Prospecting in 5 Easy Steps —Farquharson/Tedesco

• Cause of sleepless nights—late deliveries, poor quality, reporting compliance, personal job security, price (cough cough).

• Print providers—current printers and length/strength of relationships.

• Decision maker and key business influencer info—names spelled right (please!) and job function, not always title.

Step 4: Establish Minimum Quantity Standards for Dialings and Conversations. In tele-
prospecting, only consistent efforts are rewarded with good results. Therefore, embrace the work ethic of the patient tortoise, not the easily distracted hare. Establish a minimum number of dialings and intended conversations. Don't stop until you've met your daily activity quota.

If necessary, call early in the day. If you aren't sure how your prospecting voice sounds after a full day of business conversations, record yourself at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The next morning, listen to both and pay attention to any audible differences. If they don't sound different, congratulations! You're a tortoise and can make calls any time. However, if they do sound different, figure out how to keep your voice fresh-as-a-daisy or your results will be variable.

Step 5: Reporting and Follow-Up Activities. Accurate records of every dialing are necessary to ensure you conclude each sales call with more "collective" information on that account. If you make a promise to a key business influencer (no matter how small), record it in your tracking system. Then KEEP it! If you say you'll call back on Tuesday during a voicemail message, do it. Sure, your prospect probably has more on her mind than you or any other potential print vendor, but kept promises are a sales differentiator. Trust us, we're in sales.

During your calls, you will uncover a lot of information about possible print buyers—some of it useful, some of it not. Make sure the useful information doesn't disappear into the ether. Develop a data entry record-keeping system (i.e., Act!, Goldmine, Salesforce or even an index card box) and be as faithful to it as a lapdog.