Sales 101 A guide to getting started by @DanGalante Former

NYC Outside Sales Rep

Selling is a very detailed process. There are four basic things that every person in Sales needs to do to be successful.

These four things are: 1.belief in your products and services,2. knowing how to prospect/knowing your target market, 3.knowing how to engage prospects and customers with a message that is compelling 4. the ability to persist in the face of rejection and knowing how to get past objections.

1. Belief in your products and services

Once you decide that you want to go into sales, you need to pick a product that you want to sell. The product should be something that you use yourself or if it is a technical product the product should be one that after doing some research that you could stand behind. When you make a sales presentation to a prospect, it is imperative that you believe in your product. Believing in your product means that you think it is the best on the market and that you would buy it. Belief in your product is key because your presentation will fail to impress the prospect if you do not. Believing in your product or service will enable you to speak about them enthusiastically. This will give you a chance to get the prospect excited.

2. Knowing how to prospect and identify your target market 2.Knowing how to prospect and

identifying your target market When you decide on the product and services

you are going to sell, it is important to know who would a good fit for your offering. For example if you were selling Dental equipment like I was, you would look for Dental professionals in your sales territory, you would not call on other medical professionals and offices that do not have a need.

 

2. Knowing how to prospect and identify your target market

According to Salesforce.com 82% of sellers are not in tuned to the buyer.

Once you identify people who are a good you need to obtain a prospecting list. This list should be created or generated by zip code and should include the names and the addresses of businesses in your area.

Once you have this list, you should develop a sales plan that determines: how many calls you will make per day and the specific businesses you will call on and how often you will see them. For example, I would call on customers and prospects every two to three weeks.

Image via Salesforce.com

3. Knowing how to engage prospects and customers with a message that is compelling In order to engage prospects and customers

with a message that compelling it is important you have the following:

• Build rapport with prospect when you call on them and get to know their needs

• Develop and maintain a strong knowledge of your products

• Develop and maintain a strong knowledge of your competitors

• Know what areas your company beats them and what areas they beat you and develop a selling strategy based on this

• Know current trends and happenings in your industry these details can be obtained by attending trade shows and reading industry trade magazines.

Image via smartdraw.com

 

Don’t Quit! 4. The ability to persist in the face of

rejection/Knowing how to get past objections

In selling you will face a lot rejection. I was selling in New York City where I was thrown out of offices and told to not go back to certain places. Rejection is tough to take at first but it is important to keep in mind that the prospect is rejecting your product offerings and not you.

In order to succeed you need to keep making calls and keep a stiff upper lip.

Getting past objections. It is important to know what customers

true objections are to uncover what motivates them to buy.

Objections in many cases are buying signals because if you do not get asked any questions by a prospect, it means they are not interested.

Getting Started Once you have your prospecting list, it is now time to add

up how many total prospects are in your total territory. Once you have this number, you need to divide it by a

two to three-week sales cycle. In most sales positions, you are required to be on a two to three-week sales cycle.

In other words, you should be able to see all of your prospects and customers at least once in a two to three-week period.

My sales plan was built on this cycle. The only exceptions to this, is if you have an extremely large territory such as several states or if the item you are selling is a high ticket item; where multiple decision makers have to approve the sale.

Getting Started You have now come up with the number of customers

that you must call on each week. Now you must divide the weekly number of calls by the amount of days that you work, which is five or six. Now you have the number of calls you must make per day. It is important to either put the names of the prospects into a daily spreadsheet or log sheet. When I was in sales, I had to fill in prospect names and information on a log sheet my manager printed out for me.  Also your monthly sales goals can be broken down into weekly and daily goals. Simply take your monthly goal and divide it by four to get your weekly goal; to obtain your daily goal take your monthly goal and divide it by the number of days you work in a month.

