C-Level Selling and Advanced Selling Skills
Capturing C-Level Quality Leads
Quality leads, especially those of C-level
executives, generate sales. These leads will come as the result
of effective passive and active marketing.
Part I -- Passive Marketing
Since we live in an Internet world, if you
don't have Internet presences, you're behind your competition.
Actually, today, if you don't have a Web 2.0 presence you're
even further behind. So every sales person needs to develop
their own (not their company’s) Internet presence.
Level I - Website, E-news, Blogs
These are necessary for staying in touch.
They should provid your existing and prospective clients
with information about their industry and/or about problems
they're having that you can solve. Once in place, your mission
will be to capture e-mail addresses of those with whom you want
to communicate.
Level II - Social networking using Linked-In,
Facebook, Twitter, etc. (Web 2.0)
These are necessary to collect information
and contacts for your prospecting efforts. This is the current
Internet explosion. Within a few years your clients and
prospects will be entrenched in this medium and this will be a
great place for you to stay current and capture more prospect
email addresses.
The sooner one develops level I and level II
the sooner they'll start generating quality leads.
Part II -- Active Marketing
As stated in the beginning marketing is the
key for generating leads. Traditional marketing such as mailers
and advertisement still have their role to help generate leads.
However, in this day and age, cold calling
will not work. It is extremely ineffective, time-consuming, and
de-motivating. Yet, sales people and some managers still
gravitate to it. Why --
for the same reason an abused child doesn't want to leave its
parents. They don't know what else to do. When alternatives are
presented (like networking), the thought of change scares them.
Consequently, they rationalize, to themselves and others, that
networking won't work.
This rationalization is further reinforced by a few
episodes of networking failures. However, the failure is in the
approach, not the concept.
Networking works, if done correctly. Here's
two basic rules for networking.
-
Network within existing accounts. The
most leads can be found in accounts you now sell.
Your goal is to spread like a virus within these
accounts. Your thought process should be to go "Up and Out."
Meet and be known by all the managers in your accounts --
not just those immediately associated with your products. By
doing this you will learn a lot about your clients business
and problems, which you'll be able to convert into
opportunities, i.e. leads for yourself.
These
managers will also refer (network) you to others within
their division and to other divisions. Again, these will be
opportunities. However, you have to be open-minded as to
creating solutions and positive impacts. If you expect
someone to make the association to your company and say, "We
need your product or service," you'll be disappointed. You
have to be a questioner, listener, consultant, and resource
provider -- not a product pusher.
-
For networking to work you have to have a
focus (who do you want to meet) and a plan (who I know they
can get me there). This rule applies within your accounts
and within the rest of the universe, where you'd like to get
business. You know people that know people. Use them.
However be
specific with what you ask for. In other words, you don't
want to meet just anyone. You want to meet a specific person
and/or a specific title. Otherwise, you'll get someone
random that will deflate your initiative in many ways.
You also want your contacts to introduce you.
Getting just the name from someone is useless. In like
manner leaving a message that so-and-so (no matter their
title and power) said to call, is also useless. Get your
contact to make your introduction -- face-to-face, by phone,
and as a last resort, by e-mail
These passive and active marketing concepts
will help you, but this is only a scratch on the surface of the
whole process. The good news is there are many articles and
videos available that can give you the "How's" once your mind is
receptive to this 21st century approach for effective lead
generation.
And now I invite you to learn more.
Bonus Tip: FREE E-Book
“Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers”.
Just click this
C-Level Relationship Selling Link
.
Sam Manfer delivers
key note speeches
and in-depth
selling work shops
for those
anxious to increase sales. His hands-on coaching turns
individuals and sales organizations into selling whirlwinds.
Sam’s selling awards and $ Million sales recognitions support his
methods. His book,
TAKE ME
TO YOUR LEADER$ along with his
Matching
Chemistry’s
CD and sales seminars replace selling myths and clichés that
frustrate decision makers with a proven approach that captures
their attention. Follow
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