As a sales representative I started working with the internet and a crm tool(customer relationship management) for prospecting. I used Yahoo, AltaVista, Google and others to search for companies websites and than start dialing to get the right contacts. Of course you almost always had the gate keeper, you know that salesblock that sent you to the right person sometimes. This was over 12 years ago now, if you're in sales and this is your method of calling still you need some tools to help you with your success.
(As I noted in one of my early posts, you can use the web to get past the gatekeeper and also take a cold call to a warm call very quickly with Web 2.0.)
Except for a short period of time working for PC Connection, I have had limited open resources to tools that assist with getting to the key contacts at a company. However I have been a long time user and subscriber to Jigsaw.com and recently added the paid service to Linkedin.
So a question I have to ask, who should be paying and providing the tools to help a sales representative be successful? Is it the role of the rep, or the company?
Both sides of the argument have valid points, lets review them:
Sales representative pays:
Money motivates a sales rep! (or at least it should) So as an agressive representative you would go out and make sure your spending your time wisely. Jigsaw only cost $1 per contact or 5 points (see how it works here), Linkedin is free, however there are benefits to the expanded service starting at only $24.95/month.
So easy to say, if you want to make more money spend some money to maximize your time. A drawback with this however is that you are likely to only get 20% or less of the representatives willing to invest in their success.
Company pays:
Investment in your team, every company provides training and resources to their employees. However as mentioned above only one company that I worked for provided Sales Tools to the team. Harte Hanks was a tool that provided a great wealth of information including contacts, titles, company infrastructure and planned upgrades. Information that when used and trained on can help the organization increase revenues. The key here is that the tool is available to the entire sales organization, of course you won't have 100% adoption but even 50% is a wise investment in the companies success.
So if your a company looking to increase revenues you should provide the resources to assist your entire team.
Here are a listing of some of the tools:
Jigsaw.com - Available through individual accounts or Enterprise wide services.
Harte-Hanks - Here is the B2B site for IT decision maker information.
One Source - Free trial available on the site, similar to a Harte-Hanks
Hoovers.com - Another database for contacts and customer information.
There are many more tools out there, if you are using one with your company that you feel is a benefit please add it to the comments below.
Thanks for reading, smile and dial!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
A little extra goes a long way.
We have all heard this before from someone. However I don't see it much from inside sales representatives. It seems that most (not all) cube farm sales reps feel that they can punch in and out at 8:30 and 5:30. If you have this mentality your very unlikely to succeed and even less likely to get the fat paychecks.
The first year of any sales job is key to future success. If you are only doing the minimum than you will only see the minimum. Take an extra hour each day to set up your prospects for the following day. (I find the morning is best since work can sometimes get in the way at the end of the day) Review the accounts you have/look for new ones, search out multiple contacts through Linkedin, Jigsaw, HarteHanks and google. Add information to your CRM that will help you to understand their business. I made a horrible mistake when I was new, I asked a prospect what they did and he laid into me. Don't make the same dumb mistake!
This extra hour will save a ton of time, think of trying to find the contacts during the day in between calls. You have to jump from site to site, not as productive. Plan your day, set up two time blocks for strictly calling. No inbound calls, no emails, just straight calling. You will get in a grove and start to feed off each good call.
If your new, or just looking to get to the next level try it out. It will help you plan your day, instead of your day planning you.
The first year of any sales job is key to future success. If you are only doing the minimum than you will only see the minimum. Take an extra hour each day to set up your prospects for the following day. (I find the morning is best since work can sometimes get in the way at the end of the day) Review the accounts you have/look for new ones, search out multiple contacts through Linkedin, Jigsaw, HarteHanks and google. Add information to your CRM that will help you to understand their business. I made a horrible mistake when I was new, I asked a prospect what they did and he laid into me. Don't make the same dumb mistake!
This extra hour will save a ton of time, think of trying to find the contacts during the day in between calls. You have to jump from site to site, not as productive. Plan your day, set up two time blocks for strictly calling. No inbound calls, no emails, just straight calling. You will get in a grove and start to feed off each good call.
If your new, or just looking to get to the next level try it out. It will help you plan your day, instead of your day planning you.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Buy or Sell?
Are you selling or is the customer buying?
This is a question that I had to get answered on my own. Why is that? Unfortunately I didn't read many books when I started my career and I didn't have any sales training for the first 10 years of selling. Image that, 10 years of learning through trial and error and picking it up from peers and some management.
I remember when I first got on the phone, I had a script and it was all about the company I worked for. Does the customer really care? Not at all, they sometimes listen but they have heard it all before. You may spend hours on a script to make it highlight all the right points. It usually comes across in two ways, 1) like the teacher in Charlie Brown, 2) I'm the best, must be true since I said so.