Collecting Data to Develop a Strategy

When you use your spread sheet or log sheet, it is important to collect information on the prospects you call on. The sheet should contain the following: (CRM software such as ACT! OR Salesforce can be used to keep this information)

1         The names and addresses of the prospect you are calling 2         The date and time of your visit 3         The person in the office that you spoke with 4         The name of the decision maker 5         The service provider that they use 6         Notes on the call and what the next step in the process should be It is imperative as a sales person that you keep records so that your calls with

customers are organized and focused. This information will also help you forge relationships with your prospects and customers. If you are new to sales, you will fill in the above information as you make calls.

I would recommend getting some kind of CRM software that I mentioned above to help with the record keeping and creating a Sales Funnel.

As you keep making calls, the information you collect on prospects and your customers will provide you with a great deal of insight into developing your sales process. This information can also be used to build a sales funnel.

When you use your spread sheet or log sheet, it is important to collect information on the prospects you call on. The sheet should contain the following: (CRM software such as ACT! OR Salesforce can be used to keep this information)1         The names and addresses of the prospect you are calling2         The date and time of your visit3         The person in the office that you spoke with4         The name of the decision maker5         The service provider that they use6         Notes on the call and what the next step in the process should beIt is imperative as a sales person that you keep records so that your calls with customers are organized and focused. This information will also help you forge relationships with your prospects and customers. If you are new to sales, you will fill in the above information as you make calls.I would recommend getting some kind of CRM software that I mentioned above to help with the record keeping and creating a Sales Funnel.As you keep making calls, the information you collect on prospects and your customers will provide you with a great deal of insight into developing your sales process. This information can also be used to build a sales funnel.

Cold CallingWhether you are a veteran or if you are new in sales, you will have to make cold calls to build your customer base. Many sales people dread making cold calls.However, if you approach it the right way; cold calling can be a great way to develop your selling skills and forge great relationships with your future customers.When you first call on an office or business, chances are that when you enter, the first person that you will have to speak with is the gate-keeper. The gate-keeper can have the title of Receptionist or Personal Assistant. The gate-keeper’s job is to act as a screener for their boss. Their boss uses them to screen or qualify people who attempt to contact them.As a Sales Representative in New York City, I have first-hand knowledge of how to engage them in the cold calling situation. I would always sell myself first. When I made a cold call, I would first go into the office and speak with the person at the front desk. I would smile at them and introduce myself. I would say the following:

Cold Calling

Executing a Cold CallI would smile at them and introduce myself. I would say the following:Hi my name is Dan. The Gatekeeper would then reply with something along the lines of hi Dan what can I do for you.

After a bit of engagement and small talk I would tell them the company I was with and ask him or her if they were the decision maker of the product or service I was selling. (It is always important that you are in front of the people who can say yes to you.) I asked this question to validate the person’s importance. Usually the gate-keeper would reply that they were not in charge of that. I would then ask them who was in charge. My goal was to make the gate-keeper a friend.

Friends’ help their friends succeed. (There were times in which this frontline person was very nasty to me and I was not able to obtain this information on the initial call. If this occurs it is imperative that you keep your cool if you ever want to have a chance to sell that business your products and services.)

Once in a while the decision maker will make an appearance asking the gate-keeper about who you are or they may question you directly. 

It is imperative that you are prepared to engage the prospect and ready to answer any questions they ask you. (Objections) When a decision maker made an appearance, I would engage them in a bit of small talk; trying to make them a friend. I would introduce myself and my products. I would ask what supplier they were using and use that information to give a brief on the spot sales presentation. Once I gave this presentation, I would ask for a commitment. I would ask a closing question. Sometimes I made a sale. Many times, I had to obtain their business card and call on them again. (It is important to note that if you are selling a high ticket item you will have to close the client on the next step in the process and not the sale of the item.)

It is important to keep a record of information that you obtain during the call. This can be done on a log sheet or by updating your CRM software.

Encountering the Decision Maker

When you start to develop your presentation, it is important to have knowledge about your prospects business. It is imperative to know your products and services; specifically how the prospect can benefit from them. As a sales person, it is your responsibility to uncover what the prospects needs are. The next thing that has to be done is to know how your company and your products compare to the competition. Product knowledge is a must. (You should also know what motivates the prospect to buy.) Based on who your prospect is currently using as a supplier, you can use this information to show how you are better than who they are currently using.  Only after you have done this research are you ready move forward.  

