Tools of the Trade, a Sales Person's View

Filed under Cold Calling by on August 26, 2009 at 9:00 am {one comment}

You’re a professional problem solver. That’s what a sales professional does!  The first problem that must be solved is to ensure that you’ve got the tools in place that you’ll need to be organized and successful and to survive the often rough sales world.

The secrets to a successful and lucrative sales career are as varied as where to vacation next time you earn some time off!  Before you can examine the tools that will make your life easier, you’ll need to envision how far you want your career to go. What are your goals….where do you want to be in a year from now. Five years from now. Keep those goals firmly planted in your mind. Better yet, write them down and tuck them in your wallet so you don’t have to clutter your mind with them!  Some years back, as a sales kick off, my manager handed every sales rep in attendance a piece of paper and a box of crayons. He had us each draw pictures of our goals and post them over our desks. When we were making our prospecting calls each day, we had those images of our goals right in front of us. We always knew why we needed to make just one more call…

Your toolbox needs to include everything that you’re going to need to be successful at your company today, and the company of tomorrow – the one you don’t even know you’re going to work with yet. It needs to include your own personal motivation. No one can motivate you….except yourself. Very key to remember this and carry it with you always. All the sales tools in the world are worthless without your motivation. Your toolbox needs to include your notebook to jot things down, it needs to include a really user friendly CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) package. It needs to include an ongoing list of suspects to turn into prospects. It must include access to the products and services that your company offers. It needs to include quick easy to read guides about those products and services. Gather some intelligence about your greatest competitor. Make a list of their weaknesses versus your strengths. (Note: ALWAYS speak in terms of the positive things you can offer rather than the negative things that your competitor offers). My tool box also includes a stack of index cards with different presentations on them. Some of my cards include the most common objections for my industry and an assortment of responses to them. Those cards include great questions to ask to determine my potential customers’ needs.  Many of those cards include solutions that I’ve used for previous customers and can offer to new customers. Index cards are incredibly portable. They can go anywhere you do! Your toolbox also needs to include all of the presentations that you need at a moments notice….know where they are in your computer so that you don’t need to search! Organize your hard drive (and back it up regularly!).

A quick look at the tools if your company doesn’t provide the ones you need you might want to invest in them for yourself.  This is only a summary, there are many great tools out there on the market. It’s not possible to list them all but the ones that are here we’ve used and been successful with first hand

List sources- the phone book just doesn’t cut it.  Here’s a few companies that can help you get to the people you need to at the customer types your targeting.  Like most things in life you get what you pay for.

Hoovers

Dunn and Bradstreet

Info USA

The Book of Lists

Trade publications

TIP: On a budget or just naturally frugal, perfect!  Many larger public library systems subscribe to these types of services.  Many allow you access to the information only on library computers but it’s well worth a few evenings or Saturdays to save yourself thousands and test not only the quality of the lists but your assumptions.

CRM Packages- Many sales people view a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) package as big brother for sales management and while it can be that if used absolutely to its fullest potential it can make sure you stay on task not for others but for yourself.  If used religiously and guarded with your life it is your doorway to every customer and prospect, each and every follow up letter, mailing campaign, meeting, opportunity, notes.

As with most things in life, these packages come in all shapes and sizes, some are best suited for company wide use. Others can support that but fit well into small organizations or even rogue sales people trying to improve what they do on their own.  Things to consider…. are they online or offline products?  Do they support marketing campaigns and how essential is that to what you do?  Does the package integrate with your email package and calendar? Does it track the sales cycle by opportunity?  What formats can you import your current data base from (excel, access, SQL, etc.)?  What fields will it import?  Can you generate or attach quotes so you have a record of the pricing handy at all times? Here are some good ones:

Act

Goldmine

Siebel

Salesforce.com

Saleslogix

Things to do:  doubt the effect a CRM package can have on your productivity?  Try one for free, of course there is a catch, it’s only for 30 days but Salesforce.com gives a 30 day trial if you sign up on their website. Import some data.  Spend a little time setting it up and use the tool, whether theirs is the right fit or not is up to you to decide but you’ll quickly get an idea of what a powerful sales tool a CRM package can be.

