Business Bankers – Appointment Setting Services

Goal – To generate a steady flow of “new business” appointments targeting companies with revenues from $2.5M to $10M.

Background – In the fall of 2014, we developed an appointment setting campaign for a regional bank that has 80+ branch locations inside of three major metropolitan areas – their goal was to generate a steady flow of “new business” meetings and to test appointment setting as the method to create increased sales activity. Over 20 business bankers were to participate in the program.

Preparation –
1st – We wrote a message for the telemarketers that professionally represented the bank. The call strategy was low-key and focused on asking decision makers about their current banking relationships and probed into upcoming bank needs.
2nd – Dunlap Marketing built a specific prospect database around companies that produced annualized revenues ranging from $2.5M to $10M inside specific industry classification, targeting headquarter or single location facilities. Once the database was built, we suppressed existing bank customers from the list.
3rd – Internal processes were setup for scheduling appointments and distributing them to the appropriate bankers. CRM applications were built to properly track and manage sales activity. Bankers were held accountable to report on the outcome of every appointment assigned to them.
4th – Kickoff meetings were conducted in all three markets to assure that the calling staff and business bankers were all working in unison with messaging and proper qualification requirements for each appointment set.
5th – Implementation of the calling campaign started and a few days later, appointments were being delivered to the bankers, and steady flow was established and maintained month over month.
6th – Management review meetings were held monthly between the bank and Dunlap Marketing to assess the campaign and modifications were made as necessary to meet bank goals.

Actual Results – 379 appointments were scheduled for the business bankers – after the first meetings occurred, bankers reported:
o 64 of the 379 were considered “immediate opportunities” and
o 138 of the 379 were “interested, requiring follow up steps”
o Significant sales momentum was established that carries into 2015

Because of these sales results, Dunlap Marketing was awarded an agreement to continue appointment setting services throughout 2015.

Summary – The opportunity to significantly increase new business growth is high for our bank clients and the risk is very low. Our pricing is built around a performance-based model; therefore you pay for the appointments we set. Additionally, Dunlap Marketing prides itself on presenting a very professional image to prospecting. Our services are intended to complement business development activities already in place with bankers.

These services are not for every bank – a 15 minute conversation should be sufficient in determining if Dunlap Marketing can become an asset to your business growth in 2015. Please let us know if you have interest in a brief conversation.

Contact Information:
Mike Dunlap
Phone: (877) 386-6275 or (281) 496-9870 ext. 140
Email: miked@dunlapmarketing.com

Interview #1 with a bank client – click here

Interview #2 with a bank client – click here

 

Your high-turnover company needs 12 new hires to complete an urgent project. If qualified candidates aren’t found, the company could face lost revenue, and damaged client relationships. In order to meet a quick time frame, this company turned to an outsourced telemarketing company to help with initial applicant screening.

“We take pride in responding to client challenges and delivering solid results to them, this is what motivates clients to rehire us over and over,” says Mike Dunlap, the owner of Dunlap Marketing. The company had an urgent need to quickly hire 12 qualified laborers to help staff new crews “We got the phone call and quickly sprang into action. Over the course of two detailed phone discussions, we developed a very specific game plan, gained client approval and began implementation, all inside of two days,” states Mike.

The game plan consisted of two separate parts. The first was setting a group interview date at the client office; the second was reviewing and vetting over 100 potential candidates. Once a foundation of candidates had been gathered, Mike’s recruiters, cross trained in telemarketing, started calling each candidate to qualify them. This process included asking nine qualifying questions specific to job history and capabilities to perform the new job.

If candidates met the requirements, Dunlap Marketing emailed them an application. In the email, the candidate was given a few vital pieces of information: instructions on how to return the completed application, encouragement to complete/return it as soon as possible, and an outline of job duties and contact information. During this period, inbound call activity became heavy as voice mail messages were being responded to and applicants calling with questions.

In the course of six quick days, the field was narrowed down to the top 20 candidates, all of which had returned a completed application. These 20 were then invited to the group interview the following week. Sixteen out of the 20 candidates showed up for the interview, and according to the client, all 16 were well qualified. Following a group presentation, each went through individual interviews and ultimately 12 were selected and offered full time jobs. All 12 candidates accepted the job offer.

What does it take to go from zero to 12 necessary new hires in 10 days? It takes a team who has the experience, desire, and the ability to respond immediately to a client need. Virtually no time was required of the client human resources department until new hire packets were distributed to the 12 employees.

Overview of Client – This is a customer who started using our services in March of 1996. We initially supported their Texas region and then expanded to support all seven regions around the country. The interview was conducted with the General Sales Manager of the Texas region.



Interview


What specific services(s) does Dunlap Marketing provide for you?

• Outbound calling campaigns on our existing lead database
• Event calling for specific sales event
• Research into our existing database


What was your business challenge or need that motivated you to seek the services of Dunlap Marketing?

• We had more leads coming in than we could service
• We had older leads that we were no longer actively working
• We had events scheduled that we needed a large volume of contact calls over a short period of time
• We had questions we wanted asked by a non-biased third party

Why did you outsource these activities to Dunlap Marketing?

They were professional, credible and affordable.




What results did you expect to receive from Dunlap Marketing?

Increased sales and revenue!


Have you achieved these results? Absolutely!

How do these results impact your company / revenue and profitability?

Dunlap has helped us achieve Division of the Year for Anthony & Sylvan Pools 3 of the past 4 years.

What do you feel are the strengths of Dunlap Marketing?

They really work hard to understand our business and to implement scripts and programs that match up well to our potential customers.

Why did you select Dunlap Marketing to serve your needs?

I spoke with 3-4 vendors and they were the ones who really wanted to understand our needs before quoting us their services. They were also priced well (in the middle) of the other vendors we spoke with.

How well does the Dunlap Marketing team work with your staff?

They have responded to all our requests and have customized reporting, work product, and follow through to our needs.


Describe the level of professionalism you experience with the Dunlap Marketing staff?

Absolutely the highest and every member of the Dunlap Marketing team performs professionally with our customers and our staff.

Do you believe potential customers were able to distinguish any important differences between Dunlap Marketing personnel and your organization?

No, the conversation with our customers and potential customers have been seamless to the customer. The Dunlap staff act as an extension of our own personnel.

What impact has there been with your business productivity/efficiency as a result of using Dunlap Marketing services?

We were able to handle three divisions worth of leads and prospects this year with no increase in staff or significant overhead thanks to Dunlap.


How did Dunlap Marketing assist in each of the following areas during the development and implementation of your campaign?

• Database development – N/A, we provide them to Dunlap.
• Scripting and call strategy preparation – Dunlap worked hand in hand with us again this year to develop scripts and promotions for our call campaigns.
• Staff orientation and training – We did this in the early years but Dunlap takes the lead roll in preparing their staff for our calls.
• Early stage remote monitoring and coaching – We have not taken advantage of remote monitoring this year but we continued with occasional site visits here in Houston.
• Reports and delivery of ongoing results – Reports were delivered in a timely, accurate and easy to understand format and we occasionally asked for a different “slice” of the calling data. Those were always provided as requested.
• Importance of your project manager – As I stated, the project manager and all the staff at Dunlap Marketing are top notch professionals.