According to the Direct Marketing Association, only 1–2 appointments come from every 100 telemarketing calls. Let’s be honest—that’s pretty rubbish. Now imagine flipping those odds. With Exceptional Thinking’s three-step integrated process—LinkedIn connections, warm-up emails, and smart telemarketing—we’re averaging a 17% call-to-lead ratio. That’s 17 meetings for every 100 contacts. Which stats would you rather have … Read more
We have turned down a couple of clients over the past few days. We don’t like to turn down clients for obvious reasons but they wanted to work with us for a lot lower than our normal fees. But here’s the reason that we turned them down. It wasn’t because we didn’t like them or … Read more
Some business owners ask us whether, using our LinkedIn approach to get leads and appointments, we can get more than three to six meetings a month. The short answer is yes. But the slightly longer answer is we would need to use more than one LinkedIn account. Let me explain. LinkedIn doesn’t like it if … Read more
Yes, I said it – 2026… Historically, around this time of year, most businesses are assessing their performance so far in the current calendar year, most are back from annual leave and leadership teams revitalised and looking at how they can finish the year strong, achieving targets and keeping business stakeholders happy with financial performance. … Read more
Which marketing methods are you currently considering for your business? You’ve got tons to choose from. From blogging to podcasts, videos to press releases, a new website to email marketing, it’s hard to know which marketing methods to choose and, more importantly, which ones are going to give you a return on investment. Let’s face … Read more
According to the Direct Marketing Association, for every 100 calls made through telemarketing, only one to two of these will result in an appointment. I don’t know about you, but I think those odds are pretty rubbish. What if I told you that when lead generation is done using our three-step integrated process (connecting on … Read more
I don’t mind admitting that marketing for my business took me a while to figure out. I tried lots of marketing methods but they didn’t work for me consistently. Perhaps you know what I mean… You post regularly on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, but only your friends or family “like” or comment (nice of them, … Read more
Years ago, I read a book called ‘Sales on a Beermat’ by Mike Southon. There were a couple of points in that book which completely changed the way we did business and one of them was the concept of a 15-minute phone call with a new prospect. Basically, the book said to never, ever meet … Read more
LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to platform for professionals looking to expand their networks and discover new business opportunities. However, there’s a growing trend that many find off-putting: the immediate sales pitch following a connection request. This ‘lazy follow-up’ approach often leads to missed opportunities and disengagement. Think of LinkedIn as a vast, virtual networking … Read more
Every week, we have a 15 minute catch-up with you, either via Teams or via Zoom. At these meetings, we go though your hot prospects, (prospects who we feel may turn into appointments), your watches (prospects who we’re watching because we feel there is something there) and your future prospects (people who have said not … Read more