The Virtual Office – Madonna pined away nearly two decades ago “I’m a material girl living in a material world” well if the song was written today it would have to include something about the virtual world.  Here’s a sales person’s challenge in a virtual world, customers are less loyal, better educated, they are more demanding and the selling day is no longer just 8 to 5.  It is always the selling day thanks in large part to the internet.

Web services- have web presence?  No and you’re still in business? Companies like yahoo can get you a domain (XYZ.com) and a web hosting and email service for less than 10 dollars a month. Invest in yourself and get out there but business is so beyond that now.  Have a business card. You need one to leave behind right?  Can your customer not just learn how great you think you are from your website but get actual useable information like product guides, specifications or pricing ordering and delivery information from you web site?  If the answer is no and they can from your competition, that needs to change. Immediately!

On demand & Printing Services – print what you need when you need and pick up professionally printed and bound presentations rather than struggling with toner ad a broken printer the night before you large bid is due.  Most major office supply stores and shipping chain outlets (Fed Ex Kinko’s for example) have quick turn around high volume capabilities.

Toast Masters- can’t present, want to practice or want to get better.  Go to toastmasters.com find a local chapter and check out a meeting

Ezines- fast, efficient and believe it or not effective…if you do them right.  Want people to read your emails use a permission based system that confirms people want to receive your mailing and who can easily unsubscribe if they change their minds.  A lot of the big web companies like Yahoo, Go Daddy, and Microsoft among others offers online programs that allow you to up load your data base. Create online registrations that can be linked right off of your website and gather key customer data beyond name and email address but interests.  All of this can be had for under 25 dollars to a few hundred a year based on the size of your lists and the frequency of your mailing. (make sure you can export your names of new registrants to put them into your CRM package for follow up).

Content is king in this world so it’s occasionally OK to push a promotion or price but to have value and give your customers what they need deliver is what matters to them.  You can even create multiple mailing and segments through your sign up tools to tailor content to different job types or customer interests.

Computers, Cell Phones, Black Berry’s and PDA’s – A necessity in today’s world. Enough said.

The telephone – Make sure that your Customer can always reach you. If you’re going to be away from your telephone for an extended period of time, let your voice mail message reflect that so that the caller can have an idea of when to expect a return call. Above all, return the call.

Spread sheets The tried and true way of keeping track of your stuff….the people you’re calling, the numbers you’re producing, the distance to your goal, the people you still need to reach out to.

Mailing lists – Always have a list of people to contact ready to go for tomorrow’s prospecting hour. (Remember, we committed to setting an hour aside every day for this activity!). Have the information ready to roll so that you don’t get sidetracked during your prospecting hour making up lists. Your mailing list should also include people that you want to be in touch with. When you have an event coming up, or a new product to introduce, this should be the first place that you go to get your message out there. Ideally, this list is incorporated into your CRM package.

Presentation Tools  & Presentations – Have you created presentation tools that effectively prove what you can do for your Customer?  Are they in a place, where at a moments notice, you can present you, your Company and your value to a prospective Customer and his team? Is the information within the presentation current or you using something that was created years ago? Does your presentation make your customer want to work with you or is just slide after slide of “fluff”. When the rubber meets the road, the presentation that you deliver could be the differentiating factor between you and your competition. Make sure that yours is the best it can possibly be.

TIP: Know your presentation inside and out. We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. You never know when the piece of technology that you’re presenting on fails and the show must go on….make sure that you’re confident about the information you’re delivering and can deliver it with or without your laptop, a projector or any other electronic device.

Account Plans – Spend a little time investing in your potential customers. Figure out what you need to know from them. Assess how much they invested in you in the past month, quarter, year (you can do account plans in any increment of time). Determine who else in the company you need to be working with. Understand what other products or services you can introduce them to. Remember, always leave a reason to call back. Your Customer will appreciate the time that you invested in them going through this process and feel that they truly matter to you. You’ve once again shown your value, simply by investing some time in them.

Business Plans – Every successful business has a plan. A plan that’s fluid enough to change with the ebb and flow of the industry.  Plan your goals for the next quarter. Determine who you want to be working with in terms of new and existing Customers. Work your plan.

FOLLOW UP – Most sales people neglect this critical step. Sales Professionals understand the importance of this. Follow up on the quote that you submitted. Follow up on the last order that you shipped out. Follow up on the last service contract that your Customer purchased. Remember, service contracts are usually in annual increments. You’re already adding to your sales bucket by providing a service contract this year to your Customer. Next year they need to renew it.