Developing your Presentation

Developing your Presentation

Make sure the information in your presentation is thorough and can answer as many questions as possible. Your goal is prevent objections and questions by prospects by covering them in your presentation. Make sure to have testimonials from loyal customers with you.

(Many times prospects will ask who else you have worked with before considering you.) Make sure to include product specifications and an ROI analysis if the product you are selling is a big-ticket item. You should also practice your presentation to make sure it sounds polished.

Get your manager and colleagues to watch your presentation and critique it. Filming yourself and watching your presentation will help you improve.

Remember to not be nervous and to convey your enthusiasm through your tone of voice and body language. Do not cross your arms and make sure to make eye contact with your prospect.

Make sure to speak slowly, clearly and in a loud voice.

Delivering Your Presentation

Delivering Your Presentation Your presentation should include a demonstration

of your product whenever possible. You should coordinate with your prospect to make sure there is a projector available if you are going to use visual aids.

Also if you are going to use PowerPoint or any visual aids, make sure to use them only when necessary to supplement your presentation. Remember you are conducting the presentation, not the visual aids.  

Make it a point to get prospects involved in your presentation.

It is about engaging your prospect. Have them plug things in, play with the buttons etc…

You want the prospect to develop an attachment with your product.

Address any questions or objections that your prospect may have.

Once you have done this successfully, ask for the sale! If the prospect says no or they want to think about it, find out why. 

Image via akeynotespeaker.com

Handling Objections and Stalls

In sales, everyone has to be able to overcome objections in order to be successful. The best way to overcome objections is to prevent them.

This can be done by providing a thorough sales presentation that covers all the information about your products and services. Also it is imperative that you address any questions the prospect has immediately. However, objections will come up from time to time.

Some of these objections are real buying signals and others are just stalls to put you off. As a Salesperson, you need to be able to tell the difference. This will come with experience and by reading situational cues in each selling situation.

Remember the prospect is buying you. In other words, you are part of the offering.  On the following slides, I have put together a comprehensive list of objections that I encountered and overcame as an outside sales representative in New York City.

I am Happy with my current supplier

When you call on a prospect they say we are happy with our current supplier, this can mean one of two things. The first is that they are truly happy and the second is that they want you to get lost. (A stall) Obviously you need to be able to tell the difference. You should be able to tell by a prospects body language and level of attention. If it is the first scenario, you should find out what supplier they currently use. When the prospect tells you it is your job to demonstrate how you are better.

(I mentioned this in a previous post. Once you feel that you have demonstrated how you are better, ask for a commitment or a small order. By asking for a small order, you provide the prospect an opportunity to take a chance on you with minimal risk. I have had a lot of success with approach.

If the scenario is the second one, the prospect will not provide you with any information or say that they deal with a company or person for 20 years and they do not want to change. In this case, I would still ask for the order. Should the prospect say he is not interested again, I would thank them for their time and leave. You should call on this prospect a few more times and then only call on them every two months. You need to focus your time on prospects that are receptive to you and your offering.

I want to think it over When you hear this, what the prospect is really saying is I am

interested but I am not totally convinced. You should ask the prospect what specifically about this offer do you want to think over?

Your goal here is uncover the real objection. If the prospect gives you a specific answer, you are in business. Address the objection and ask a closing question.

Say if I can handle xyz, is there any reason why you would not purchase this product.

Should the prospect say, no you covered everything, this means that they are either stalling, not interested in your offering or will not tell you the real issue they have with your product.

If this is the case, ask when they plan on making a decision and follow-up with them in that timeframe.

I need to consult another party This can be a stall to put you off. You will need to

determine this by the prospects body language and the level of attention you receive. When the prospect tells you this, you should ask for a meeting with the prospect and the person they need to consult.

