You all know how much I love a good time management tip! Today sales trainer Colleen Francis shares several tips she put together after working with a sales team that made a commitment to do proactive, outbound sales prospecting everyday from 9-11 am. Here's how they stick to it:
1) Print out a list of at least 30 names to call the night before you leave the office, so you don't have to turn on your computer first thing in the morning (and risk checking email).
2) Make your calls from a meeting room rather than the open cubicle area so other employees can't bother/interrupt you
3) Put the phone on do not disturb
4) Keep cell / mobile device in the car during the "calling time"
5) Have a weekly contest to see who can make the most calls / appointments and sales during this time
6) Instruct receptionist to put all inbound calls directly into voice mail.
7) Turn off email and web browsers. Only use CRM during this time. If this can be done at the source by IT, all the better!
8) Create your "to do list" or "to call list" the night before.
9) Arrive at work 30 minutes early to get settled before "call time starts".
10) Block other employees from entering the sales area during this time with a banner that reads "Do not enter. Earning your salary"!
11) Send prospecting emails to prospects at the end of the day rather than during the "call time".
"While some of these ideas are fun, some are serious, and some are outrageous, they all work," says Francis. "I am sure you have some ideas to add to the list as well. At its core, sales success is all about demand generation, lead generation and prospecting. No prospects, no sales. Knowing that, what are you doing everyday to ensure prospecting for new business remains a top priority on your team?"
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions. Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. Start improving your results today with Engage's online Newsletter Engaging Ideas and a FREE 7 day intensive sales eCourse: www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com.
Showing posts with label lead generation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lead generation. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Lead Generation Checklist - Develop and intensify your Ideal Customer Profile
Lead generation expert Brian Carroll has been doing an excellent series on his blog called "The Lead Generation Checklist". So far, he's discussed changing your mindset to focus on conversations not campaigns and how to align sales and marketing as one team. These are excellent, but I think the most useful to individual sales professionals is step three - developing and intensifying your ideal customer profile. Read on for his tips.
"When it comes to customers, it's essential to understand that there may be a wide range of people you could potentially appeal to," says Carroll. "But the customer group your business will profit and benefit the most from is the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). And, by prescreening potential customers based on the unique attributes of your prime customers you can determine the set of criteria that will serve as the basis of your conversations."
Here's the best ways to develop and intensify your ideal customer profile:
1. Get to know your Current Customers.
Your ideal customers are right in front your nose: your current customers.
Separate your good customers from your bad. Make a list of your top ten - the ones in your sweet spot. What are their attributes and demographics? Make notes about the characteristics they have in common.
Get on the phone to find out what these top customers viewed as the trigger points for choosing you. Ask how you have helped them. Use this information to refine your message to gain more leads just like them. Review the trigger events or attributes that led them to working with you. Once you understand your clients and why they have picked you, you can tailor your message around that.
2. Know the needs you can solve.
Now you need to figure out if you can be relevant. Ask yourself: What's the size of my market? Where is the sweet spot? What are their key attributes? Does a potential company fit into these?
In order to be relevant, you have to understand your potential customer's buying process and current stage in that process. You may have to do a little market research to find answers. Look for free studies, white papers or case studies that your prospects read. What are the issues visited in those? Visit websites frequented by this group. How do they prefer to be communicated with?
Search for applicable trigger events. What hits home with them? Is there new legislation that may affect their purchasing decisions and budgets over the next year? Common trigger events include changes in building, strategy, legislation, tactics, finances or ownership. Growth of any kind is a great trigger event as is recognition such as reviews or awards. Check to see if they are working with a competitor. Find out if there is dissatisfaction on the part of the prospect. Use any of these trigger events to identify how you can help potential prospects and become relevant to their needs.
3. Take down names and numbers.
Now that you have an idea of the companies that you think you can truly help, you're going to have to find out whom to start conversations with. Make sure the folks you are talking to have the authority to make decisions. Figure out which individuals are the key influencers.
Do you understand their typical sphere of influence? Find out what time frame they will make their decision within. Find out if they have budget concerns. Find out the angle in which they are viewing the problem. Are they worried about finding the quickest and easiest solution? Are they concerned with technical issues? Finding the answers to these questions helps you understand how these individuals fit into the buying process. You can then cater information to their particular needs or concerns.
4. Know when to engage and when to pass.
Everyone has customers that just didn't pan out. Maybe they were difficult to work with. Maybe it was discovered late in the process that there just wasn't a profitable partnership to be had. Hindsight is 20/20. They looked like perfect customers from first glance, but what do you see now that should have sent up a red flag?