Calling on a Fat Man

Filed under Cold Calling, Uncategorized by on August 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm {no comments}

When cell phones were new and becoming a big deal for the average person in the early 1990’s and no longer the toys of the ultra wealthy and movie stars there was a man named Vince who owned a large cellular company in a major metro.  He stared out like every one, with very little and did the right tings and caught the wave at the exactly perfect time.  Vince was 5’10” and easily went 350 pounds he joked about his own size and weight with everyone stating that he liked food so much that he wore pants with elastic in the waist band so he could eat a big lunch.   This tale isn’t one about Vince’s sales abilities but about an office furniture salesperson.  Who called on Vince over and over but couldn’t get past his admin.  Vince was far too busy during prime time selling hours to talk to sales people that were not important to growing his business.

Over time the office supply rep learned that Vince came in early and stayed late almost every day,  he also learned that his favorite food was pizza and his favorite pizza shop was 25 minutes away and he didn’t get to have pizza from there that often.  So how to crack the armor?  He learned from calling on others about the company’s expansion plans, they were an office furniture company’s dream.  He learned what the number of staff and conference room was and the planned color scheme.  The rep knew who made what decisions but that Vince approved them all.

One Tuesday night the Offices furniture rep showed up with two large Pizzas’,  Vincent wasn’t there that night.  His Plan was foiled so he put a call in and found out that that Thursday was Vincent’s late night with out fail.  So on Thursday he showed up again with two large pizza’s and knocked on the front door.  No one answers so he walked around the building saw Vince in his office and knocked on the window.  Vince looked up and the rep yelled “Pizza!”   To use Vincent’s own words “I’m a fat guy and I love that pizza”  the end of the story goes like this,  He couldn’t get the appointment so he took some time to be creative about getting in the door.  The rep had already established himself in other parts of the organization but just couldn’t  get to the top.  The only thing it took to get there was $40’s worth a Pizza a little after hours work and the courage to try something different.  Oh he did get the sale, it wasn’t at a premium but it was for all of the locations that they opened over the next few years.  I wonder of the incumbent vendor ever knew what he lost over a few slices of pizza?

TIP: Be organized! Remember your “selling hours” and respect them. Get to your office a little bit early, to get your “chores” out of the way. You should never be doing paperwork when you can be in front of a customer.

Question the Question The Art of Opportunity Discovery

Filed under Cold Calling by on August 18, 2009 at 8:30 am {no comments}

So you called the prospect and qualified them, then you did the research and now is the time to get down to brass tacks and find out how you can really help.  Since you understand their business at least on the surface, the image and value they present to their customers and of course some third party data that is usually dead on you need to take the next step and learn what they really need.

These days people don’t have time to meet with you just because,  if you’re in front of them there is a reason and you offer something that got their attention.   So where to start?

Things to do:  get out your research on you’re hottest new prospect. It can be someone you’ve already met with or a client that you are about to meet for the first time.  Review your homework and look at what you already know. This includes your research, any notes from previous calls or meetings.  Then draw up a list of no less then 20 questions that you need answers to.  It can be about their company, their industry, how they do business, what they value of data that you need to make an expert assessment of how your product or service can help them.  Now set the list aside, we’ll come back to it.

Tip: Always, Always, Always take notes.  During every call and every conversation.  No matter how good you mind is it makes it easier to recall the key points and to make certain that nothing gets missed.

So questions are at the heart of the sale?  It is what will truly drive the process and uncover the need but they lead to be open ended questions.  Yes and no questions lead you down a dark alley in a bad part of town at night.  Simply put you might come out with out an issue, it might all be ok then again you might come out after losing you wallet or being assaulted.  Worse yet there is the chance you might not come out of that alley at all.  It not a very nice image but guess what Yes and No questions can back you into a corner fast than you’d ever imagine with a customer who likes you and wants to do business.  If you need to end a meeting quickly with someone who isn’t so sure you’re the answer ask a bunch of yes and no questions then you can get to the golf course really early and stretch because you’re wasting more of your prime selling time and with bad habits like that it is a given that you’re not heading back to the office to find another prospect!