Should the prospect agree to this, you have a chance. If they will not agree to a meeting, it is a stall and they

are not interested in your offering. However, I would still call on them a few more times. If you have no success, call on them every two

months.

Your Price is too high Emphasize the quality of your product along

with the level of service you will provide. Next, you should demonstrate to the prospect

how your offering’s total cost is less than the competitors over the life of the product.

Testimonials from loyal customers can also help you here.

By taking these steps you demonstrate that your product is valuable and increase your chances of making the sale. (Provided this is the real objection.)

We spent our budget If they say the money is not the budget, ask

If I can offer delayed billing or a payment plan would you be able to take delivery?

If the person needs approval from another person, ask to present your product to that individual with your prospects endorsement. 

Should the company really want and need your product, they will find a way to pay for it.

We Spent our Budget If they say the money is not the budget ask if I can offer delayed

billing or a payment plan would you be able to take delivery. If they say they are happy with their current supplier be sure to show how you are better than they are. I will further explain how to handle objections in my next post. (It is important to note that in big-ticket sales, you will have to make multiple presentations to multiple decision makers. If that is the case make sure you are there to present your product, do not leave this task to the prospect!)

After you leave, be sure to follow-up with a hand-written thank you note. Even if you did not make the sale, it is important to be grateful to the prospect for their time. You want to stay in front of the prospect because things always change. There is always a next time!

I had a bad experience with your company I would apologize to the prospect about the

experience. Tell them you are the new rep and that you

will not let anything bad happen on your watch.

Ask them to give you a chance. This will not work all of the time.

Call me after the Holidays Handling Holiday Stalls

You have to attempt to get around this objection. If your offer is time sensitive or if you can provide a break on pricing or payment through a special promotion for example no payments for 3 months; make your customer aware of them. However, at this time of the year, you will get customers and prospects who just don’t want to deal with you and your offering.

As a sales rep, it is your job to be able to tell if the customer and prospect is telling you the truth. In other words, you need to qualify their objections. This means following up with every customer and prospect even when things look bleak.

Should your customers and prospects insist that call you them after the holidays, I would find out which holiday they mean. Next, I would pin them down to a specific day and time to call back.

I recommend sending your customers and prospects a holiday card with a little note reminding them about the appointment; stating how you look forward to speaking with them on the specific date and time.

Once this time comes, I would hold them to their promise. Deliver your presentation and ask for the business.

Using the Columbo Technique

During some cold calls to dental offices, I was not able to obtain the information that I needed to overcome prospect objections. This occurred because the person I was speaking to was not the decision maker.

As a result, they were reluctant to talk for fear that they would say the wrong things or give away to much information on their bosses business. Despite their reluctance, I would continue to talk with them, build rapport and bond.

I would ask to speak to the decision maker but many times they were not in the office; or the person I was speaking with would not want to disturb them for fear of getting reamed out when I left the office.

When this was the case, I would use the Colombo technique to get the information that I needed. I would turn to leave the office, put my hand on the doorknob and ask who their supplier was or when I could catch the boss.

Usually the person I was speaking with would provide me with a lot of information about the prospect. Even more than I expected! This is because the person that I was speaking with put their guard down because they thought I was leaving the office so one last question didn't seem so bad.

During other cold calls, I was able to speak to the decision maker. I would build rapport with them and try to obtain as much information as I could to overcome their objections.

Dealing with Difficult Customers Before I can discuss how to handle difficult customers, the situation needs to be put

in context. In other words, why were the customers being difficult? Were they being difficult

because you screwed up their order or service call? Are they just miserable people? Does the customer constantly cancel their orders? What kind of relationship do you have with this customer? How important is your customer to your bottom line or monthly quota? Now I know that the first thing you want to do with a nasty customer is to tell them

off and fire them. My answer is to resist this urge. You need to remain calm in order to figure out what is causing the customers

hostility. If the customer is being hostile because you and your company screwed up, take responsibility and fix the situation. I always did this during my time in outside sales.

