Perfect Pitch become members of the Direct Marketing Association Following continued growth Perfect Pitch are proud to announce their membership of the DMA, whose expertise will help us with marketing compliance and data management for both our UK and International campaigns. Who are the DMA? “We’ve been leading the way in direct marketing and helping the industry do better business since 1992. At the heart of what we do are our members. There are more than 1,000 of them across the UK, including agencies, list brokers and mailing houses, as well as blue-chip corporations such as BT, Sainsbury’s and Lloyds TSB.” Policy and practice are driven by our 12 Councils, which specialise in areas such as training and development, lobbying and business services. They are supported by our 45-strong Central London administration plus teams in Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester. We’re also a member of the International Federation of Direct Marketing Associations (FDMA) and the Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA).
Perfect Pitch Wins At Toast Of Surrey Business Awards 2014 We are proud to announce that Perfect Pitch has won its class at the Toast of Surrey Awards 2014! We were crowned first in the “Companies with a Turnover up to £1 million” category. The full list of winners: · Apprenticeship Scheme of the Year – Peer Productions · Companies with a Turnover over £5 million – Innovate Services · Companies with a Turnover up to £5 million – Gold-i · Companies with a Turnover up to £1 million – Perfect Pitch · Creative Industries Award – Countrywide Telecoms · Director of the Year – Tom Higgins (Gold-i) · International Trade – Vision Engineering Ltd · Mental Health and Wellbeing – MMVSENSE Ltd · Social Enterprise Award – ARTHOUSE Meath · Young Business of the Year (trading less than 12 months) – Nutriment Ltd You can read the full article here: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/business/toast-surrey-business-awards-2014-6831215
Perfect Pitch’s Second Nomination in Toast of Surrey Awards – Surrey Ad Article Surrey Ad covered the news that Perfect Pitch has received its second nomination for a Toast of Surrey award. Read it below. Toast of Surrey nominee: Perfect Pitch By Andre Langlois February 18, 2013 A GODALMING telemarketing company has broken into new markets, using trained actors and experienced business people. Perfect Pitch has been shortlisted in both the Turnover up to £1m and Creative Industries categories in this year’s Toast of Surrey Awards. Around a third of the firm’s business is now for American companies and it has contacts all over the world, from Japan to Mexico to Germany. Career salesman Nigel Blake started the company as a one-man operation in 2009 and now has a 21-seat office. “British accents are very popular and can be a good way of opening the door,” he observed. “Our job is to get our clients in front of the people they want to deal with, and the rest is up to them.” Perfect Pitch works solely in business-to-business telemarketing, employing people who wish to supplement other incomes. About 60% of the staff are performers – including actors, a comedian, a radio DJ, a singer and dancers. “It gives them some commercial experience,” said Mr Blake. “They are doing about three or four days a week and that is better than doing day after day. “We are not a call centre. We are a proactive company, expecting them to engage their brain.” The rest of the callers are generally older and have experience in a number of fields, ranging from a former Daily Telegraph journalist to an aromatherapist. Mr Blake said: “They are seasoned commercial people of a certain age and they bring something different. “Often you need to speak to senior management so you need people with that experience. We have got a really good resource.” Most of Perfect Pitch’s business comes from referrals. Clients include professional services firms, lawyers, and software firms. Want to find out more?
International Telemarketing Perfect Pitch is pleased to announce the continued growth of its International Telemarketing division. At Perfect Pitch we offer a range of multi-lingual telephone marketing services to increase the coverage of our client’s campaigns into new and existing markets without the overheads of a new country structure. Our international telemarketing agents are true telemarketing professionals. Not only do they have the language capability to hold structured business conversations with your prospective clients but each telemarketer understand the business culture of their target country and what it takes to be successful in that region. We have an extensive pool of experienced telemarketers that all have customer service or sales experience. Due to the fact that we have a diverse range of individuals with experience across a whole host of sectors; we are able to select the most appropriate telemarketer with the best experience for your campaign. We continually top up and add to the pool of telemarketers. All applicants are pre-screened and their language skills are validated through a language test to ascertain competency. Most telemarketers are native speakers but are fluent in other languages. Once approved and ready for work, we undertake a full induction programme briefing the telemarketer on the given client including the project, what needs to be achieved and confirm the outcomes required. We cover all European languages including: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Greek and Turkish. We can also cover Non-European languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and areas including the Americas and Africa. Our typical day would include seven hours calling with a minimum of 70+ calls, CRM management and call reporting. Our hours are flexible to be in tune with the country called, working 24/7 and weekends if requested. Calls are also able to be recorded and made available for training and audit if requested. The sales process and ownership of the lead can be managed according to the clients needs starting with a basic information request through to a fixed meeting or presentation between you and the prospect. In summary, international telemarketing should be no different to UK telemarketing. It is not enough to be able to speak the language but all about the results and that critical ROI. Read testimonals here.