So an open ended question as we all know requires an explanation, might be a few sentences might be a few minutes.

Tip:  make sure you write down the additional questions that come to mind while listening to the answer, take notes on the response but add your questions to the list.

You don’t want it to be an inquisition but you need to gain information and insight.  Make sure that you have a specific purpose for each and everything you ask.  Just like making a call into PROSPECT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT INFORMATION!

Tip:  wait for the complete answer to your question keep in mind you learn more by listening than you do talking.  Take a few seconds finish you notes, pause and look at the other questions, old and new and then ask the next one?

Now take your questions from a few minutes ago read over them and go find the answer using the resources listed above for everything you can.  If you can answer them with certainty on your own then they weren’t good questions to ask the customer,  it doesn’t mean you didn’t need the information you learned from them it just is a way to make sure you know as much as possible going in.  it is OK to verify your findings with the customer it will show that you’re prepared and insightful and if you get slightly off base most people will make sure that you get the right answer.

Dealing with Call Reluctance

Filed under Cold Calling by on August 10, 2009 at 7:59 am {no comments}

So when it comes to call calling there is one thing that happens to even the most dedicated cold callers, the occasional case of Call Reluctance.  Call reluctance is a nice term for I don’t want to cold call, call anyone and in some cases have anything to do with dialing the phone.  It happens for a variety of reason like you’re having a bad day or  a genuine fear of rejection happens to the best of us.  The difference is how you get through those times and how often you allow them to happen.  The great ones push on, they position a different product or call on a different type of customer or prospect to keep things fresh or get a break but they pick up the phone make the call and set the appointments.

One of the best cold callers I’ve ever seen would burn out like clock work on prospecting, once a quarter at about the midway point.  He was also like clock work in that he would get back in the proverbial saddle three days later. Day one he would mope.  At the end of day 1 his manager would move his desk. It was a company where people moved desks a few times a year. He needed to move once a quarter, so he would spend the evening of the first day packing up his desk and all of the second arranging his new desk with a complete obsession on organization, then he moved on to his calling lists… sorting and resort to analyzing and evaluating.  It was very much his own unique form of business planning.  The third day he would write calling scripts for the rest of the quarter and the next one, deciding what to position but most importantly where.  Tom had a unique job. He was in business development but he only got to keep a customer for six months after their credit line was established with the company.

So he would focus on getting new business each and every day knowing that his performance for the next six months was based on how many customers he signed up.  It was a business to business sale and on average his efforts paid off in 18 new accounts a quarter, only half of which would do any real measure of business in the six months he had them.  For the record, others in the same exact role averaged 13.  With the exception of those three days in three months, he was focused on driving new business, but even he had a few days of reluctance so he made a plan and stuck to it.  In the beginning though, he would linger taking longer and his manager helped him cut the loss to 3 days and refocus him and with his own work and effort it soon became his routine with out outside coaching.  The other benefit from his planning was that he would show his calling scripts that listed every objection he could imagine and some that weren’t at all really plausible to most people carefully drafting each response, he committed them to memory and filed them.  Ironically it was other reps who weren’t as experienced that benefited from his efforts and used the scripts.

Overcoming Call Reluctance Temptations of a sales person

Bad Habits-  So you don’t want to call and prospect.  Think I’m wrong? Answer the following questions honestly to be sure.

1)      Are you doing administrative tasks that can wait during prime selling hours?

2)      Are you calling on only your best and favorite customers, perhaps a little too often when you could be filling your bucket with new prospects and suspects even though it’s a little uncomfortable?

3)      Are you tired?  Know your burn out factor, recharge and then get back at it.

4)      Is your follow up to a first call or touch sub par?

5)      Binge and purge calling- sometimes you do it some times you don’t. Set the level high enough that it will produce the results you want but make it a goal you can obtain with a little extra focus and effort.  If the bar is too low then your sales will match

Calling Plans – a little planning goes a long way as was the case with Tom. Planning was part of the key to his success, it didn’t distract from the work at hand but it did compliment greatly.

Have a purpose- why are you calling.  If you’re only real answer is “to sell stuff” better start selling yourself into a new job. One of my early mentors reminded me on each sales call to always leave a reason to call back. Make sure that you find a reason to make a repeat call on a Customer. Whether it was to tell them about a shipment, a new product, service or seminar you are offering or something new in the industry. Always have a purpose to every call. Your Customers are busy people, don’t waste their time with idle chit chat. Make sure that your call enhances their day at least in some small way.

