The Definitive Guide to High-Quality Leads

The Definitive Guide to High-Quality LeadsThe Definitive Guide to High-Quality LeadsIts fairly easy to find new leads, but finding new leads that turn out to be qualified prospects is another matter. Every minute that you spend on the phone with someone who is unable to buy from you is a minute that youre not spending with a real prospect. The better your leads are, the mora of your time will go into possible sales. One place to start looking for great leads is with your current customers. Make a list of your very best customers and next to each customers name, write down how and where you honigwein that person. If you dont remember, or you inherited a customer from another salesperson, youll have to ask the customer himself. This is usually best done as part of an account review during which you ask a few questions about how the customers doing, if he has any questions or issues, and what you can do to continue to keep them happy. Its a good idea to check in with your favorite cust omers on a regular basis anyway. Just slip in an extra question like, How and where did you first come in contact with us? Once youve completed this exercise, look for any patterns or similarities. Did you meet several of your top customers at trade shows? In that case, it may be time to ramp up your trade show attendance. Did they find you on social media or through your business network? If so, maybe you should put more time and effort into developing those resources. Wherever your best customers came from, there are probably a lot more people just like them that you can reach in the same way. Another way to help identify qualified leads is to make a list of the qualities that your customers tend to share. If you sell to consumers, do they all tend to be homeowners? Or have large families? Do they have similar hobbies or come from the same geographical area? If you sell B2B, do your best customers tend to come from one or two industries? Are they professionals, manufacturers, tafe lgeschirr providers? Do they tend to be a certain size or be located in certain geographic areas? Now that youve identified the markers that can guide you to the best leads, its time to consider a lead generation program. You may have the greatest product in the world at a superb price but if your prospective customers dont know you exist, you still wont sell anything. The only way you can get sales is by making your target customer base aware of what you have to offer. If you dont have a lot to spend on your program, start small - anything from social media sites for your business to printing out flyers and posting them in places where your customer base hangs out. When setting up a lead generation system, keep in mind that different prospects have different contact preferences. Some prefer emaille, others like to do business over the phone, and still others enjoy wellenreiten social media sites. If you only use one contact channel, youll probably lose your chance to speak with al l the prospects who prefer other methods. Similarly, when you send out marketing methods you should include multiple ways for prospects to contact you in return - email, phone and regular mail at a minimum. Once you have a few leads and youve made contact with them, dont expect immediate results. With luck, some of those leads will buy immediately. But as a rule, it takes several contacts between yourself and a particular lead before hell consider buying. So once youve got someone on your list, keep in touch with that person in a value-building way. For example, you might send your leads a monthly newsletter full of helpful tips, or a link to a free white paper on a subject that will interest them, or a limited-time offer on your product. Every salesperson has experienced the energizing sensation of having a lead call them and say theyre ready to buy. These leads are exciting because theyre a chance to make a sale without having to bother with the time-consuming early parts of the sales process. No combing lead lists, no cold call, no wooing a prospect into ameeting, just straight into the sales presentation. Unfortunately, the expression too good to be true usually applies to so-called hot leads. The truth is that you will rarely actually close a sale with a prospect you meet late in their buying process. The reason is simple whichever salesperson first meets with a prospect has the home field advantage. The first salesperson to speak with a lead has the opportunity to frame his presentation in such a way that his product will automatically look the best. Frequently the prospect who calls up salespeople late in the sales cycle isnt even really shopping by then. She already has a vendor in mind, but her companys purchasing process requires her to get a set number of bids before she can pick one. Or she may be collecting other bids so that she can go back to her preferred vendor with them and try to get a better price. The longer a prospect has been with her c urrent provider, the more likely it is that this vendor has shaped the decision criteria in such a way that other companies dont really have a chance. This is particularly true with very big companies that have tons of red tape involved in the purchasing process. This isnt to say that hot prospects are impossible to close. What it means is that if you simply give your sales presentation and leave it at that, you wont succeed in this type of situation. These prospects need a little extra work on your part if you want to have a real chance - think of it as a trade-off for the work you skipped from the early stages of the sales process. When you get a call from a prospect who says hes ready to buy, ask him a few questions before you launch into selling mode. Youll need to ask who else the prospect is evaluating, how her relationship with her current supplier is working out, what her motivation is for switching providers and similar questions. If the prospect expresses some real frust ration or describes serious problems, you have a chance. If not, dont get your hopes up. If your cold calling isnt putting you in touch with leads fast enough, or youre looking for other options, consider email. emaille prospecting has some serious benefits. Its a huge timesaver compared to cold callingsince you can email a huge number of prospects with one click of the mouse. Whats more, you can save a successful email and use it in the future with a few modifications. And the fact that no one can hang up on an email is a big plus, especially with new salespeople. The basic rules for email prospecting are not necessarily set in stone. Some salespeople break these rules regularly and get huge response rates. However, they do make a good place to start if youre new to email prospecting. Once youve had a little more practice, youll have a better sense of when its safe to break these rules. Rule 1 Choose a Compelling but Businesslike Subject Line?? Your subject line should make pro spects want to read further but should be an honest representation of the email. Subject lines that pretend you have a previous relationship with the prospect may get your email opened, but at that point, the prospect will discard your email in disgust. Rule 2 Keep It Brief?? Most prospecting emails should be no more than a paragraph long, four to five sentences or so. Remember, the point of the email is to get the prospect interested enough to get in touch with you, not to sell to them. You want to give the prospect just enough information to get them to call you back. Rule 3 Include an Offer?? The whole point of a prospecting email is to get an appointment. So your email needs to include something that will motivate the prospect to meet with you. Thats what the sales offer is for. A sales offer can be anything from a one-time break on price to a just for you demo package to a gift with purchase. Rule 4 Minimize Linkage Dont fill your email with links that practically s creams sales email. Include one link in the body of the email, and, possibly, the secondone in your signature. The body link might go to a sales landing page, while the signature link would probably go to your social media or blog page. Rule 5 Minimize Images Yes, its tempting to fill your email with pictures, but resist the urge. First of all, having a lot of images makes your email very large, slower to download, and more likely be flagged as spam. Second, many email clients will block images by default for security reasons, which means your prospects will just landsee a bunch of big empty squares instead of your carefully selected images. Rule 6 Include Lots of Contact Information?? Some people love the freedom of email, while others are more comfortable with phone communication. So the more contact options you give a prospect, the more likely he is to reply. At a minimum, youll want to include a phone number and an email contact address. Including a physical address will give your email more respectability, and including your social media account information allows prospects to learn a little more about you, which can also help to inspire their confidence. Rule 7 Flaunt Your Company Affiliation? Always clearly include your company name and (if you have one) your company logo. Its also a good idea to include a slogan or other tagline related to your company. If your company has branding policies, use them when you construct your email template. All of this will reassure prospects that you work for a respectable business.

