Step 1: Get Ready - Create a foundation you can build on. This step involves prospecting and pre-call planning. Approach businesses randomly and you will: 1) Call businesses unsuitable for your magazine 2) Who don't believe in advertising and 3) Are unlikely to advertise with you. Then appeal to them by doing homework before m contact. You will make sales more often contacting businesses inclined to advertise with you.
Prospecting
Identify the businesses most likely to advertise with you. Then prioritize them. Call your best prospects before your least likely prospects. As adverse as this sounds, many ad reps call businesses who don't believe in advertising or are not interested in their industry or their reader. If this were so obvious to all reps, I wouldn't be writing about it! The fastest way to make sales hard is to call the wrong businesses, and sadly, many salespeople do just this. Start off with the right prospects and save yourself a lot of time.
Your key prospects are found in these locations:
1. Advertisers in competitive publications. This most obvious source is the one you should prospect first.
2. Current customers running sizes or schedules smaller than they are in competitors or smaller than their competitors are running with you are great prospects. After all, they already believe in and like your publication. What a great place to start!
3. Advertisers who used to do business with you. Just because someone stopped doing business with you does not mean they never will again. Many will come back. Why make it later rather than sooner? Stay in touch with them. Maybe the decision maker left.
4. Advertisers advertise. Seek key prospects in other media (newspaper, radio, television, billboard, yellow pages, internet, etc.) If they meet your criteria (type of business, location, their customer is your reader), these advertisers are excellent prospects.
5. New businesses entering your market or industry. If they believe in advertising (you'll find out easily in an initial conversation), get them early? before your competitors do.
6. Referrals are my favorite prospecting source. They are the easiest to sell! You can turn these leads into sales nearly 100% of the time. Don't be among the unfortunate who do not capitalize on this tool.
When asking for referrals, be specific. Don't ask, "Do you know anyone who would be interested in advertising in our magazine?" Your answer will probably be "No." Ask if they know a specific business (have a list of your top prospects), specific type of business, a business in a specific geographical area. You get the idea. Narrow your request and you will help your customers help you.
Make sure the leads are good. Referrers must know the person they are referring well. If they say, "SoAndSo should advertise with you," and they don't know this person, they're right, but this does not qualify as a referral. Just a good idea you probably already had.
Pre-Call Planning
"To me, selling begins with investing time in preparation and planning," Donald Trump.
Determining and gathering the information you need prior to contact facilitates Getting In and helps make first calls successful.
At a minimum, know the key places your prospects advertise before you get in touch with them. Know the size ad they run, their main message, and have copies of their ads. You will learn a lot about them. For example, are they running a consistent, cohesive campaign, or is every ad different in look, content and tone? How organized is the company in their approach to advertising? This will clue you.
Who should you ask for? If your first call sounds like, "I'd like to speak to the person responsible for advertising," you are likely to get them on the phone before you know their name. This does not make you look good. Learn who to call before getting them on the phone.
How long have they been in business? Who is their target market? Find this information and a lot more by visiting their web site or reading their ads. A new business has different objectives than one in business for decades. Does their target market match your audience?
Arm yourself with this basic information about your prospects, and you will make Getting In easier and build trust faster.
Skip this preparatory step, and you will contact many people before you find the ones who are right for you. Why would you want to do that?
Next month, will discuss Step 2: Getting In. Create Introductions that Eliminate Hurdles. Get Past Gatekeepers, Voice Mail and eMail, one of today's biggest challenges. Get Permission to meet with you on your terms.
Jenaé Rubin is president of Sales Powerhouse, a sales and marketing consulting and training firm whose mission is to help you become #1 in your market. Jenaé is currently writing a book Stress-Free SellingTM, the 7 Steps to Successful Sales and may be reached at http://www.SalesPowerhouse.com or 954-476-0067.
Today's manager lives in a world where change has attained... Read More
Imagine you've just thrown a rock into a pond. SPLASH!... Read More
Most people don't realize how powerful a negotiating tool silence... Read More
As a salesperson, your ultimate goal, of course, is to... Read More
There are a number of sales closing strategies that you... Read More
"Yeah right!" I thought to myself as I started to... Read More
We are each responsible for our own success - or... Read More
As a trainer, you will be able to see a... Read More
1. Be on time. In fact, arrive a few minutes... Read More
There's more to what he does than meets the eyeWith... Read More
I'm about to challenge your belief system, or at least... Read More
Some years ago I read and interesting story that illustrated... Read More
A Revolutionary 'NEW' Dimension In Sales: Make many more closings... Read More
Have you ever found a lead on a scrap of... Read More
It is always important that you use the right terms... Read More
Step 1: Get Ready - Create a foundation you can... Read More
We all want to belong. As humans we feel the... Read More
I've been getting lots of email from my readers lately.... Read More
An area many businesses fail to recognise as a way... Read More
Mastering the "art of selling" is simply knowing how to... Read More
What does it take to be a WINNER during these... Read More
Just because we receive a referral, it doesn't mean that... Read More
You must be able to coordinate your sales talk to... Read More
Imagine...you inquire about a product. The salesperson does everything right.... Read More
A myth can best be described as somebody or something... Read More
Did you ever meet someone with whom you just clicked?... Read More
Statistics state that 55% of people judgments are made based... Read More
How did you do this past year on your sales... Read More
Follow this story...I went to Best Buy today to get... Read More
What are you selling?Coaching? Consulting? Professional services? A product? Information?To... Read More
In my dreams, I envision being the marketing consultant equivalent... Read More
If you've been in sales for any length of time,... Read More
Trade shows are so obvious. You go. You hand out... Read More
In the day-to-day operation of an online business we can... Read More
A sales manager who reads this newsletter regularly suggested the... Read More
Today's manager lives in a world where change has attained... Read More
Ever lost a sale? Of course you have, we all... Read More
When selling a product to a consumer, one of the... Read More
Follow this story...I went to Best Buy today to get... Read More
Yesterday I did a sales training program for a great... Read More
When you are in sales, you have the choice to... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if there were an inexpensive method... Read More
Since 1990 I have focused on the three primary barriers... Read More
I have to admit, I have an 'addiction'.Sometimes this addiction... Read More
You do have a "Pipeline" don't you? You know, the... Read More
There is a new trend in the way wood decks... Read More
Your mission as a business owner is to develop a... Read More
Dear Friend,You #1 weapon in advertising will always be...Superior Salesmanship.I... Read More
Did you know that there are specific psychological triggers you... Read More
Here's a surefire method to guarantee you achieve the best... Read More
The purpose of any business is to bring in customers,... Read More
Does this sound familiar? With high expectations, you sent your... Read More
As a trainer, you will be able to see a... Read More
Selling arwork is easy when you follow a road map.... Read More
Sales is still a must for any company who wishes... Read More
As business owners we all know that in a ideal... Read More
Here's the thing... you still have to make every marketing... Read More
Q & AQ. Sometimes when I'm presenting to clients, I... Read More
We all have something in our past we believe someone... Read More
You have a choice. You can stand out or blend... Read More
I just finished reading another sales copy ending with the... Read More
People are always looking for ways to close the sale.... Read More
Everyone knows the importance of having a positive attitude, especially... Read More
Recently I received a prospecting voice mail message from a... Read More
I am a big believer that great salespeople generally realize... Read More
I worked for years as a mortgage loan officer. During... Read More
Sales Training |