Measure your results:  Banging away mindlessly doesn’t help if you aren’t getting the right results.  Take time and review how your calls went and the strengths and weaknesses at the end of each prospecting session.  It will help you be more prepared and keep you from forgetting to do the things that worked best.

Lead Management: want to loose a great opportunity, lose track of a lead, forget to call them back or send a letter.  You need an iron clad system to make sure no one ever slips through the cracks.  There are lots of ways to do that some of which will be cover in the tools chapter.

Responsibility as a Motive (and Motivator)

There is a personal responsibility to selling, you manager’s don’t want to ride you about your performance but activity drives results.  It is plain and simple if you don’t put the work in you won’t get the results.  If you’re truly putting the work in and it’s not happening for you seek help.  Dedicate time with your Manager and the top producers you know. They don’t have to be at your company but can be trusted friend, former employer.

This is not just about making enough to pay the bills, feed your family or taking a great vacation. It is all about reaching deep inside when it’s the toughest and doing what counts and in your selling professions darkest hour to stand out and achieve and be proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish.

There is a great sales person in the north east whose name is Peter.  You won’t see him on the cover of any business publication but the guy can just plain sell.  His style is direct and at times even a bit abrupt and abrasive but he knows how to prospect.  During a conversation with Peter one day he was discussing the type of deal that would have made most sales people’s year.  It was darn near seven figures and the margin which is how he is measured and compensated was quite nice, almost double that of an average years effort.  A comment was made about how great the deal was to which he replied… “yeah it’ll be good for a month or two but then we all need to sell something else”  the reality was he knew that despite his big win he needed to get right back to work and maybe even play a little catch up since so much time had gone into the win.  There was no celebration, no little I’m the greatest happy dance in public or private; it was simply a fact that he knew he needed to go get more business.  So I asked where do your leads come from?  He laughed and said inside sales,  most of his leads were generated from others who had narrowed down the list of suspects into four prospects a week.  It was a luxury that he had knowing he was being given opportunities.  Peter’s prospecting began when those names were handed over.  So digging a little deeper I asked about the mix of opportunities.  30% were net new, 40% were people who were prospects on average 3 years ago who didn’t buy for what ever reason and the remainder were additional opportunities with in existing customers.  If nothing else this shows simply that 70% of the time in front of customers was spent getting new business from new people and while caring for their existing base the company and Peter’s sales growth was based on winning new accounts.  Most companies or reps that grow win new accounts, and do so regularly.

So how many calls did the engine behind Peter have to make to generate those Opportunities.  There were three full time calling professionals that handled a mix of inbound sales calls that they found occasional additional opportunities in who were supporting 9 outside sales reps.  On average those outside reps could count on 4 leads a week from the calling team.  They worked from a base of 25,000 names in a CRM systems and cycled through it.  To get those they each needed to make 1125 calls and designate them as viable opportunities, dead, or follow up later.

Those prospects weren’t enough to fuel his engine.  So Peter networked, he asked for referrals, and spread out his contacts through out his client and prospects organizations.

Tip:  when leaving a voicemail message always speak slowly and clearly and be sure to leave your phone number twice. (Did you remember the tips the first time?  If so great if not good thing we told you twice.)

Prospecting is a necessary evil, you need to challenge your self and be creative on where you find fresh new opportunities.  Keep in mind to set goals and measure your results because nothing is worse than doing the hard work without getting the upside benefits.  Makes sure you have a purpose with each call that matters, just checking in to see how things are going is a lazy reason.  Do the work to make sure every opportunity that materializes gets a fair chance at turning into business and also know when to walk away.   If someone wants to talk price and nothing else you’re setting yourself up for a miserable business relationship.

TIP: Schedule time with yourself every day for your prospecting activity. Make it an appointment in your calendar and show up for the appointment! Set a number of calls that you want to make during your prospecting hour, and have a list of calls prepared. Have the phone number, company url, contact name if possible, your call script…be prepared.

