The Sales Pro Insider Building Performance Profits and People

Next week I will be part of a TSE Roundtable on What Top Producers Know About Prospecting That You Don’t. 

As part of my prep, I scheduled several interviews with successful sales professionals to get the inside scoop.  Today Wayne Gilpin, Senior Managing Director, Head of Ziegler Wealth Management shared some great insights.  One of the tips he shared is that top producers prospect for referrals.

Think about it…how much easier would your prospecting for new clients be if you focused on leveraging your happy, satisfied or loyal clients? 

Wayne shared the story of a new Branch Manager who adopted a 20 year book of business.  His first months are focused on meeting with these existing clients to re-identify their goals and then provide a quick snapshot of what Ziegler is now able to provide.  This leads to the discussion on who else might benefit from these products and services?

As you focus on building your business, in what ways have you leveraged current clients to find new ones?

I’d love to include your comments in a future post or in the Roundtable next week!

TSE Roundtable

 Learn more about the Prospecing in the Roundtable – it features several global sales gurus besides me!  Keith Rosen, Colleen Francis, Tim Wackel and Cheryl Clausen. 

Filed Under: prospecting, sales tips

What does it take to engage in mutually beneficial networking these days?  It seems more and more confusing.  In the “early” days sales pros met one-on-one with prospects, including potential business network possibilities.  Today networking has a whole different set of rules!  And sometimes it is easy to forget what set of rules we need to play by in the moment.

That is why when I was asked to actually meet face to face with a potential prospect this week, I looked forward to it.  Wasn’t it easier to make decisions and connections “live”?

During the meeting, this person let me know that he is a networker.  That he believes in reciprocal business.  I’ll do business with you, IF you do business with me.  It kind of took me by surprise.  I mean…doesn’t building relationships take time, was I supposed to jump on this “opportunity” within 20 minutes?

I didn’t feel I should have to decide right then.  I found myself doing a bit of backtracking.  And lots of questions were flying through my head:

• Was this the type of business relationship that was going to be worthwhile? 
• What is the upfront and back-end energy going to be? 
• Was I being open-minded or closed-minded?  This was a hard close to make a decision now.
• Do I have time for this?  After all, we only have so many hours in the day – and as I like to add – only so much energy within those hours to expend!
• How badly do I want this business?
• What’s the buzz about this person and company in the e-world?

As I’ve learned with other networkers, taking time to step back and ask these questions is really important.  There are a lot of opportunities to build relationships and it is up to us to make the time for due diligence so we can spend our time/energies in productive relationships.

So, the  ”live” meeting was interesting.  I was able to be direct and let him know that I have good information to consider. And now I have more work to do before jumping in.  So help me out please….

When you look at professional networking opportunities, what are some of the questions you ask yourself before deciding how to proceed?  What are the “rules” of getting good information to make a good decision?

Filed Under: Sales, Social Media, networking, prospecting

Have you heard the advice “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”  The recent media frenzy around Susan Boyle reminds us why.  I finally watched the video of Susan’s audition (see below) and realized there is a great sales tip in Susan Boyle.  Look or hear beyond what the ‘cover” is and you may find gems of business!

Have you heard of Susan?  The Brit with awesome talent whose outside “package” is absolutely no indication of what she can deliver.  She auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent (the precursor to American Idol) show and surprised everyone in the auditorium with her singing talent – as on first (and second) look she did not “present” well.

Prospects can be like that too.  At first glance sales reps make quick assumptions that might bite them later.  A couple of true stories…

A sales rep who sells higher end home furnishings was convinced that many people only came into the store to browse and get decorating ideas.  And that he could spot them and not waste her time with them.  That week a young couple came in and he dismissed them as they were  young and dressed very casually.  Instead of greeting them and assisting them he thought he’d let a co-worker deal with them while he waited for someone who would be a better prospect.  Guess what?  They had loads of money and needed to furnish a new house.  Within hours they purchased tens of thousands of dollars of goods and the co-worker had a great commission from it. 

