2% might say Yes, but what about the other 98%?

I would argue a 'No' response is as important as a Yes. According to recent research by the DMA, email and telemarketing are the two most effective channels for generating sales leads. So what is the impact of a No via these two marketing tools?

Getting a 'No' via Telemarketing
You will get a No if your proposition isn't relevant, and while this is true in all forms of marketing it is especially negative in telemarketing.

Telemarketing's biggest advantage is its Human Interaction, it's also the biggest weakness. A phone conversation is very personal, get it wrong and it can be intensely annoying.

A No via telemarketing could mean the contact never takes a call from your brand again - even if your new proposition is more relevant.

Getting a 'No' via Email
We're back to relevance again. An irrelevant email will be deleted, or worse, unsubscribed. Current laws stipulate that if someone unsubscribes you cannot email them again - unless you can persuade them to re-subscribe (but not via email, so you will have to use more expensive direct mail, telemarketing, etc).

Take a look at the Table below and see how your prospect list dwindles if just 2% unsubscribe from your monthly newsletter. Down by almost 50% in 3 years.

And the impact of someone repeatedly deleting your brands email? You become regarded as a nuisance, and all your other marketing efforts suffer as a result.

Turning a 'No' into a 'Not Now'
The solution is to turn a No into a Not Now. Relevance is the key to better Lead and Demand Generation, and there are 3 key factors to consider... plus a warning for the future.

1) Great data ensures you connect with the right person
It seems obvious, but not enough time is spent on getting the right data. Some marketing execs find data boring, and sales execs struggle to keep it up to date.

But great data ensures you are contacting the right person. At a basic level it can deliver prospects with Authority (their Job Title?) and a little effort will identify if they have Need (a requirement for relevance). Both are the foundation for BANT* qualified sales leads.

2) Predictive marketing further qualifies Need
Predictive marketing uses Big Data techniques to identify companies that are displaying the right buying behaviour. Based on the previous activity of your existing customers it can identify similar behaviour patterns.

This supplements any Need data you may have obtained elsewhere and further ensures your message is relevant.

3) Original content will increase the Yes vote
The final part of BANT qualification is to discover if the prospect has Budget and Timescale. This can take time and so you may get a 'Not Now' response. You need to maintain contact until the prospect is ready to buy. This is where content marketing steps in.

OK, so your content is relevant, but if it's just a repeat of articles people have seen elsewhere you will eventually get a No. Typically, they will unsubscribe from your newsletter.

Make sure you produce original content based on subjective facts rather than objective gut feeling or anecdotal evidence. Conduct your own research and don't regurgitate the ideas of other people. Become a thought leader, not follower.

WARNING - The new EU Data law will make opt-in essential and limit the profiling of prospects
More details about the EU Data Protection Regulation are in an article I wrote titled 'How the EU plans to kill direct marketing'.

Good marketing should get a Yes and at worst get a Not Now. Only bad marketing gets a No. If you've ever met me you'll know that one of my favourite sayings is...

It's not just about the 2% that say Yes, it's also about the 98% that say No.

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* BANT = Budget, Authority, Need and Timescale; the four requirements of a fully qualified sales lead.