I still remember when the lights went out on the script for me, I was finding it hard to get anyone to open up and talk about their current environment so I tried something new. I got an IT Director on the phone, introduced myself and my company name and simply asked for his time. His answer: "I'm not buying!", I said "Great, I'm not selling."
This answer floored the guy and asked me what I was calling for then. I explained that I can't provide him something if I have no clue to what can help him solve his problems. I went on to tell him that I understand roughly what his company does and that there are other companies like his having a certain need. The call went on for an hour, I understood his entire infrastructure and uncovered opportunities to work on.
Prospecting for me is like going over to your friends for dinner. I always ask what I should bring, I don't just show up with something they already have. Never assume that a prospect needs what you are selling, find out what they are buying. Your more likely to close the deal.
People buy from people!
If you have read this article and have a story of how you have helped a customer "buy" please add it to the comments section.
Thank you for reading!
This is a question that I had to get answered on my own. Why is that? Unfortunately I didn't read many books when I started my career and I didn't have any sales training for the first 10 years of selling. Image that, 10 years of learning through trial and error and picking it up from peers and some management.
I remember when I first got on the phone, I had a script and it was all about the company I worked for. Does the customer really care? Not at all, they sometimes listen but they have heard it all before. You may spend hours on a script to make it highlight all the right points. It usually comes across in two ways, 1) like the teacher in Charlie Brown, 2) I'm the best, must be true since I said so.
I still remember when the lights went out on the script for me, I was finding it hard to get anyone to open up and talk about their current environment so I tried something new. I got an IT Director on the phone, introduced myself and my company name and simply asked for his time. His answer: "I'm not buying!", I said "Great, I'm not selling."
This answer floored the guy and asked me what I was calling for then. I explained that I can't provide him something if I have no clue to what can help him solve his problems. I went on to tell him that I understand roughly what his company does and that there are other companies like his having a certain need. The call went on for an hour, I understood his entire infrastructure and uncovered opportunities to work on.
Prospecting for me is like going over to your friends for dinner. I always ask what I should bring, I don't just show up with something they already have. Never assume that a prospect needs what you are selling, find out what they are buying. Your more likely to close the deal.
People buy from people!
If you have read this article and have a story of how you have helped a customer "buy" please add it to the comments section.
Thank you for reading!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Prospecting - what can you use from a Linkedin profile?
I started using Linkedin as a prospecting tool around the start of 2004. I got a request from one of my clients to join and for some reason jumped right in. When I first joined there were around 1 million users I believe, now there are over 100 million worldwide.
Wow, 100 million people that you can take a cold call and turn it into a warm call. If you aren't using this tool to make sales calls you need to wake up and count the money.
I have an example of how Linkedin helped a sales representative I was working with in taking a dead end call from frozen to warm. While I was sitting with the representative to provide feedback on prospecting calls I pointed the representative to Linkedin after they were getting no where with the account. The CRM only had one contact and numerous turn over in sales representatives calling on the account in the last two years.
We reviewed the company profile and found that the contact being called on wasn't in IT any longer and that there were three additional contacts in IT.
We clicked on one of the profiles, I asked a simple question to the representative. What do you see from this profile? They were quick to point out that the person was the IT Director and has been at the company for 5 years. I asked if that was all they saw, the answer was yes.
There was so much more, here is an overview of some of the additional information:
1) The picture wasn't the normal head shot, the picture was of the him on a boat fishing, looked like a lake.
2) Showed the university, it was located the next town over from where the representative grew up.
3) The profile had a link to his family blog, JACK POT! It showed pictures of his wife, his two girls, a recent trip and on and on. Does this seem like a door opener?
4) Groups, this is a great way to connect. Join a group and provide feedback on discussions and it is likely your prospect will see you. If your adding value to them you will get in the door.
There was probably even more but with the information above we had enough information to build a relationship.
Look deep and open doors.
Wow, 100 million people that you can take a cold call and turn it into a warm call. If you aren't using this tool to make sales calls you need to wake up and count the money.
I have an example of how Linkedin helped a sales representative I was working with in taking a dead end call from frozen to warm. While I was sitting with the representative to provide feedback on prospecting calls I pointed the representative to Linkedin after they were getting no where with the account. The CRM only had one contact and numerous turn over in sales representatives calling on the account in the last two years.
We reviewed the company profile and found that the contact being called on wasn't in IT any longer and that there were three additional contacts in IT.
We clicked on one of the profiles, I asked a simple question to the representative. What do you see from this profile? They were quick to point out that the person was the IT Director and has been at the company for 5 years. I asked if that was all they saw, the answer was yes.
There was so much more, here is an overview of some of the additional information:
1) The picture wasn't the normal head shot, the picture was of the him on a boat fishing, looked like a lake.
2) Showed the university, it was located the next town over from where the representative grew up.
3) The profile had a link to his family blog, JACK POT! It showed pictures of his wife, his two girls, a recent trip and on and on. Does this seem like a door opener?
