Turning Leads into Sales
In an ideal world your phone would ring off the hook or your website would receive hundreds of hits a day with customers wanting to place orders. However in the real world, you have to spend a lot of time pitching yourself and your services in order to keep your business growing. Prospecting takes work! Dan Tushar, SanMar's National Sales Manager, offers these tips and ideas on how you can gain leads and then follow up with them to build your business.
- Talk with people you encounter…at your kids' ball games, in the grocery store or on the bus. Strike up a conversation with that person you see every morning in the coffee shop. You just can't underestimate the power of networking.
- When you have a prospect, make "warm calls" instead of cold calls. The idea of a "warm call" is that you've had some prior contact with someone and you have "warmed up" the call. The prior contact might be a business card you got at a tradeshow, a referral from a current customer, a chat you had at a party or an email you sent out before your call.
- Do pre-call planning. Research the way he or she uses products. What are their needs? Are they buying from a competitor? What problems are they facing? How can you help them?
- When you call, strive for a natural conversation as opposed to a canned presentation. The purpose of your call should be to establish rapport - not a hardcore sales pitch.
- Use the free Flyer Wizard to build a customized flyer that specifically fits the needs of your prospect.
- Use the free Survey/Referral Tool to help boost your referrals and get key information about what your clients are looking for.
- Wear the products you sell and always have custom catalogs with you. You never know when you'll have an opportunity to introduce your business.
Marketing your business is an ongoing process. And pursuing potential clients is just one piece of the puzzle. Collect contacts and then do your homework by following up with them. This makes the difference between simply being someone who takes orders - and becoming a solution-based resource or consultant.
