New Methods For Getting Introduced to Prospects

It has always both been a challenge and absolutely vital for salespeople to generate strong relationships. However, in recent years, this challenge has become even greater. Phone calls to prospects go to voicemail, direct mail pieces are immediately disposed, and unsolicited e-mails are deleted. The best way to approach a prospective buyer is unquestionably through an introduction. So how does one find the right person to introduce them?

Let’s say that a salt salesman wishes to contact snow plowing businesses. A tire salesman has a relationship with such a business. The salt salesman requests the tire salesman introduce him to that snow plowing contact. Once the introduction is agreed upon, the salt salesman pays a fee to the tire salesman and receives the proper contact. Wouldn’t a system like that be great? Well, the good news is that there are now new systems available that go beyond traditional sales lead portals.

For instance, Salesconx (www.salesconx.com) is the first-of-its-kind Web portal enabling sales professionals to monetize existing relationships and build new ones with key decision makers. With Salesconx, you can leverage your relationships to earn money and gain access to decision makers within your industry in three simple steps: search connections to grow your business, purchase connections to people you want to do business with and make money by selling your own connections.

Salesconx professionals will only introduce their contacts to sales associates who meet their standards. To ensure the reputability of contacts using Salesconx, members are subject to a qualification process. If you’re interested in finding another method for getting introduced to the kinds of leads you’re looking for, check out this new generation of lead sharing.

Sales Reps Need a Plan

Selling requires a solid plan of attack. Most sales reps are not very good at developing and remaining focused on a plan that guides them through their sales year. An effective way to enhance the efforts of sales reps is to require an annual sales plan that focuses on current and prospective customers and how the rep will strengthen existing relationships and foster new ones.

Specifically, the plan should include the rep's sales and gross profit goals for the year along with a detailed listing of current customers and a plan for penetrating those accounts more deeply. In addition to current customers, it is imperative that such a plan address prospects as well. Again, the plan should list specific target accounts along with a specific plan of action for fostering a relationship with them. Also, sales reps are often their own worst enemies in terms of time management. A weekly time management plan should be a part of the overall plan and should include an allocation of the rep's time to the various activities required. It can even be as specific as allocating administration, face-to-face sales, telephone appointment setting and proposal writing to certain times of certain days. But keep in mind that it is difficult to stay on this schedule exactly and the rep will need to adjust accordingly. However, the point in developing such a plan is to force the rep to become more disciplined in his/her approach to selling.

If the rep is in a territory making calls, it is often helpful to create a routing plan that directs the rep through the territory on specific days and weeks. Again, there will be deviations from this plan, but it can help significantly in getting reps out of the office and into the field.

Without a plan, sales reps tend to wander aimlessly at times. With a good plan that has some discipline built into it by the rep, the chances for success increase dramatically. Sales reps are notorious for burning time in the office or in a car or airplane. Haphazard routing and poor time management contribute to this significantly.

Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