Competitive account C-level appointments: a big win-win!

Jul 29, 2011

"This campaign result raised eyebrows at [our client] because we managed to ‘far exceed goal' on what has always been considered a very tough assignment - getting dialogue started at the C-level of competitive accounts." says John Frantz, president of Frantz Group.

"I see this outcome as a clear example of how appropriately selected, trained and experienced callers, supported by the correct methodology and terrific content, can succeed, even today." John continues. "This reinforces the specialization premise that within ‘telemarketing' assignments, a wide range of approaches, messaging tactics and skills are required in order to be successful in any specific setting. Put another way, the old management misperception that says, ‘If I have a person on the phone, I have all I need!' is short-sighted and will result in missed goals."

Here are the details.

The campaign: a recently completed C-level appointment-setting campaign.

Frantz Group's mission:

Start with a list of 481 companies which were hand picked by our customer's client reps. These are competitor accounts - essentially no presence on the part of our customer.

Make contact with the highest-level IT person at each company.

Walk these ‘CIOs' through a 15 to 20-minute assessment (positioning our client as a thought leader and pre-selling an important C-level study they've just completed by placing prospects into groups according to one of 4 mandates comparable to those used in the study).

Spark enough interest to motivate the CIOs to agree to schedule meetings with sales reps who would then spend more time working through the study's benefits and share additional findings with them. 

Accomplish what you can in 3 weeks.

The hardest part of this job was certainly not positioning our client as a thought leader, and it was not explaining why such a study would be of value to a CIO. The hardest part was - everything else: making cold calls on ‘competitively installed' prospects, establishing trust and rapport with executive assistants, finding their CIOs, walking these CIOs through a fairly lengthy assessment, and, getting them to agree to a further and longer appointment with our client's rep. This type of campaign has always been classified as ‘high degree of difficulty.'

The bottom line: Our client was hoping to net up to 4 leads from this group. Frantz Group delivered 12.

Here's how we ran the campaign.

5 ‘touches' by C-level specialists over 3 weeks; call, email, call, email, call.

Among the reasons for the campaign's success was the use of Frantz Group's proprietary Messaging Matrix, which is essentially our caller's messaging roadmap, both a strategic and tactical tool, and part FG best practices. Other major contributors included our unique C-level caller skill set and our client's high-quality, deliverable summary version of their CIO study.

John's final thoughts: "In some ways, this campaign is not unlike hundreds we've run over the years, but, to me, it's a high water mark. This is because Frantz Group has devoted a lot of brainpower to getting really good at C-level, and this little campaign is a perfect example of what we can do.

"Our approach is intelligent and involves what it takes to earn the right to talk to the C-level. Not trivially, not ‘the way things were' in more generic marketing only a short time ago, when cookie cutter messages worked by default, but tailored to fit the situation; involving research and fact-finding for each target called, and using our own mix of tactics and training.

"The message is, ‘Times are tough, but it is possible to generate leads. You just have to address your client's situation deeply, then assemble your campaign elements with a higher degree of precision.'"

For more information about this campaign or about C-level demand generation at Frantz Group, contact Ken Heun at KenH@thefrantzgroup.com or by phone, at 262-204-6021.

The Frantz Group is a leader in innovative marketing and communications and has extensive experience working with companies to enhance their marketing efforts. With almost two decades in business, The Frantz Group continues to exceed client expectations through the delivery of integrated solutions designed to help companies effectively reach their target audiences, overcome marketing obstacles and increase sales.

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