Use what you've learned the hard way to avoid taking on those kinds of clients again. Create a profile of your non-desirables. Call it your Un-Ideal Customer Profile. Speak with sales and anyone involved in those relationships in order to gather details about what was and wasn't positive. Use that information to create a guideline and make sure that your organization judges all potential prospects against it so you know when walk to away. Don't waste your sales team's time with potential customers that you know already you can’t help.
Summary:
If you'll remember that the ideal customer drives the process here you'll be successful. Know your customers, know what they need, and know the right time to initiate conversations. Refuse to take the time to find your ICP, and you will suffer the consequences. Sure, your lead list may grow, but chances are it won't include leads and future customers that fall into your sweet spot.
Brian Carroll, CEO of In Touch, Inc. is the author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale (McGraw-Hill 2006) and the B2B Lead Generation Blog. He is an expert in B2B marketing, lead generation and complex sales.
"When it comes to customers, it's essential to understand that there may be a wide range of people you could potentially appeal to," says Carroll. "But the customer group your business will profit and benefit the most from is the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). And, by prescreening potential customers based on the unique attributes of your prime customers you can determine the set of criteria that will serve as the basis of your conversations."
Here's the best ways to develop and intensify your ideal customer profile:
1. Get to know your Current Customers.
Your ideal customers are right in front your nose: your current customers.
Separate your good customers from your bad. Make a list of your top ten - the ones in your sweet spot. What are their attributes and demographics? Make notes about the characteristics they have in common.
Get on the phone to find out what these top customers viewed as the trigger points for choosing you. Ask how you have helped them. Use this information to refine your message to gain more leads just like them. Review the trigger events or attributes that led them to working with you. Once you understand your clients and why they have picked you, you can tailor your message around that.
2. Know the needs you can solve.
Now you need to figure out if you can be relevant. Ask yourself: What's the size of my market? Where is the sweet spot? What are their key attributes? Does a potential company fit into these?
In order to be relevant, you have to understand your potential customer's buying process and current stage in that process. You may have to do a little market research to find answers. Look for free studies, white papers or case studies that your prospects read. What are the issues visited in those? Visit websites frequented by this group. How do they prefer to be communicated with?
Search for applicable trigger events. What hits home with them? Is there new legislation that may affect their purchasing decisions and budgets over the next year? Common trigger events include changes in building, strategy, legislation, tactics, finances or ownership. Growth of any kind is a great trigger event as is recognition such as reviews or awards. Check to see if they are working with a competitor. Find out if there is dissatisfaction on the part of the prospect. Use any of these trigger events to identify how you can help potential prospects and become relevant to their needs.
3. Take down names and numbers.
Now that you have an idea of the companies that you think you can truly help, you're going to have to find out whom to start conversations with. Make sure the folks you are talking to have the authority to make decisions. Figure out which individuals are the key influencers.
Do you understand their typical sphere of influence? Find out what time frame they will make their decision within. Find out if they have budget concerns. Find out the angle in which they are viewing the problem. Are they worried about finding the quickest and easiest solution? Are they concerned with technical issues? Finding the answers to these questions helps you understand how these individuals fit into the buying process. You can then cater information to their particular needs or concerns.
4. Know when to engage and when to pass.
Everyone has customers that just didn't pan out. Maybe they were difficult to work with. Maybe it was discovered late in the process that there just wasn't a profitable partnership to be had. Hindsight is 20/20. They looked like perfect customers from first glance, but what do you see now that should have sent up a red flag?
Use what you've learned the hard way to avoid taking on those kinds of clients again. Create a profile of your non-desirables. Call it your Un-Ideal Customer Profile. Speak with sales and anyone involved in those relationships in order to gather details about what was and wasn't positive. Use that information to create a guideline and make sure that your organization judges all potential prospects against it so you know when walk to away. Don't waste your sales team's time with potential customers that you know already you can’t help.
Summary:
If you'll remember that the ideal customer drives the process here you'll be successful. Know your customers, know what they need, and know the right time to initiate conversations. Refuse to take the time to find your ICP, and you will suffer the consequences. Sure, your lead list may grow, but chances are it won't include leads and future customers that fall into your sweet spot.
Brian Carroll, CEO of In Touch, Inc. is the author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale (McGraw-Hill 2006) and the B2B Lead Generation Blog. He is an expert in B2B marketing, lead generation and complex sales.
