Picture yourself in a room with a lot of people. These are business people. People you need to know: marketing directors, buyers, presidents, etc. (SIMS fans are welcome to add decorative components to this visual exercise, such as a bar or a fern).
You see an attractive prospect across the room. This person is attractive not because of how they look (it’s not that kind of bar!), but rather because you believe you could do business with them.
You cross the room, approach him, stick out your hand, and introduce yourself: “Hi, my name is Bill Farquharson. I sell printing and would very much appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about your business and your print needs.”
I promise you, this is what the prospect heard you say: “Blah, blah, blah, Bill Fahrvergnügen, blah, blah, blah, take time out of your busy day to stop what you’re doing and educate me on your business and your job so that I can bore you to death with my printing capabilities. Blah.”
Stop.
Rewind.
Do over.
You see an attractive prospect across the room. This person is attractive not because of how they look (it’s not that kind of bar!), but rather because you believe you could do business with them. Tapping the shoulder of the person next to you, you ask if they know that person. They do and give you his name.
Whipping out your iPhone, you look him up on Google, LinkedIN, Twitter and Facebook. In short order, your learned where he went to school, a bit about his background, and the fact that you share two LinkedIN groups with him. You know where he works and taken the time to learn a bit about what his business challenges are.
You cross the room, approach him, stick out your hand, and introduce yourself: “Hi, my name is Bill Farquharson. You’re the marketing manager at Enormous Corp., aren’t you? I read that you have a major product launch coming up this fall. The Wall Street Journal called it a ‘game changer.’
“My company is in the business of helping its customers to change their game. Do you we could find a place to sit to talk more about this amazing opportunity and the challenges it will present to you, as well as some solutions that I could provide?”
I promise you, this is what the prospect heard you say: “Blah, blah, blah, Bill Fahrvergnügen. Hey, this guy knows something about me. How does he know about the product launch? Oh, The Wall Street Journal. I read that article, too.
“This guy came prepared. Impressive. He’s not another one of those cold-calling salespeople that bought a list and is now in the process of dialing for dollars. OK, I’ll bite.”
The difference is preparation. There is more information publicly available on a company now than ever before, so there is no excuse for not putting in a little pre-call prep prior to picking up the phone. It might take a little time, but it will get easier as you go along. The result is more and better calls, more and better appointments, and more and better sales.
Even a SIMS knows that!
Need sales? Bill can drive your sales momentum. Take The Sales Challenge. Go to www.TheSalesChallenge.com or call Bill at 781-934-7036 for more information.
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- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.