It's the beginning of a new month and new quarter; time to think about ramping up. July is the perfect time for planning a few call campaigns. The days of cold calling are gone. Permission calling is in. Unfortunately, many call campaigns end up being a waste of time because they are not well executed. Here are 10 ways to ensure your next call campaign is a productive revenue generator.

1. Stop relying on Marketing: Marketing is busy writing case studies and upgrading your Web site. As an inside sales person, you must rev up your own marketing engine. Start thinking like a marketing person in a salesperson's body.
2. Learn how to build a quality list: Who do you want to reach or target? What vertical have you had success with? Are you going after existing installed base customers or new prospects? What title do you want to reach? How big will your list be? Use tools such as Hoovers, Jigsaw, Spoke, LinkedIn, InsideView, Visible Path, OneSource, SalesGenie, iProfile and more to build a quality list.
3. What's your message? What is your purpose? Do you want to invite people for a demo and to download a trial evaluation of your product? What about a general introduction or last call for prospects who are tough to reach by phone? Do you want to primarily educate prospects about your new product release or do you want to request an appointment?
4. Email template support: Create a handful of necessary email templates to support you throughout your sales cycle. Make sure to insert links in the first few paragraphs so you can track them easily. Remember to include a strong opening, format it well, create urgency, include a WIIFM, have a call to action, write a killer subject line and keep it super short.
5. Set up email sales marketing software: Take control of this yourself if you want to be successful in a Sales 2.0 environment. Research tools from companies such as Genius, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, Exact Target and Eloqua and incorporate them into your sales efforts.
6. Make power calls: Set a non-negotiable time when you are focused on making outbound calls so you won't be interrupted. This is the time to be in proactive mode, rather than reactive mode, and focus on initiating meaningful revenue-generating conversations with the right people.
7. Connect with people who have power: Think big and stop waiting on powerless gatekeepers disguised in big titles to make something happen. Isn't it better to realize early on that you are hanging with the wrong crowd than after you've forecasted something and carried it through with no results?
8. Create a timely response strategy: Once interest has been generated, determine how you'll follow-up and respond to questions, requests, research and competition. How do you plan on staying ahead of your prospects?
9. Frequency: The more touches the better. Many inside organizations have a 5-7 touch contact strategy. That includes both voicemail and email attempts before closing out the lead. Your call campaigns are a great way to increase your contract strategy. Schedule 1-3 campaigns per month because the more you do, the more you'll learn and the better you will become.
10. Make new time management choices: Call campaigns generate new work so expect to reprioritize your time and make better choices. This is the month to generate new interest to ensure you'll end the year strong.

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