Perfect Pitch Proudly Presents: Perfect Presentation At Perfect Pitch we’re pleased to announce a new service, Perfect Presentation. A trademark we’re very proud of is that most of our telemarketers are or have been actors at one point in their career. Using this to our advantage we are introducing a new service which gives our clients the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with a trained actor, refining their presentation skills. Here is a case study of our most recent Perfect Presentation session. For more information please get in touch with Nigel Blake here.
Izzie Reports on Her Part in the Olympic Ceremonies Campaign Manager Izzie Radley was lucky enough to experience both Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies first hand. Here she reports on her part as Placard Bearer and Flag Escort for Dominica OPENING CEREMONY 27/07/12 I was about to step out into a stadium full of 80,000 people and a mind boggling television audience of two billion people, almost a third of the world’s population. I felt every emotion there is to feel including absolute terror but I would not have missed it for the world. It was the most incredible experience of my life. After sixty nine hours of rehearsals, I found myself standing next to athlete and flag bearer Erison Hurtault. I was wearing a dress with hundreds of faces on, surrounded by the first 70 of 204 hyped up girls, all fellow placard bearers, with 70 10-12 year olds “petal children” and all the athletes from countries A-E; waiting to be cued to lead out Dominica in the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. That moment when I stepped out of the vom [large entrance] into the stadium is something I’ll never forget. It was equally one of the most overwhelming and terrifying experiences I’ve ever had. With 80,000 audience members and an estimated 2 billion watching on screens across the world, the only thing I could think about was not tripping up! Can you imagine being the one girl to ruin the whole ceremony in front of the entire WORLD because you couldn’t do the simplest of tasks as walking? Speaking to the girls before and after, I think we all went through the same things. In the two minutes of being escorted from our dressing rooms in the stadium (underneath the Queen’s Royal Box, no less) to our entrance, I experienced every emotion shoot through me – from excitement to sheer terror. At one point Louise (leading out Djibouti) and I were so close to tears we had to go as far as separating ourselves simply to calm down and regain our composure. We couldn’t after all ruin our make-up, a worry which was stressful enough in itself!! We were the only segment in the stadium to have the privilege of being able to watch the ceremony live from the doors of our dressing room. Being able to see out to the stadium we saw most performances, from Pandemonium (Industrial Revolution) to Second To The Right And Straight On Till Morning (NHS Workers) and we got to see this incredible spectacle four times, during three dress rehearsals and one real thing! Brushing shoulders with the likes of Danny Boyle – who made a point coming to every rehearsal for support, Dizzee Rascal – who passed through our dressing room after his performances and The Arctic Monkeys – who during the final tech on the day of the ceremony gave a private concert to the early arrivals – has just added to our experience. We are also one of the only segments to be lucky enough to be appearing in the Closing Ceremony too. The Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium has become like a second home to the girls, spending the best part of two weeks there – we have had to remind ourselves several times just how lucky we are to be in such a position. CLOSING CEREMONY 12/08/12 And so it’s all over! I can’t really believe The Games have finished and my Olympic experience is at an end. After the Opening Ceremony, came three more seven hour rehearsals for what was to be the second of two of the greatest shows on earth. The Closing Ceremony was much more of a celebration and rightly so. The atmosphere was electric in the stadium and in the dressing rooms. It was very different to the Opening Ceremony but not particularly in a bad way… just different. We arrived at the stadium at 10am on Sunday morning and after two hours in hair and make-up I had begun the transformation into one of the 205 flag escorts who would be walking out to a full stadium for the last time accompanying the top athletes from each country. Close-up we looked ridiculous with over the top make-up and scraped back hair, held in place by a diamante decorated cable tie – which was so painful I went through half a packet of Ibuprofen during the day! We were reassured however, that it would look fine from the distance of the stadium and would look good on television. I am still not entirely convinced but it was an experience nonetheless! For this ceremony, our dressing room was right next to the VIP dressing room, which meant we brushed shoulders with more or less all the celebs that were featured during the show. It was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had