Start Your Own Lead Sharing Group

Filed under Cold Calling, Uncategorized by on August 8, 2009 at 6:53 pm {no comments}

Do you belong to a lead group?  No?  Then shame on you, but if you’re doing all the other thing you should why not take the next steps and watch your sales opportunities and  new customer count jump.  If you’ve never been a part of one have no fear here’s everything you need to start your own.

When you’re looking for Members find people who are selling into the same market size as you but repping non competitive products.  For example say your product is business insurance property liability etc. a list of possible candidates would include:

A)    Commercial real estate companies

B)    Moving and relocation companies

C)    Computer sales companies

D)    Office supply companies

E)     Advertising/ Promotions firms

F)     Health insurance

G)    Copier companies

H)    Office Furniture suppliers

I)       Freight carriers (UPS, Fed X)

J)       Security Systems

The concept is simple. Pick a day to meet for coffee or lunch at a standing place or time. Each person is to bring a minimum of 3 leads to share with the other members.  Each lead can be shared with more than one company but there must be three unique leads per meeting.  If there are 10 members there should be 30 leads exchanged as a minimum.  If some one has less than the required number of leads on a consistent basis, replace them. Be upfront with the others on the criteria for replacement.  For example, if you’re short on leads to share for two straight meetings or more than 4 times in a year you’re no longer welcome.

How to get members… start with top producers from the type of companies listed above, what’s another phone call in the life of a sales person.  Call the leading company of that type and ask who their top sales person or top sales manager is, treat it like any prospecting call and be prepared to explain how the group can be of benefit to them and that the only cost is a little bit of their time and follow it up with a thank you note whether they joined or not.

Keeping attendance up.  Nothing is worse than something well intentioned and poorly executed, so if the meeting is 45 minutes have 2 of the members provide a 10 minute overview of what makes a good customer or lead for them so they, and you get the quality of opportunities that you deserve.

Create an email distribution list, send out a reminder 2 business days before the meeting so it doesn’t slip someone’s mind.

There’s a Hole In my Bucket

Filed under Cold Calling by on August 8, 2009 at 6:33 pm {2 comments}

If the phone rings and people give you an order

1)      You’ve either reinvented the wheel

2)      You’re an order taker or

3)      You’re a prospector.

Sorry, facts are facts. Which is what leads us into the topic of prospecting because great prospectors look like order takes to those who don’t spend nearly enough time filling their buckets with opportunities.  Make no mistake though; order takers are not great prospectors. Anyone can be a great order taker. It takes a lot of courage to become a great prospector.

Do you fill you bucket up with new prospects, potential clients and new sales all the time with out hesitation?   So why is there a hole in your bucket?  Because not everyone buys.  Well that is at least partially correct, even those who buy lower the level of the water, granted it’s a great problem to have but a problem none the less.

Let’s look at Suspects

Sounds simple enough. You suspect that they might someday buy something from you.  It’s an early stage maybe, an RFI (request for information), RFP (request for proposal) or RFQ (request for quotation).  Maybe it was an ad or lead from an associate.  A building permit or something of that nature.  Your job is to qualify them, quickly and not waste time on dud’s but it is part of the process.  Wait now… if you’re really quiet you can hear scores of sales people off in the distance pining about the quality of the leads they’re given.  Now reality check… lead quality should be taken at face value and nothing more.  A lead should be followed up seven times! Don’t stalk them but consistency counts, keep enough of the message the same that your calls and letters are recognizable as yours but like a great marketer tweak the message ever so slightly to get you point across and find the prospects interests and pain. Even if someone is transferring an active account to you, qualifying them is your responsibility.   Simply put, you get paid on what you turn into business. Not that the person before didn’t do a good job, but they may have missed an opportunity, to add a complementary product or service or even something as large as and entire project.

Things to do: find out where you stand if they are a client you need to know who is number one in their heart. If it isn’t you, it’s your job to figure out how to get there.  Be tactful but that knowledge of where you stand with them and who is in front and behind you is infinitely valuable.

One sales professional I worked with was working on a list of smaller resellers. He called and called and seemed to be getting nowhere. He’d call each lead three times and consider them dead leads when he didn’t get a call back. He changed the way that he was leaving voice mail messages and suddenly, like magic, things started to happen for him! One customer even told him that he had received his message some months back and just didn’t get around to calling him back. Things had changed on the potential customer’s side, and now he was ready to talk. He’s become a great account for this sales pro because he stuck with it. He changed his method and tried something new and started to see results! Interesting to note, this seasoned professional takes one hour per day, every day, and does his prospecting calls.