How to Run Effective Meetings That Produce Results

How to Run Effective Meetings That Produce ResultsHow to Run Effective Meetings That Produce ResultsPeople spend so much time in business meetings that turning meeting time into sustainable results is a priority for successful organizations. Actions that make business meetings successful require management by the meeting leader before, during, and after the meeting. If you take advantage of these twelve business meeting management tips, your meetings and teams will function better and produce better results. Actions to Take Before the geschftsleben Meeting Actions before the business meeting establish the groundwork for accomplishing meeting results. You can do all the necessary follow-up, but without the pre-work, you wont be successful. Plan the Business Meeting Effective business meetings that produce results begin with smart planning. First, identify whether you need other employees to help you plan the meeting (i.e., pulling in people from a few departments). Then decide wha t you hope to accomplish by holding the meeting and establish doable goals for your meeting. The goals you set for your business meeting will establish the framework for an effective meeting plan. As Stephen Covey says in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Begin with the end in mind. Your meeting purpose will determine the meeting focus, the meeting agenda, and the participants youll need to attend the meeting. Make Sure You Need a Meeting It may sound backward, but, once youve developed your business meeting plan, make sure that a meeting is an appropriate vehicle for accomplishing the goals you established. Holding meetings is an expensive venture when you consider the billable cost of attendees. Make every effort to determine that a meeting is the best opportunity to solve the problem, improve the process, or create a long- or short-term strategy for your team or department. Ensure Appropriate Participation at the Meeting If a business meeting is the appropriate means t o accomplish your goals, check with the participants whose attendance is necessary for the meeting to succeed. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it trips up the savviest leader- the key attendees must be available to attend the meeting. Sometimes people send delegates in their absence. If a delegate attends in the place of a crucial decision maker, make sure the designated staff member has the authority to make final decisions that can be signed-off on. Otherwise, postpone the meeting. Distribute and Review Pre-Work Prior to the Meeting How many meetings have you attended that started with the meeting facilitator passing out a ream of paper or doing a PowerPoint presentation to launch for discussion? It is frustrating because of getting down to brass tactics the meeting becomes a group read-in- hardly productive for your business. You can make business meetings fruchtwein productive and ensure results by providing necessary pre-work in advance of the meeting. Providing pre-work, charts, graphs, and reading material 48 hours before a meeting startsmeans that everyone comes prepared to jump right in. Documentation that will help you achieve the meeting goals can include the following reports and datacharts and links to competitive informationmonth-to-date salesproduction plansMicrosoft PowerPoint slides that illustrate key discussion pointsmeeting minutes, notes, and follow-up from earlier meetings or related meetings and projects Actions to Take During the Business Meeting During the business meeting, if you use the time effectively, youllbuild enthusiasm for the topic and generate commitment from the participants. People will feel part of something bigger than their day-to-day challenges. Therefore, a well-facilitated, active meeting that sets the stage for follow-up will produce meeting results. Effective Business Meeting Facilitation The meeting leader sets a positive, productive tone for interaction among the meeting participants. Effective meeting facilitation starts with a review of the goals, or anticipated outcomes from the meeting, and the agenda. The facilitator helps group members stay focused and productive. Meeting design and the agenda set the framework for the meeting. An effective facilitator, who keeps participants on track, ensures the accomplishment of expected, desired results as an outcome of the meeting. Involve Each Participant in Doable Actions Every workgroup has different personalities that show up for meetings. You have quiet coworkers as well as people who try to dominate every discussion point. Whether facilitating or attending the meeting, you need to involve each attendee in the process of the meeting goals. This ensures that each participant is invested in the topic of the meeting and will follow-up. Youll not have one member- or yourself- trying to carry the whole load. Create an Effective Business Meeting Follow-up Plan During the business meeting, make a follow-up plan with action items. Effectiv e plans include the following The specific action itemThe name of the person who took ownership to accomplish the action itemThe due date of the action itemConsensus about what constitutes completion of the action item Discuss real-life scenarios and barriers to success thatteam membersmay experience as they try to accomplish the items necessary to produce results. If you need a follow-up meeting, set the time before the participants leave so that its on everyones calendar. Actions to Take After the Business Meeting Actions and planning before and during the meeting play a big role in helping you achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes. Your actions following the meeting are just as crucial. Follow-up at the next scheduled meeting is never enough of an investment to ensure results. Publish Meeting Minutes Publish your minutes and action plan within 24 hours. People will most effectively contribute to results if they get started on action items right away. They stil l have a fresh memory of the meeting, the various discussion points, and the rationale for each meeting item. Also, a delay in the distribution of minutes will affect your results because most people wait for the minutes to arrive before tackling their commitments. Effective Business Meeting Follow-Up Respecting and observing deadlines and follow-up will help you achieve results from your meetings. Following the meeting, each person with an action item should make an action plan for accomplishing each of their commitments. Whether they write the steps in their planner, delegate the tasks to another staff person, or complete the task immediately, the individual is responsible for follow-up. And, you can improve meeting results by following up with each person mid-way between meetings. Your goal is to check progression and ensure that tasks are underway. Accountability for Follow-Up During the Next Meeting Have you ever sat in a follow-up meeting that consisted of each participant tel ling the group why they were unable to accomplish their commitment? Establishing the norm or custom of accountability for results begins early in your meeting cycle. Follow-up by the facilitator mid-way between meetings helps, but the group must make failure to keep commitments unacceptable. Have participants report on progress and outcomes at the next meeting with the expectation that all participants will have accomplished their ascribed goals. If a task is stalled, at the next meeting see if there is a legitimateroadblock to progress and determine how to proceed. Debrief the Business Meeting Process for Continuous Improvement The practice of debriefing each business meeting is a powerful tool for continuous improvement. Participants take turns discussing what was effective, or ineffective, about the current business meeting process. They also discuss the progress they feel the group is making on the topic at hand.