and probably will ever have! From David Beckham, visiting Posh to the beautiful Annie Lennox, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. At one point Harry and Louis from One Direction were standing right by us and I had no idea. Even when pointed out I was clueless but the volunteer child cast seemed very excited by it all! Walking out of the vom [large entrance to the arena] for the last time on Sunday evening caused another rollercoaster of emotions. This time for different reasons. It was exciting, nerve-wracking but also a little sad. The Olympics and the Ceremonies were a big part of my life for nine months and I can easily say the best part between July & August. I’ve been lucky enough to not only be a part of the two best shows on earth but see three different events live – including Usain Bolt’s stunning 200m final. As I stood facing the crowd listening to Elbow perform ‘One Day’, standing behind my athlete Luan Gabriel, it not only hit me what I’d been a part of but it equally hit me that it was now over and I’d have to go back to everyday life without having the buzz of the Olympic Games in the air. 2012 has been a massive year for the UK and I hope we can all create and maintain the desired legacy. It truly has been a stunning Olympic Games and we should all be very proud to be British! I know I certainly am.
Interview with BBC Surrey Nigel Blake, MD of Perfect Pitch Consultancy, talks to BBC Surrey about running a successful telemarketing consultancy in the current climate. Click the video to have a listen—————->
Ten Tips for Successful Telemarketing Campaigns Nigel Blake, MD of Perfect Pitch Consultancy, shares his ten tips for highly successful telemarketing campaigns. Be clear about your audience – The clearer you can be about your target audience and their needs; the more your campaign is likely to impress them. Technology can help you filter data (e.g. via location, industry, company size, turnover, number of employees, job titles) and enable you to tailor your message to your target audience. Assemble all the information you need – Try and get all the information about your audience before the campaign begins. You might need to use several communications to gain their attention e.g. posted communications, emails and calls. So ensure you have all the relevant details to facilitate these and always clean your data ahead of a campaign. This is usually a small price to pay to target the right person in the organisation. No one likes to deal with an organisation who spells their name or job title incorrectly and you don’t want to be paying telemarketers just to contact the wrong people. Double-check your message – Test how clear your message will be to your audience and how well it resonates with their situation and needs. Consider running a test campaign to a small sample of the audience and then tweak the message if necessary to secure a higher take-up. Alternatively, try out the message or offer on some existing customers in a similar position/sector and get their feedback. To outsource or not to outsource – If you are looking to outsource your telemarketing, be careful how much you invest in your supplier before they prove themselves. Consider how determined they are for the campaign to work and suggest operating initially on a trial basis. Whilst results are never instant, the trial should guide you on the working relationship and how it might develop. Also ask to speak to their clients and get examples of their track record. Financing the campaign – Paying a telemarketing agency a flat hourly rate can encourage complacency and disappointing results. Consider a reduced hourly rate but one which is topped up with commission and based on specific successes or the achievement of key performance indicators. Be clear about success – Be sure to define what these key performance indicators are. You probably want meetings set up with the right kind of decision maker – who has a need and has assigned the right length of time for the session. Articulate the types of meetings you want the campaign to produce; otherwise you’ll receive many opportunities to drop off brochures in the customer’s reception or ‘cup of coffee sessions’ that rarely generate business in the short-term. Quality or Quantity – Targeting your telemarketing company to make a large volume of calls isn’t always the best way to win business. Ideally, you should set your sights on one qualified appointment per hour rather than 30 calls that result in 30 people saying no in the same timeframe. What will your company sound like – Compare the demographics and profile of your target market and who will be making the calls as they will need to empathise with the customer to impress them. This will be easier if the telemarketer is able to relate via their own age, experience, personality, etc. so always meet and speak with the people conducting the telemarketing on your behalf then ask whether you’d buy from them. Remember they represent your company. Get your infrastructure in place – Don’t forget to have your website ready for all the new visitors and have necessary staff and infrastructure in place to manage the increased demand the campaign will generate. Momentum – Results always improve over time and a sales pipeline will to grow if you maintain the momentum of your telemarketing campaign. Do try and avoid a stop start approach, this will only bring you bouts of business feast and famine. http://rcrpartnership.com/rcr-blog/articles