Tip: Leaving a great message isn’t active selling, you can’t make them want to buy in VM and frankly it’s awfully hard to do in writing as well but what it does do is build a familiarity with you.  Make your message straight and to the point.  Like all calls have a purpose and leave your contact info twice just to make sure they have it.

So where to begin on how to actually prospect?  Of course we’ll begin at the beginning, Lets look at the tale of the two sales reps. Chuck and Beth.

Chuck was a curmudgeon of a man; he was the type of guy average performers hated.  What he did do exceptionally well though was prospect for business using a career’s worth of contacts, in a company where the average deal was less than Five thousand, he wouldn’t, as he put it, burn cycles on “small deals” In truth he was smart enough to know that to get to 3.5 million in annual sales it took a boat load (or 700) average sales to get where he wanted to be.  So instead he determined who his prospects should be.  He focused, in his case, on multi site customers.  Was this the right answer for everyone? No.  A lot of people did just fine selling a lot of the average size deals.  But they also only sold a third of what he did annually.  The approach was different; he was as they say in baseball a home run hitter.

Beth on the other hand hit for average.  She was new to the business at the very same company and struggled mightily for her first few years.   Sitting someone down and handing them a phone book won’t make them a successful prospector.  What she did learn with some coaching was that the little things mattered.  First she set goals, sounds cliché but they were not the ones her manager set for her, she set them with her Manager.  Agreeing to them only after she committed them to herself, the world could have been ending but she was still there making her calls.

The plan looked like this.

2 hours a day 10 hours a week she spent making cold calls. She could make 20 cold calls in an hour because most of her time was spent in voice mail leaving messages for her prospects. She kept good records of her calls and always had a way to refer back to the message she left when the person she left the message for called back. And in many cases, they did. Why? Because she gave them a reason to call back. She didn’t leave a detailed message when she left a message. She left just enough of a message to make the caller return her call and give her the opportunity to further qualify them. Beth believed that once she got the Suspect on the phone, she could turn them into a Prospect by learning more about their business, their needs and how she could help them. She asked a lot of questions. You know, the open ended ones that get people talking.  She would then deliver a solution to their problem that would make their life easier. She became a trusted advisor. She earned their trust. She earned credibility and she earned their business. Then, on every occasion, the delivered just as she promised.

She did more than call, she followed up in a variety of ways. She sent letters, not form letters with a name and title inserted but she took the time to hand write a letter to the prospects that she felt she could help the most. As intensive an effort as this was, she took the time to research the top suspect’s web sites, press releases and trade magazine articles.  (If you just can’t wait to find out how go to chapter 3 & 8).  She would send the prospects and suspects reprints of articles, sometimes about the prospects own company, or their industry trends. It was never about her company, but about theirs, with a simple request for some time.

So what opened the most doors? It was a gimmick, this particular rep was so organized that she color coded everything. She wrote in colored ink, not the typical black and blue mixed in with the occasional red. She wrote in a myriad of pinks, purples, and bright greens.  She would take a foam telephone with her company’s generic contact information and in bright pink letters put her phone number on it and a note to call her.  So there is a dose of reality that worked to her favor, she had the personality and belief to back up her drive.

To close the hole in your bucket, you must set time aside each and every day for turning suspects into prospects. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned professional or the newbie, prospecting is a part of your daily routine. Make it a ritual. Just like breathing…it’s a part of your daily activity. The customers you have today won’t necessarily be the same customers of tomorrow. In todays dog eat dog world, customers get lost every day. Perhaps it’s by acquisition, or by retirement, or by your competitor swooping in and “stealing the deal”. When you sell your value to your customer, they’ll come back. Tough question….what’s YOUR value? How are you going to make your prospects lives easier? Can you help them deliver a solution that will help them add value?

Things to Do: Take a moment and write down some thoughts on the value that you bring to your customers. We’ll come back to this in a moment.

