Calling On Leads

Having access to qualified leads is the first step in generating solid business opportunities. Understanding how best to call on these leads, however, is just as important as being able to access the leads. Follow these few rules and you will be well on the path to success.

1. Call the leads immediately. New leads are posted daily so it is important that you check back regularly to get the updated information. Other vendors from the same industry as you may be accessing these leads too. Typically a potential client gets three prices before deciding on a vendor, if you are the seventh vendor to call you may be excluded from the bid process all together. Call immediately and try to set the appointment. If the potential client asks that you just send some information make sure that you send it and follow up to make sure that they received it.
   
2. Make friends with the gate keeper. Most receptionists or administrators are tasked with blocking calls from sales people who are trying to push their services. The best way to avoid an immediate rejection is to not act like you are trying to sell something. If the individual who answers the phone states their name, repeat it back to them and ask them how they are before diving into your sales spiel. By making this individual feel important you will involve them in your process making them more likely to assist you.
   
3. Don’t let the company know that you are aware of their upcoming move or need of your services. Companies can be very protective of their information and while their information is public record few companies realize this. When calling on the leads do not openly state that you know about an upcoming relocation or project. First introduce yourself and your services, ask about their organization and ask to be connected with the individual who takes care of procuring products and services for the firm.
   
4. Be careful when identifying the decision maker. The quickest way to hit a brick wall when cold calling is to call and immediately ask for the decision maker. Asking for the decision maker immediately identifies you as a salesperson and this makes the individual answering the phone feel insignificant and unimportant. The best way to determine if you are actually dealing with a decision maker is to ask if there is anyone else who gets involved in the procurement or decision making process.

How Effective are you at Developing Business Opportunities?

Business opportunities or leads are like capital, the more you have the more you can do. Take for instance a sales rep that has a 90% close rate and calls on ten potential clients in a month. If 90% of those calls result in closed business, that individual will have won nine deals. Now lets consider a rep that only has a 50% close rate but in a month calls on 30 potential clients. Even with a significantly lower close rate the individual with more opportunities does more business.

Let’s examine how effective you are at developing opportunities. By determining the ways in which you discover opportunities you can begin to realize which methods are more effective than others. After making that determination, more opportunities can be generated by focusing more effort on the more productive methods.

Methods of developing opportunities include call in business, existing clients, cold calling and networking. These methods can be divided into two categories, reactive and proactive.

Reactive Methods: The reactive methods of developing opportunities include call in business and existing clients. Below you will find some of the problems with both reactive methods of business development.

• Call in Business
  • This occurs when a potential customer calls the office after finding your company in the phone book.
  • There are no efforts on your behalf which generated this opportunity.
  • This type of business is inconsistent and unreliable; they are just as likely to call a competitor.
    
• Existing Clients
  • Existing Clients are those whose business you have already won and may call when they need your services again. Think about the life cycle of the product or service you offer. If you sell something like office supplies there may very well be a large amount of revenue generated by existing clients who have an ongoing need for your service or product. If you are in real estate, however, the average length of time between clients needing your services again may be as long as seven years.
  • You may call on existing clients to try to sell them additional services or products you offer; your client base is a finite number and without increasing that number you limit yourself.

Proactive Methods: The proactive methods of developing opportunities include cold calling and networking. Below you will find the pros and cons of both of these methods.

• Cold Calling
  • Cold calling causes anxiety. Individuals don’t like to be told no or to get out.
  • Cold calling is inefficient-there is no equality between effort and outcome.
  • Cold calling does offer practice interfacing with potential clients and familiarizes individuals with some of the more common responses of individuals who do not want to be sold something.
  • Cold calling distributes your information. Even in the event that a company does not need your services at the time you call on them, sending your information will make them remember you in the event that a need for your service does develop.
  • Companies that you call on may not need your service but may know of someone who does. When calling on companies if they state that they do not need your service, ask if they know of anyone who does.

What is the worst that can happen?

• Networking
  • Networking through attending events or meeting with other sales reps individually builds rapport and synergy.
  • Networking can really pay off but takes a lot of time, make sure that you network with likeminded individuals who are driven. You don’t want to waste your time on sales people who are not going to contribute to the relationship.
  • Talk with sales people from industries who look for similar indicators in the market place. For instance if you sell voice and data cabling services you may want to talk with commercial builders or commercial real estate agents who know of companies moving or purchasing or building an office.
  • Networking opens doors. You may want to do business with a company that a networking colleague has already done business with. You can use your relationship as leverage to set the appointment.

You probably rely on some of all of these methods to obtain business. As an exercise, take a look at the last 10 or 20 appointments you had. Analyze the method through which each of them was obtained. If more than half came from a reactive method you could probably be doing more to uncover business opportunities. Rather than waiting for the phone to ring pick it up and make some calls or go and attend an event. You’ll be amazed at how much business is out there if you know how to find it.

The three C’s of attending a Networking Event

Networking events can be an excellent way of making contacts, meeting potential clients and learning the key players in any industry. While these events can be rewarding they can also be stressful. Entering a room full of people, most of whom are probably strangers, and starting conversations multiple times throughout the evening can be a very intimidating task. An easy way to manage the experience is to remember the three C’s of attending any professional event; consumption, conversation and conduct.

Consumption: The first of the three C’s could be the most important. Most business card exchanges or business after hours meetings have a buffet or open bar. Feeding attendees is always a good way to increase event attendance since most business after hours events overlap with most people’s dinner schedule. Keep in mind, however, that this is a courtesy offering of the event’s host and should not be abused. Just because there is an open bar does not mean that one should drink seven vodka tonics. Furthermore the presence of a buffet does not mean you are at Golden Coral. Over consumption of alcohol or food at an event can make you appear sloppy and uncontrolled. These are both characteristics that are extremely off putting in the business world. If you are going to eat and drink, limit your consumption, you are less likely to be approached for conversation if you are drunk or shoveling swedish meatballs into your mouth.

Conversation: The topics that you choose to discuss with co-attendees should be carefully selected. Keep in mind that while event attendees are all likely business professionals, they all come from different religious, ethnic and social backgrounds. The best way to stay safe in conversation is to avoid debatable topics. Religion and politics are never good topics at a networking event. Since you are attending the event for business then try to keep your conversation limited to relevant business topics. Tell people about your company and your position with in the company and likewise ask about theirs. Talk about business development within the community, or how long they have been in their respective industry. Maintaining a professional demeanor through the conversation topics you choose will not only help you uncover useful information, it will showcase your professionalism to others.

Conduct: The purpose in attending events is to conduct business or to take steps to earn future business. Networking events should not be seen as a free meal or as an opportunity to visit with friends. It is likely that you may know other attendees at an event and it is permissible to say hello. The idea, however, is to meet new people. If you spend an entire evening chatting with friends you are going to miss out on many opportunities to meet like minded professionals who may be able to help you in your business endeavors. Remember that you will only get out of an event the effort that you put forth. Make a goal at the beginning of the evening of meeting five new people or handing out ten business cards or talking about your new service offerings. This makes the event more manageable and helps you visualize your efforts.