5 Impressive Interview Questions to Ask as a Candidate

5 Impressive Interview Questions to Ask as a Candidate5 Impressive Interview Questions to Ask as a CandidateIn todays job market, employers want- and expect- job candidates to come armed with their own array of questions. In fact, not having a question to query your potential employer with might make all the difference between getting a callback for a follow-up interview or not. So the next time youre asked by an employer, Do you have any questions for me? be sure to whip out any one of ansicht five impressive interview questions to ask as a candidateHere are five impressive interview questions to ask as a candidate1. How would you describe the companys culture?Many companies pride themselves on their culture, and its best to have a clear understanding of what that entails. It might be empowering employees to ensure the best customer service, remote team-building retreats, workplace flexibility, or even free meals and yoga classes (were looking at you, Twitter).Its important to keep in mind that employers are not looking to just hire workers, but rather invest in employees who share a common vision and desire- and that typically means being a fan of the companys culture.No matter what industry youre in, you should always think about asking an impressive question (or have one ready) during any job interview. It shows a prospective employer that you dont just want a job, but you want a career with their company.2. How will my work contribute to the companys mission?Every company, big or small, has a mission. And every job within that organization somehow ties in to the bigger picture of that mission. So its important to understand that your job is not just another cog in the wheel but rather a critical component of the companys overall success.By wanting to comprehend how your job fits in with the bigger picture, youre showing that you, too, are thinking about the bigger picture and want to be a valued asset in contributing to the companys mission.3. What is the most important task I can accomplish within the first 30 days?Typically, the first few weeks of any new job are a learning curve. So by asking a potential employer what you can tackle shows that youre goal oriented and focused on success. Second, it highlights to a potential employer that you are not looking to coast through your first few weeks but rather come in and make your mark instead, which is highly attractive to an employer.4. How does the company define success?Sure, a healthy bottom line is the goal of any organization, but what does the company youre interviewing with consider success? Maybe its also having a huge humanitarian impact, or creating a workplace environment that is one of mutual respect and leadership.Whatever the case, knowing what the company considers success- and what it doesnt- can show that youre interested in not just clocking in and getting the job done, but helping the organization to achieve its own brand of success.5. What are some of your pain po ints?Maybe its the companys poor social media strategy. Or it might be that seasonal sales are slumping more than they should be. By asking what problems your potential employer is currently facing, youre showing that youre a problem-solver and not just looking to go with the flow.Getting ready for a big interview? Check out our job interviewing tips category.