Establishing trust is a key to this method. If you're joining online groups/networking sites with sole goal of selling to them, things can turn sour quickly. Sometimes the members feel like you're taking advantage of them when you've been there a day and you're already in sales mode. Oftentimes they'll have rules about sales as well.
It takes more time, but becoming a contributing member of an online group will pay more longterm dividends.
I agree, I don't sell in these networking groups. I give our story, and our strengths, but I'm not pitching products. We are there to help anyone that needs it. I'm pretty understated.
Calgarypuck has been great, I have had people reach out to me with questions and requests in terms of what we offer. And even when I've posted up some positions that we're looking at I've had a great response.
I didn't say it in my post, but the best selling results can happen when you're not herb tarlik (sp?)
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
What areas does your company service - do you do multi-family residential? If so send me a PM. I can get a couple quotes and send you a couple of warm leads.
Buy shoes. Send 1 shoe through the mail to each person you're prospecting. Attach a note to the shoe saying "now that I've got my foot in the door, allow me to tell you...."
Await calls.
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Establishing trust is a key to this method. If you're joining online groups/networking sites with sole goal of selling to them, things can turn sour quickly. Sometimes the members feel like you're taking advantage of them when you've been there a day and you're already in sales mode. Oftentimes they'll have rules about sales as well.
It takes more time, but becoming a contributing member of an online group will pay more longterm dividends.
Thank you, I rarely ever wander out of the Fire on Ice forum, I will definitely check that out!
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Originally Posted by J pold
There's no way around the fact that prospecting is hard rejection-dense work. The pandemic has made it hard to connect with people but I find when you do get the conversations going they are more meaningful because so much has changed and all companies are reevaluating their process in some way.
For me, cold calls are the best & more effective way of prospecting. Every company and vertical is different but I believe that well-timed calls that provide valuable insight to the prospect is the best way.
I agree, there’s really no shortcut around cold calls, it just seems harder than ever - everyone has the perfect excuse NOT to meet. But at the end of the day it’s a numbers game and having something valuable to offer when you do get the opportunity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by J pold
This is a bad approach in my opinion. You're never going to get ahead by lying on the front end about why you're calling. Gate-keepers are people too and I find if you treat them with respect and are honest they'll generally help you out.
100% agree - not an approach I take. I will ask by name (if I have it) but I won’t ever lie and say I know the person
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizaro86
What areas does your company service - do you do multi-family residential? If so send me a PM. I can get a couple quotes and send you a couple of warm leads.
That’s super generous of you.
Yes, we do multi-family residential (in fact even though we are a “small” local company we are actually Calgary’s biggest multi-family residential waste services provider)
I will send you a PM
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Originally Posted by HotHotHeat
THIS is why people make fun of Edmonton. When will this stupid city figure it out? They continue to kick their own ass every day, it's impossible not to make fun of them.
While it’s not my primary source of prospecting, I will use LinkedIn occasionally when I can’t get a hold of someone on the phone. I’ll ask to connect with someone and give it a few weeks before I message them, ideally, after posting some interesting content on my end.
When I do reach out, it’s personal to the prospect and is not about me selling anything but a relevant market data point (“we just renewed a tenant in your building” “worked with an industry pier on their new space”). Do you have 10 minutes to discuss? I say it works about 10% of the time. If not, no problem, give it another 3-4 weeks, try them on the phone, post an interesting article or content, try again, repeat until (i) they agree OR (ii) they say no, they are working with someone else, etc. Respect when a prospect says ‘no’ and move on. Maybe try again in another year because things always change, but if someone isn’t interested, respect that.
One thing I’ve found is someone asking for a cold LinkedIn connection and them immediately sending what is clearly a stock message to spam a bunch of people with. Do not do this. It’s so clear to the prospect what is going on, and it’s likely they won’t work with you on your approach alone.
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Seeing your industry, this may not apply, but if people want this as a general repository of sales techniques, etc here you go - has worked for me very well (B2B sales)!
If you have a large account list, pick like 10-20 focus accounts you want to target.
Research the crap out of the companies - find the appropriate decision makers. Is the company public? research their quarterly earnings. What big news do they have on their communications page? Is the DM or executives active on social media? Follow them. Comment on their posts/articles. Make sure the comments have insight/value, not just a "great article! I agree 100%". If you have access to it, use something like ZoomInfo/Discover.org - you get a ton of info there.
First time you reach out to them reference a post/article they made, and again, add insight - you aren't selling your product yet. If they aren't active on social media, reference any recent news about their company that you can tie to yours - find something in your research that you can use to attempt to add value to a discussion.
Once you have a little rapport with them it is time to get down to business. Do not feature dump - you need to find out what their problem areas are. Are they currently with a competitor? What do they like about the competitor? What would they change if they could? If they are perfectly happy, why are they spending their valuable time talking to you? Obviously there is something they are curious about - how can I help? Find out THEIR timeline - what compelling event is driving them to make a decision? (i.e. end of fiscal year, contracts expiring, etc.)
Take meticulous notes - the first meeting should almost be like a cross-examination - ask questions, follow up on those questions, ask more - occasionally repeat their answers back to them. You want as full a picture as you can have. Next meeting present your solution based upon the problems/issues you and they identified - keep referencing the information you have already gathered to build consensus. Leave pauses between slides - give them plenty of time to interject.
Leave a hard/soft copy of your proposal with them - follow up that same day thanking them and saying it looks like the beginning of a productive partnership. Schedule meetings, etc as they need. Always work backwards from their timeline - "you say you want a solution done by date x... to get this going we will need your commitment by date y to ensure everything is ready to go for you on your day"
Profit
Last edited by I_H8_Crawford; 02-24-2021 at 12:36 PM.
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Yeah, that sounds like way too much trouble. I hope you're never my competitor, I_H8_Crawford. You'd wipe the floor with me. If my customers are lucky, I might drop off a box of Timbits once every five years.
Somewhat related, but if anyone is interested in sales, client management, etc. "Never Lose a Customer Again" by Joey Coleman is an excellent book. Not a wishy-washy business book but has lots of practical knowledge and methods for any industry.
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