4) Groups, this is a great way to connect. Join a group and provide feedback on discussions and it is likely your prospect will see you. If your adding value to them you will get in the door.
There was probably even more but with the information above we had enough information to build a relationship.
Look deep and open doors.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Got Goals?
For those of you that work in a cube farm, have you ever looked at someones cube and been amazed by how much stuff is hung and stacked in it? We have all seen them, something like this:
Cube Farm
Have you ever seen anyone with their goals pinned up? The likely answer is NO, a big, big NO.
Why is that? Are they afraid of what others will think, are they worried that their boss will laugh at it, or maybe it's just that they don't have one.
Of course in sales we always have goals. However the goals that our company and boss give us aren't the ones that motivate us. Usually they do the exact opposite and bring us down.
In my 6 years of working in a cube I finally started not only writing down my goals but also putting them in my cube. One year I had $150K and Sr. Exec in my cube. The $150K was for my income and the Sr. Exec was for my company title, which also got me a raise. Many of my co-workers would ask why I had it up and also make jokes about it. However I saw it everyday and it reminded me of what I wanted to accomplish and keep me on task. I met those goals and have been setting 1, 5 and 10 year goals since. I revise them often since the longer term goals do change with your age.
You will get more when you know what your are working for.
So I ask again, Got Goals? If the answer is no, take ten minutes and get them!
Cube Farm
Have you ever seen anyone with their goals pinned up? The likely answer is NO, a big, big NO.
Why is that? Are they afraid of what others will think, are they worried that their boss will laugh at it, or maybe it's just that they don't have one.
Of course in sales we always have goals. However the goals that our company and boss give us aren't the ones that motivate us. Usually they do the exact opposite and bring us down.
In my 6 years of working in a cube I finally started not only writing down my goals but also putting them in my cube. One year I had $150K and Sr. Exec in my cube. The $150K was for my income and the Sr. Exec was for my company title, which also got me a raise. Many of my co-workers would ask why I had it up and also make jokes about it. However I saw it everyday and it reminded me of what I wanted to accomplish and keep me on task. I met those goals and have been setting 1, 5 and 10 year goals since. I revise them often since the longer term goals do change with your age.
You will get more when you know what your are working for.
So I ask again, Got Goals? If the answer is no, take ten minutes and get them!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
What to do now?
Shocked! That is the best way to explain how I felt on May 23rd. After traveling to Arizona for a sales meeting for SPI training follow up and a review of the direction for the company the week before I was called on a Monday and laid off.
Now what am I going to do, how am I going to break the news to my wife that after just two years I'm out of work again.
Finish the round of golf first I guess. I was at a charity tournament for an employee of one of my customers and there were 15 reps there, seemed like a good event to build on the existing relationships that I had and gain new ones for my role at the company.
After finishing the round I got a close family friend to pick up the kids so I could talk to my wife about the situation. Amazingly my wife took it in stride and told me that she believes in me and that we will be fine. This meant the world to me and put me in a positive mood. Positive thinking is an amazing tool.
Since last week I have been working my network and uncovering opportunities through perfect timing and the strength of my network. I'm a huge believer in Linkedin and started using it over 7 years ago. This tool has allowed me to uncover over 15 leads for careers and open the door to a change that may help meet a personal goal 2-3 years ahead of schedule.
I've also started looking into consulting, I have a wealth of knowledge about the IT Channel and see an opportunity to work closely with VAR's to meet their goals without capital investment. You may ask how, please feel free to contact me to find out.
I plan to use this blog to assist Sales Professionals in having a location to go for tips and means to grow. Let's see how I do. Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to add links to tools that you feel helpful.
Thank you,
Michael Thompson
Now what am I going to do, how am I going to break the news to my wife that after just two years I'm out of work again.
Finish the round of golf first I guess. I was at a charity tournament for an employee of one of my customers and there were 15 reps there, seemed like a good event to build on the existing relationships that I had and gain new ones for my role at the company.
After finishing the round I got a close family friend to pick up the kids so I could talk to my wife about the situation. Amazingly my wife took it in stride and told me that she believes in me and that we will be fine. This meant the world to me and put me in a positive mood. Positive thinking is an amazing tool.
Since last week I have been working my network and uncovering opportunities through perfect timing and the strength of my network. I'm a huge believer in Linkedin and started using it over 7 years ago. This tool has allowed me to uncover over 15 leads for careers and open the door to a change that may help meet a personal goal 2-3 years ahead of schedule.
I've also started looking into consulting, I have a wealth of knowledge about the IT Channel and see an opportunity to work closely with VAR's to meet their goals without capital investment. You may ask how, please feel free to contact me to find out.
I plan to use this blog to assist Sales Professionals in having a location to go for tips and means to grow. Let's see how I do. Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to add links to tools that you feel helpful.
Thank you,
Michael Thompson
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