If you have a customer who constantly wastes your time having you order items only to cancel these orders,

I suggest having a discussion with the customer to try and settle the issue at hand. If this goes nowhere then fire the customer! (Provided they do a small amount of business with you.)

Dealing with Difficult Customers Should you have a customer that is nasty who has a

long standing relationship with the company, with you and is crucial to you bottom line/ making your sales quota, I suggest that you suck it up and find a way to keep this customer happy. You do not want to cut your nose to spite you face.

Handling collections can also create difficulty between you and your customer. However, this does not have to be the case. Customers will usually not pay an invoice because of the following reasons: the product you sold them did not work, they lost their invoice, they are having cash flow problems, or the sales rep was too lazy to follow up with the customers.

Dealing with Difficult Customers If the product you sold them does not work, fix the issue

immediately. If the customer lost their invoice, provide them with another copy and follow up. If the customer is having cash flow problems work out a payment plan.

If you are the sales rep follow up. If you’re the sales manager, lean on the rep. Remember to

be respectful to the customer. It is important to keep in mind that you want to sell this customer items in the future; not just collect a debt. (I discuss getting customers to pay on time in a previous post.)

Many difficult customers can be managed with great customer service and follow through. However, some cannot be dealt with and need to be fired. Firing customers should be a last resort.

Dealing with Sociopaths Now you are asking how to deal with these people? Well the first thing

that I would suggest is to avoid them like the plague if possible. What do you do if you need their business? Too often people like this

hold the purse strings to that big commission, a promotion and make the difference between a big income and a very small one. Think of Don Drapers new boss Lou the Creative Director from Mad Men. He is a true sociopath.

How do you deal with such people? To deal with such people, you need to make a judgment call it see if it is worth it for you. If you decide that it is, you need to turn off your emotions and protect your health, put your head down and do what they want. You can justify this as a temporary situation or as a means to an end.

Visualize yourself getting what you want as a result of servicing this sociopath. If you could do this, you could effectively deal with these sociopaths.

Give them what they want so you could get what you want. This is not easy to do.

When to Fire a Customer Everyone has that customer that is a late payer, nasty and/or a time

waster that they wished they could fire. In previous posts, I have discussed how to deal with difficult customers, sociopaths and how to get customers to pay on time. However, there are some customers that need to be fired. The question is how to determine which customers to fire. As Dr. Tony Alessandra puts it, the good, the bad and the ugly. He goes on to describe how companies rank their customers and fire the bottom level of customers. You want to keep the good, try to convert the bad into the good group and fire the ugly.

But how do you determine which customers need to be fired? During my time in outside sales, I was faced with this very dilemma. I had the slow payer, the nasty customer, the customer who always ordered something and returned it. To properly assess which customers to give the ax to, you need to determine how much business they provide you with and how much of your time they take up.

Evaluating your Customers As a Sales Rep, or Business owner, time is money. You want to spend

most of your time with your good clients, try to improve the relationship with the bad customers and fire the worst customers or the ugly ones.

Once you have this list, you want to get to work on firing the worst customers by removing discounts and giving priority to your better customers.

I always asked my good customers if they had colleagues who might need my services.

However, I would wait until I have them delivered value with my products and services before asking for referrals.

By focusing on the best customers, improving your relationship with the bad customers and firing the worst or ugly customers; your sales will increase dramatically. My numbers improved a lot when I used this method.

How has firing your worst customers increased your sales?

Getting Paid-Accounts Receivable When we deal with customers, it is important to get them to pay their invoices in a

timely manner. What a timely manner means is dependent on your company’s payment policy.

