Dear Colleague,

            Let’s face it, prospecting is the toughest part of selling. Any salesperson who has really been out in the field can vouch for that. How many times have you heard it  said, “Once I get face-to-face with a prospect, I do all right – but I’m just not in front of enough prospects?” If you can relate to this problem, then perhaps it’s time to face the real pain and take action to eliminate it.

Lead Generation Programs produce nothing more than Cold Calls with names attached. Advertising, direct mail and cold calling are typical vehicles that companies use to generate new prospects. All too often, these programs are judged to be unsuccessful due to the poor “bottom Line” results of low, or no sales generated.  Advertising and direct mail as a stand alone means of generating new business are typically passive since both require the prospect to take the next action. Although cold calling is a more pro-active means of generating leads, most predominant fears that salespeople face – immobilizes far too many salespeople.

Lead Generation Programs may produce the results you are looking for – but you don’t know it.  You have just completed the work on that advertising or direct mail campaign, and now you have to wait for it to hit the street and see if there is a response. You know you worked hard and did a good job – but as you wait you begin to question yourself. Are we going out to the right marketplace? Did we get a good current list from the list broker? What if we get no response? Was it the piece we put together, or some other factor – perhaps the mail? How can I protect against this in the future?

These questions are real, and the answers aren’t easy to come by. Do you know what the profile of your best customers really looks like? What percentage of your customer base is made up of people and companies that match these characteristics? It is not unusual for  people and companies to misinterpret their customer base. (I need one of your case histories here).

Lead Generation Programs produce opportunities that are lost in the follow up Stage. Was there so much pressure in meeting the initial deadline for the campaign that a specific system was not put in place to supervise the follow up? The follow up is anti-climactic Perhaps the follow up falls on the shoulders of the salespeople, who either see these leads as cold calls with names attached or merely see them as low priority lists of prospects. There is a lack of involvement of the salespeople in the initial program and possibly a lack of commitment to a program that possesses value to the sales force. The results here are leads with potential that get stale and fall through the cracks.

What if you could develop a program that would overcome the problems and pains addressed here? Suppose you could combine concepts like direct mail and advertising to be more effective than in the past. What if someone could take your customer base and identify what truly makes up the characteristics of your best market. And let’s suppose that the project included a means of going out to that proper audience for your business and tracking the outcome to produce on-going improvements. And, last but not least, let’s suppose there was a way to involve your salespeople from the start and gain both agreement and commitment to a program that would help them as well as the company to meet goals. What would have to happen next?

Is it fair to say that you might be reluctant to hire an outside company to do what you have either done yourself in the past or, less than successfully, achieved with another outside company?

If you haven’t had a formal marketing or lead generation program in the past, then it’s understandable that you may be hesitant to institute one now. If conventional advertising and direct mail haven’t worked, then why should something else like it work now? It’s a fact that we all fear the unknown, especially if our specific talents don’t address a certain area, like marketing and lead generation

How do you select the expert who can help your situation? Find somebody who has done it, done it successfully, and capitalize on their skills in your marketplace. How do I tell you that if haven’t heard it in this program, you have experienced it without even knowing it? That’s correct, you’ve been part of the same type of program that you can run yourself to generate better leads. How did you get here today? You received an invitation to an Executive Briefing. If you didn’t take the initiative to respond, then you did receive a non-threatening call from one of our salespeople. You came here because  we tapped an interest in an area that was unfulfilled in your business. It didn’t take thousands of mailing pieces to bring a group of viable prospects together in one place. We have not stood up here doing a dog-and-pony show about our business. Instead, we identified problem areas that pertain to generating new business opportunities in your marketplace. You may, or may not, have seen a relationship here with your business. If you haven’t, then it is likely that you will not pursue such a program any further with us. In that case, I hope you have enjoyed the coffee, and don’t feel that we have wasted you time. On the other hand, if you do see a need to generate better prospects for your business, then we should be meeting with you to discuss the specifics of your situation. Here’s how we can determine which category you are in:     (Yes – No  -- Think It Over)

Cordially,

Steve Taback