Perfect Pitch feature in the Surrey Ad Perfect Pitch Consultancy, the Godalming based firm, says it has gone from strength to strength after employing actors and actresses to make sales calls on behalf of clients. Managing Director Nigel Blake set up the business just nine months ago and in that short space of time has generated significant leads for businesses in a wide range of sectors including logistics, IT, energy management, estate agency, design, print, marketing and financial services. “I wanted to offer a flexible and cost-effective service to clients, enabling them to turn their sales tap on and off depending on their needs, an approach which they cannot take if they have a full-time sales employee”, he said. “I began my career in telemarketing and saw the detrimental effect of employing unmotivated students or temporary workers to sell a range of products and services in a call centre environment.” Perfect Pitch’s success is linked to the number of appointments it sets up, based on the qualifying criteria defined by the client and with his troupe of actors; he has been able to exceed industry averages. One client achieved an average of one to two bookings per day through their previous sales agency. The Perfect Pitch team arranged four to five per day. Jonathan Griffiths is one of the actors in the Perfect Pitch team. He has appeared in a number of commercials and music videos as well as theatre performances, ranging from pantomime to Shakespeare. He is about to start filming as the boyfriend of Girls Aloud star, Sarah Harding for a UK feature film called Gridiron UK. He said: “When we are making a sales call, we are essentially playing a character. We are able to speak to a CEO of a big corporation just as easily as a facilities manager in a factory. We have practised our improvisation skills for years and are also used to dealing politely with rejection whilst being determined to succeed.” Mr Blake added: “Our strategy to use actors is also leading to wider opportunities for us. One of our clients asked if Jon would be the compere for the day at the Godalming Food Festival. He was delighted to be able to take on this role and it was fantastic for Perfect Pitch to support the local community in this way.”
Heat Business Club in Perfect Hands! Nigel Blake, Director of Perfect Pitch Consultancy and Jaz Blake, Director of Perfect PA have taken over the reins of running the Heat Business Club – a business club which involves sponsorship, community support and inter-trading. The husband and wife team are picking up the mantle from Kate Lester, Managing Director of Diamond Logistics, who founded and headed up the Heat Business Club last year and has now been promoted to the Guildford Heat’s Head of Sales and Marketing. Nigel Blake commented, “The Heat Business Club has already proved to be extremely effective as an inter-trading club, with thousands of pounds worth of business being secured by members. We intend to add more value to our members this year, particularly with enhanced branding opportunities. For example, Sky will be filming a number of the Heat games at Surrey Sports Park and this presents a great opportunity for national TV coverage for Guildford Heat sponsors. “Our sponsorship enables the Heat to continue with its work in the local community – providing coaching and mentoring to young people and running programmes in schools throughout the region to tackle obesity and anti-social behaviour. “Our overall aim is to add value to local businesses and support the Heat with its excellent work in the community. We offer sector exclusivity and there are still vacancies within the Heat Business Club for an architect, a builder, a telecoms company, a software company and a recruitment consultancy.” Businesses which provide over £3,000 worth of goods or services to support the Guildford Heat are entitled to become members of the Heat Business Club. Current members include: Asperion, Diamond Logistics, Dentons Pensions, Downs Solicitors LLP, Dorking Service Centre, ECC, Fidelis Security, Frederic Miller, John Dennis Coachbuilders, Love Your Logo, Perfect Pitch Consultancy, Quin-nessence, ramsac, Robinson Buckley, Wigwam PR and Zap Digitial Print. For further information about the Heat Business Club, please contact Nigel Blake on 01483 422998. Photo caption: The Heat Business Club marked the launch of the 2010/2011 basketball season this month with its first meeting at the Heat’s new home, the Surrey Sports Park. The event was sponsored by Quin-nessence. In the picture are Jaz Blake and Nigel Blake alongside the Heat’s captain, Mike Martin and Scorcher, the Heat’s mascot. 17 September 2010 http://www.surrey-chambers.co.uk/Newslink/November_Newslink_2010.pdf