Are these customers C.O.D or are they net 30, net 60, net 90 or longer? This payment structure is based on the length of the sales cycle. What can we do to make sure that customers pay their invoices on time? Develop and nurture the relationship with your customer. Do the following: 1 When you complete the sale, put all details in writing. Agree on a method of

payment with your customer. 2 Follow through with the implementation of the sale and check in with your customer

to make sure they a happy with their purchase. 3 If the customer voices concerns or has an issue with your product, address it

immediately. 4 Make sure that you honor the warranty and be willing to look up the invoice for the

customer if they do not have this. If you do these four things, your customers will pay 95 %percent of the time. I did these things but the customer will not pay? In a large organization, the accounts receivable manager will handle the customer by

sending past due notices and charging penalties. However if you work for a small company as I did, this will be entirely on your

shoulders.

When the Customer Refuses to Pay

In any case, you as the sales representative should call and/or visit the customer. When you follow-up with the customer, you should speak to the customer to try to work out a solution to the get the invoice paid. Remember before you go in with guns blazing that you want to keep this customer doing business with you. It is important to be polite and never raise your voice or swear.

Should the customer get nasty and state that they are not going to pay, you should state the following: It is my job to get the company off your back. I am the last nice guy they plan to send. Take care. After you deliver this line, head for the door.

This is a tip that I learned from Jim Cathcart and it works every time! I have used this as an outside sales representative and the customer would say hold on what do you mean? I would answer well after me, my manager has to get involved and he charged fees and refers this to collection and credit agencies. If my manager has to get involved it will get ugly.

You are nice people and I would hate to see that happen. So what could we do about this?

Many would pay that day or within a week. In many instances, I was also able to keep customer doing business with the company.

You should not be afraid to ask customers for money that you are entitled to. Your landlord and suppliers demands payment for services rendered and so should you!

As a result of my efforts implementing the strategies my receivables (open invoices) were the lowest in the company! This allowed me to earn more commissions, make more sales and develop great relationships with my customers. You can too!

Customer Engagement Post Sale Once you have made a sale to a customer, it is important to follow-up with a

customer. As a Sales person it is important to deliver on the promises you make to customers.

This means checking in with the customer throughout the implementation of your product or service and staying in touch with the customer after the sale. In this post, I am going to discuss how to earn referrals and testimonials.

During my time as an outside sales representative in New York City, making sales was the highlight of my day. Once I made a sale, I was itching to ask for a referral or a testimonial.

In other words, I wanted to ask the customer the question Do you know of anyone who could benefit from my product and services?

However, once I made the sale my inner voice told me not to ask for a referral. Now many people would want to ask because they feel that the customer bought their products or services and this shows a sign of trust.

But what did the customer really buy? Yes the customer bought you and your products but the main thing that they bought was your promise to deliver value through your offering.

How can you ask someone to put their credibility on the line when you and your solution are unproven? Yet many people do.

Asking for a referral right after the sale is a mistake because you have not delivered on your promise and you will seem ungrateful. The customer will think that you are not interested in building a relationship and that you just want to make a commission. Remember your job as a Sales person is to build relationships with customers and to make sales by demonstrating your products value to the customer. Once the sale is complete, it is your job to deliver on the promises that you make to your customer.

Now you are thinking well this is great but when do I ask for a referral? How do I ask for a referral?

I would ask the customer for a referral when you know the customer is happy with the implementation of your product or service. In other words, ask when you have delivered on your promise.

When do I ask for a referral? How do I ask for a referral?

If you offer more than one product or service try to cross sell or up sell the customer first. See if the customer will use more of your products or services or if the customer purchases more expensive offerings from you. Once the customer purchases more items from you, the customer is demonstrating that they like and trust you. This is the time to ask for a referral. I usually waited until this point to ask for a referral.

I would ask the customer for a referral by first thanking them for the business that they have provided and trusted me with. Then I would ask if they knew of anyone like themselves that would benefit from my offering. My experience has taught me that the customers were always willing to offer themselves as a reference. Customers who offered me a referral would let me use their names with other clients or pass my name along to their peers.

When do I ask for a referral? How do I ask for a referral?

How & When to Ask for a Testimonial Testimonials are like referrals. Testimonials can come in a variety of

forms. There is a testimonial letter and a testimonial video. The testimonial letter is when a customer writes a letter stating that you did a wonderful job for them and endorses you.

