Telemarketing; Good business decision, or evil?
Now that Advice Network is launched, marketing has taken a front seat in my attention. I spend almost all of my time wondering how to get the word out there about Advice Network without spending every penny I have AND without compromising my values.
I’m investigating telemarketing this week, but not without serious trepidation.
The numbers look good promising, from a pure return on investment. It costs about $1,000 to have 30 to 50 hours of calling. The way I look at those numbers, if I offer a 50% discount on the $50 setup fee. (Please don’t be jealous; To my loyal readers, I offer you a 99.98% discount on the setup fee, right here and right now. If you are reading this and want to register as a deluxe vendor on Advice Network, use the coupon blogreader to get $49.99 off your $50 setup fee. Please note, coupon expires on my birthday, August 31 2008) Where was I? Oh yes, if I offer a 50% discount on the setup fee, and they get 22 people to sign up as deluxe vendors, then I break even on the campaign, and in month 2, I can start investing in PPC to get leads to those vendors.
Everyone wins! The vendors get a great placement on the directory, they get leads, they get business. Users of Advice Network get matched with vendors, their lives are easier, and Advice Network will (gasp) make money. Win win win.
The downside? I hate receiving telemarketing calls. Tom Mabe is one of my heroes.
Sigh.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this one. Please email me or comment and let me know what you think.