In another situation, the sales executive scheduled a meeting with a prospect and was re-directed to a “representative” for the owner once they arrived for the meeting  .  She was sure that this meeting was now a waste of her time.  But she followed through with her plan because “at least” she’d gather some good information to use when she got to the real decision maker later.  As she asked her questions and listened, she found that this person could actually make the decision!  The sales cycle was actually reduced because the decision was made in the meeting and the request for a Services Agreement was requested.

The tip?  Don’t judge a prospect by first impression.  Appearances may keep you from talking to people that are good potential clients.  Dig in with questions and research to make sure they aren’t a qualified prospect before moving on.  The outside cover might not give you the true “story” of what is inside. 

P.S. Click here to watch the YouTube video of Susan’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent – watching the judges realization of what is on stage is priceless. When have you had a realization that you almost passed on a good thing?

Filed Under: prospecting, sales tips

Need to nurture pre-sales relationships?  Today’s guest post is by Melissa Blair, a Certified Marketing Automation Coach and techie who is always on the front end of new technology.  Melissa shares specific ways for you to keep in touch with your prospects and be top of mind when they are ready to buy!

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If you’re in sales you already know that prospects are not always ready to buy when you’re ready to sell.  Drip Marketing is a term used to describe an automated system that uses emails, newsletters, direct mail and postcards to continually drip out information to your list of prospects and customers.  Developing a strategy for keeping in contact on a continuing basis is what will cause a prospect to buy from you rather than from one of your competitors.

Let’s examine more closely how drip marketing can increase your sales:

1. Build a relationship– Sending out regular messages to your target market allows you to share information about your business and assures the prospect that your relationship with them will not end with the sale.  

2. Presell your prospects – Educate them and help them do their research.  When they’re ready to make a purchase, who do you think they’re going to call?  

3. Be persistent –Marketing experts recommend you have some sort of contact every 10-21 days to keep your name foremost in your prospects’ minds.   Think about what information you already have that you could divide up and send to your prospect list.   Brochures, white papers, manuals, FYI emails, etc.

4. Become the expert – Supplying your prospects with evidence that you know what you’re talking about will develop your image as an expert.   What have you accomplished that positions you as a leader in your industry?  Don’t be afraid to self-promote!

5. Be yourself –Studies have shown that prospects are more likely to make a purchase from someone they know and trust rather than a stranger who is selling a similar product.  Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine.  Let them see that you are a real person and that you care.

6. Mix it up – Prospects are bombarded with messages every day.  It’s hard to cut through all the clutter in order to get your message noticed.  Use a combination of email, postcards, direct mail, automated voice messaging, phone calls, Twitter, Facebook, etc.   You never know which of your messages will connect with which prospect. 

7. Fix your follow-up failure – An automated marketing database will allow you to make sure that no one falls through the cracks.  Think of all the people you’ve met at networking events and trade shows.  What about referrals and your past customers?  If you’re like most salespeople, you have a pile of business cards on your desk with the intent to follow-up.  Unless you have an automated system, regular follow-up rarely happens and many sales are lost. 

8. Target your audience – As you have probably discovered, your target market can be divided into various subsets. Using a database allows you to further segment your market and personalize your messages accordingly. Your prospects will become purchasers if they can relate to your sales message, which will be different for every segment of your target market.

9. Eliminate your slow sales times –Just as people are nearing the end of one marketing cycle and making purchases, new people will just begin receiving your information, thus continuing the cycle.  If you automate your marketing messages – such as via email auto responders or postcard campaigns – you will have a steady stream of sales. 

10. Appreciate your current customers – Now that you have a customer base that has bought a product, you can use drip marketing to up-sell or cross-sell them to other products or services you offer.   Your current customers are a goldmine as they already know and trust you. 

While planning a drip marketing campaign will take time, the effort is well worth the investment.  Once your automated system is set-up,  it will decrease the amount of time you spend in trying to manually follow-up with people and increase the amount of sales you can make each month.

Melissa Blair is a Certified Marketing Automation Coach for Infusionsoft.  You can reach her at Melissa@cultivatingsales.com or call 262-347-9678. 

Filed Under: productivity, prospecting, sales tips