The digital version of this letter is the recommendation feature on LinkedIn. The testimonial video is when a client speaks of your performance in a short video segment.

When asking for a testimonial, offer the customer the option to choose the option they feel comfortable with. Also be sure to tell them what specific aspect of your service you want them to focus on.

Once you receive a referral and/or testimonial, make sure to thank your customer.

Should you get new business through a referral, provide great service otherwise your customer will not give you anymore! Keep your customer informed on the status of the relationship with the referral.

This is how to earn a referral and testimonial in a nutshell

Image via salesforce.com

According to salesforce.com 84 % of prospects respond to a Sales Rep when they are recommended by someone they know.

Lead Generation

Image via andreapalten.com

Using Marketing to generate leads

Digital Marketing/Content Marketing/Social Media Marketing 360

There are various various ways to obtain  leads. Now that you have collected all these leads, what do you do with them? In this post, I will discuss how to qualify and close the leads you get.

Prior to calling on the leads you need to do the following: 1 Read the business cards looking for notes you jotted down about

where you met the contact and something about them. (A phrase or keyword)

2 Enter this information into your CRM software. 3 Do this for all the leads you receive. Next you need to plan a form of action. You need to decide your

method of contact. Are you going to call the people on the phone, email to follow-up, market to them through direct mail or make a cold call in person disclosing that the prospect contacted you about your product and services? The method that you choose will depend on the kinds of product you sell and the size of your business/territory.

Qualifiying Leads

I am going to focus on the email follow-up and the in person cold calls. Following-up via email You should write the following: Dear Mr. Smith: Hi it’s Dan Galante. I hope you are doing well. We met at XYZ. You saw a demo of product xyz. /We discussed__________. I would like to speak with to know your thoughts. If you are interested or have

any questions email me at Dan@dangalante.com or call 1-555-555-5555. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Dan Dan Galante This letter asks for feedback from the prospect without being too pushy. Based on the reception you get from this letter, you can qualify the prospect

as a Cold, Warm or Hot lead. This activity needs to be logged in your CRM software. This letter could be followed-up with a phone call or an in person cold call.

 

Qualifying and Converting leads

Making an in person cold call I spoke about how to make a cold call in an earlier post. To do this successfully you would need to the following: 1 Make friends with the Gate-keeper. 2 Ask to speak with the decision maker. Being that you are following-up on a lead; you already know the decision

maker and can ask for them by name. When the gate-keeper asks why you are here to see the decision maker you should say that they contacted you about your product.

If you get to speak the decision maker; build rapport and be ready to deliver your sales presentation. Make sure to ask for the sale. Also be sure to qualify their objections.

If the decision maker is not around; try to get an appointment. Whether or not you make the sale, make sure to log this activity in your CRM

software. It is important to follow-up on all your sales activities and to keep

records! This is how to qualify and convert leads to sales.

Following up On Leads

Learning how to sell is not an easy process. It requires dedication and hard work. Follow the steps I have laid out and you will

have a great start. Be sure to work with your manager and adapt these techniques to your specific industry and products.

Thank you for taking this journey with me!

Putting it all together

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Additional Resources

Dan is passionate about using Marketing to help businesses drive sales. He has worked on various marketing assignments that include a Start Up, Political Campaign & a Digital Marketing Conference.

Prior to Teaching, Dan served customers as an Outside Sales & Marketing Representative in the Dental industry.

In this role, he taught and trained Dentists on the company’s products and services using a consultative selling approach.

He also supported the company’s marketing efforts at industry trade shows & in the field through lead generation of Digital Technology along with large Dental Equipment.

He writes and publish a business blog on the topics of Sales, Marketing & Social Media entitled Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today.

Dan is seeking a full time marketing role in New York City. He is interested in roles in Direct, Digital, Content & Social Media Marketing. If your company is hiring for roles in these areas, contact him directly via a free LinkedIn Message or email him at Dan@DanGalante.com to set up interviews.

About the Author