So where do you find your prospects? Not every one is the right person for your product or service.  The best place to find new customers is to look at your old ones who bought from you.  Now your job is not to understand why they bought.  It is deeper than that. You need to understand their reasons. Not what matters to you but what matters to them.   Call them and ask them!  What’s the worst thing that can happen?  You can learn something about your customer; gain a deeper understanding of their business and what they truly value in your product or service.  Maybe if worlds collide and the star aligns you might get another opportunity to solve a new business need they’ve had since last time you’ve spoken.  What if you’re new and you don’t have any customers, find your mentor or manager and ask to talk to their customers.  Or better yet, buddy up with a seasoned professional in your company and ask to take over Customers that they just don’t have time to work with. Every sales rep has them. Call these Customers! You never know when the next million dollar account will come along. If these Customers once bought from that seasoned professional, they’re likely still buying what you’re selling and, armed with the right value proposition, they might just buy from you. You’ll never going to know until you make the call.

TIP: As a matter of fact before you take a sales job check the company’s references, ask to talk to their references.  They’ll check out your background… it’s a chance to check out theirs.

Finding New Business in a Tough Economy

Filed under Cold Calling by on August 8, 2009 at 5:24 pm {no comments}

Finding new business is a common theme a lot of times when talking with a sales person or business owner they talk about how their main focus is on getting new customers.

That’s great!  New customers are very important you need them to ensure growth, to have a steady stream of business and provide revenue and profit diversity.  If you’ve been told don’t put all your eggs in one basket adapt that to your sales philosophy as well…don’t make all your sales to a the same customers.

Sales is about increasing numbers and It is what the game’s about but also far too often the generic statement of wanting new customers it is where people so often miss the boat is they don’t define their targets.

Well what is your target?   Don’t just throw a number out there or spit out my boss says.  Figure it out for yourself after all you have to do the work and live with the results.  How much do you want to grow your business and what is it going to take?  One account a week a quarter etc.  You’ve got to know and despite the fact it is unpopular you need to know how many prospects and proposals or quotes it’s going to take to get you there.
In this section we’re going to looks at it 3 ways, growing your existing business, building your professional network,  and getting referrals

But before we get to new customers a great place to start is look at who you’re doing business with today.  What are your strengths, and your strongest customer sets.  Are they a particular size or type of company?  Are they in or do they cater to a particular vertical market?

Do you best customers buy not only certain products or services but is there a mixture or combination that exists?

Find out what your customers needs are?  Don’t take the easy answer but really dig for the reasons behind why they do business with you.

Do you work at different levels or departments with in your customers?  Speaking of levels within their organization. Look at who you deal with and treat them as gold.  Because they are and they are the ones buying from you but don’t forget to look at and understand the food chain all along the way.   Is the person who cut’s the PO or sends the order to you a different person a department or individual other than your contact.  What have you done to get to know them too?   If your sales require contracts what relationship do you have with the person who is going to scribble the name on that magic piece of paper?

Spread your reach out through out the organization.  If done right it will only strengthen your position.  .

I know this can lead to new sales and it’s not new business yet and most definitely not a new customers bear with me we’ll get to that in just a few more minutes.

This is your chance to do something a lot of people over look if they have repeat business, and an established base. First learn a lot about why they are among your strongest customer set and best accounts.  Ask questions, gain insight to not only why they do business with you and what they think is important but it is also a great opportunity to learn about their inner workings and industry…  It’s chance to learn in a real world and applied setting things that you might not read in the trade magazine.  It goes a long way to making you more of an expert in that account and others.

Are you selling within your best customers…proactively looking for ways to improve, gain more mindshare, solve new business needs with your products or services?  When was the last time you sat down and had a conversation about a new offer.  Don’t be lazy and enjoy the sound of hearing the cash register ring or the sound of the fax machine printing out their orders.

Spread to different levels get as high up on the food chain as you can and know each person all the way down who can influence of affect the business you do with them.  People get promoted, take jobs in different departments. and leave companies.   By knowing an organization from the top down and bottom up it keeps you in good stead.  What about when people leave it is both a risk and an opportunity if you’ve established yourself as a valuable resource. You have the opportunity to not only keep the business you have but depending on where that contact is going it might be an introduction into a new account.

Think of yourself for a moment, how many times have you taken something of value to you personally or professionally into another situation, the next place, a new job what ever.  Chances are most of you have and this is a chance to be taken along for the rife.
It does another thing for you.  Want to guess what it is?