Friday, November 21, 2008
10 Powerful Methods of Sales Lead Generation
Who couldn't use more prospects nowadays? The more, the better, in my opinion! Sales trainer Jim Klein has several ways for you to garner new prospects - try a few, and then try others to find out what works best for you.
Sphere of Influence
Create a list of at least 100 people you know. Send out an introductory letter telling them about your product or service. Talk with each person at least every three months. Send them information of interest at planned intervals throughout the year. Consistently ask for and receive quality referrals. Remember, if each person you know also knows 100 people, well you get the idea.
Cold calling
Using cold calling effectively for sales lead generation requires five key ingredients. Target the market you are going to call. Know your objective (get an appointment, get a name). Have a memorized script. Smile. Be prepared for rejection. Have fun!
Knocking on doors
This method is much the same as cold calling. I used this very effectively in real estate. I used to knock on doors year round. Do you think people would remember someone who knocked on their door in the middle of winter?
Farming
This is another technique that is used effectively in real estate and can be adapted to any product or service. Pick a market of 200 homes or businesses and become the only person they think of concerning your product or service.
Seminars
Seminars are great for sales lead generation. People who attend your seminar have an interest in the information you are presenting and a need for your product or service.
Mass mailing
Also known as direct marketing. Successful use of this method requires mailing a well-written sales letter to a targeted mailing list.
Newspapers
Pay attention to the local news, business and announcements sections. Look for the people who get promoted, have babies, buy and sell homes and start up new businesses. There may be leads here for your product or service.
Email publications
Getting email addresses of past and current clients, your sphere of influence and any one else you come in contact with is a great way to keep in touch.
Hairstylist
Most everyone has a barber or hairstylist they use on a regular basis. Whenever I'm in the chair, the conversation covers a variety of topics. Offer them $1 for every card they pass out or motivate them even more by offering a percentage of the sale that results from their referral. I've even picked up business myself while getting my hair cut. Keep your ears and eyes open at all times.
Daily Contacts
Every day when you leave the house take twenty business cards with you and make it a point to give them away. That is twenty cards times five workdays. If you're really ambitious, do it on Saturday and Sunday also.
"When you're looking to generate lots of quality sales leads, the more lines you have in the water the more fish you're apt to catch," says Klein.
Jim Klein is the owner of From The Heart Sales Training. He helps sales professionals attract new clients, close more sales and generate an abundance of referrals so they can increase their income and enjoy life more.
Sphere of Influence
Create a list of at least 100 people you know. Send out an introductory letter telling them about your product or service. Talk with each person at least every three months. Send them information of interest at planned intervals throughout the year. Consistently ask for and receive quality referrals. Remember, if each person you know also knows 100 people, well you get the idea.
Cold calling
Using cold calling effectively for sales lead generation requires five key ingredients. Target the market you are going to call. Know your objective (get an appointment, get a name). Have a memorized script. Smile. Be prepared for rejection. Have fun!
Knocking on doors
This method is much the same as cold calling. I used this very effectively in real estate. I used to knock on doors year round. Do you think people would remember someone who knocked on their door in the middle of winter?
Farming
This is another technique that is used effectively in real estate and can be adapted to any product or service. Pick a market of 200 homes or businesses and become the only person they think of concerning your product or service.
Seminars
Seminars are great for sales lead generation. People who attend your seminar have an interest in the information you are presenting and a need for your product or service.
Mass mailing
Also known as direct marketing. Successful use of this method requires mailing a well-written sales letter to a targeted mailing list.
Newspapers
Pay attention to the local news, business and announcements sections. Look for the people who get promoted, have babies, buy and sell homes and start up new businesses. There may be leads here for your product or service.
Email publications
Getting email addresses of past and current clients, your sphere of influence and any one else you come in contact with is a great way to keep in touch.
Hairstylist
Most everyone has a barber or hairstylist they use on a regular basis. Whenever I'm in the chair, the conversation covers a variety of topics. Offer them $1 for every card they pass out or motivate them even more by offering a percentage of the sale that results from their referral. I've even picked up business myself while getting my hair cut. Keep your ears and eyes open at all times.
Daily Contacts
Every day when you leave the house take twenty business cards with you and make it a point to give them away. That is twenty cards times five workdays. If you're really ambitious, do it on Saturday and Sunday also.
"When you're looking to generate lots of quality sales leads, the more lines you have in the water the more fish you're apt to catch," says Klein.
Jim Klein is the owner of From The Heart Sales Training. He helps sales professionals attract new clients, close more sales and generate an abundance of referrals so they can increase their income and enjoy life more.
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