cuts the costs of labor.
2. Covers a wider range.
3. With a wider range, there’s a higher response rate.
4. It’s also a forced alternative when older methods have suffered recent restrictions across the world.

These all sound like good reasons but just how long can the stay good? You’ve cut the cost of labor by just having fewer people receive your clients but your clients now have to wait in a virtual line just to get in touch with a real person. You’ve got a wider range but does that really help when you’re just going to stuff them in a long line? How do you know if those responding are truly genuine? Does it really just take a simple, generic email response to make sure? Finally, no matter how many controversial issues you’ve read about (from the rise of anti-marketing groups in the U.S. to laws restricting telemarketing in Australia, Canada, India and increasingly more places), what makes you think email isn’t without its own stigmas?

Before you realize it, the only thing email blasting got your company is the label of corporate spammer. It’s not very flattering title to have on the internet (especially when internet marketing is all the rage).

That is the result of too much dependence on what’s new and not being open-minded enough to try something else (even if that something else turns out be to allegedly obsolete like telemarketing). Furthermore, perhaps the one reason why people find the use of these new tactics more and more frustrating is that there’s really no conversation going on.

Remember, you’re a B2B business and you need lead generation to not just provide you with opportunities but also information to succeed with those opportunities. Financial management is not something you can discuss over a mere exchange of emails or chat. There’s just so much that you need to cover (from investment and upcoming projects to all the way down to maintenance and payroll). Yes, it’s true that email has its advantages at times but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that you need a real person behind them, not a set of links to your company website.

Speaking of which, not everyone can afford to lose time on just generating leads. If you’re one of those people then email is definitely not recommended because it’s too slow for qualification. Here’s, what you need to do: try attracting prospects with email first but once you get a response, start doing everything to direct them towards calling your firm, and eventually get them an appointment so that you’ll have an entire meeting to have everything covered. Don’t just dump emails on everyone and force them to browse your site. Be active and learn when to start a real conversation!

With internet marketing, even B2B insurance companies can benefit from increased online exposure. Corporate packages are a strictly required staple for any company, big or small. A demand for the service is already a given. Putting up a webpage can come both to your convenience and to the convenience of your prospects who use the internet as a fast means to locate solutions. You can also invest in a bit of email marketing and seemingly replace old direct-response methods like telemarketing.

However, if you think that things will be completely smooth sailing from here on, think again. You’d be surprised at how many obstacles have risen along with the birth of the online frontier. This may sound pessimistic but no matter how new an approach seems to be, it’s not without its own flaws and its own obstacles. On the other hand, that’s doesn’t mean you should discard new methods either. You just have to make sure they don’t make you idle and closed off from different ideas.

Still, what are these supposed obstacles faced by those marketing online? Ironically, these obstacles have strong parallels with that of the previous ones (email marketing in particular). Whereas professional telemarketers used to deal with gatekeepers and voice mail, email marketers find similar situations risking the blockage of spam filters. There’s also the threat of unfeeling programs tracking their activities and labeling them as such. And even if you do manage to engage a prospect, what’s stopping their messages from getting swamped out of the dozen other inquiries you’ll be getting? It’s not surprising to find that people find SMS still slower than a live conversation (be it over the phone or face-to-face).

Exposure on the internet also exposes you to hackers just as much prospects. If they hit your website, your lead generation might suffer from the lack of activity (however brief). You should be prepared to have a back up plan that doesn’t rely on the internet too much.

There’s never room for idleness when it comes to getting B2B leads. Do take note that your prospects aren’t just regular people who need insurance for themselves. It’s for every person of their entire department. Planning for even a small business organization takes time. They need to be contacted, qualified, and then set with an appointment. If your appointment setter is exclusively internet-based, you’ll run into the problems cited above because there’s no other way to inform your prospect (or yourself for that matter).

Cost shouldn’t even be an issue. The issue is not allowing new methods be an excuse to lose vigilance. You don’t even have to invest in two separate methods for it. There are telemarketing companies out there who also know how to use email marketing to their advantage (and vice-versa). If you want to get the whole package without breaking the company piggy bank or just want to focus on you main tasks, then just outsource them. Goodness knows you might not regret that you did (especially if you don’t have a lot of experience knowing how to combine the two methods effectively). Again, don’t let new methods be a cause of idleness!

Outsourced accounting isn’t an entirely new B2B industry. However, with the rise of the internet, it has enabled such companies to gain more exposure in eyes of their target market. This includes you but it also includes your competitors. Have you ever then wondered how they managed to set appointments with so many business prospects more than you despite the fact that you use the same online strategies?

This is even under the assumption that you’re both doing the same thing. Both of you are in a neck in neck race for top search engine rankings. You each have a reputable LinkedIn reputation with over hundreds of connections. You even take time to compile email contact information into a list so as to send them your newsletter.

What are you missing then? Here are some things to consider:

1. Response – Rerhaps when you’re so focused on talking to the prospect, you don’t pay much attention to how they respond to you. One of the most basic mistakes in when generating B2B leads is that you talk too much about yourself and don’t really pay attention to what the prospect is saying. Remember, lead generation is about gathering information first before making sales.
2. Quality – Are the leads you’re generating really of top quality? Even if you somehow managed to generate a lot of online leads, how qualified are they? How much time do you devote into determining their needs?
3. Consideration – Are you considerate about their preferences? Maybe the biggest mistake you’re making is that you’re limiting yourself to only one method of lead generation.

All these three have one thing in common: the qualification process. It doesn’t matter what method you use, if you don’t know how to handle lead qualification well and set up a good filter, then you either won’t generate a lot of leads or the ones that you do always end up dead and dry.

Back then, companies used to generate and qualify sales leads via telemarketing. However, the rise of anti-telemarketing laws in countries like Canada and Australia seems to have intimidated a lot of them into using online methods thinking it would keep them safe. Frankly, such fears are baseless because even today’s telemarketing services are aware of what such laws actually mean. The old ways still work and in fact, these laws are more likely to boost the telemarketing filter than hamper it because it roots out private citizens (the last thing a B2B telemarketer would want to call.)

Going back to the three possible causes above, they can be avoided if you use all means to carefully and thoroughly qualify your leads. This means you need to find out more about your target, meaning less talking about yourself. It means you must be ready to get additional information (like how they would like their accounts handled, when and how they would like their reports etc). Communication with you should be open to all channels (be it online or the phone).

Companies shouldn’t be afraid to explore all means of getting sales opportunities regardless even they’re Canada sales leads or Singapore sales leads. Your options aren’t all that limited but you will limit your chances until you make use of everything to build a strong filter for such leads.