Some good thoughts from Nigel Edelshain over at Sales 2.0 and the Sales2.com blog. Make sure to check out Nigel's ebook as well! It's called "Don't Cold Call. Social Call." It's about using social networks and Sales 2.0 tools to prospect. Get it here if you fancy reading all 24 pages now.
I thought I'd share the ebook in small chunks through this blog for those who prefer to read one page at a time (or miss Charles Dickens who used to right his books this way - well, not on a blog). So here's the executive summary bit to get you warmed up.
- The cold call is dead, if it means "smiling and dialing" with little-to-no-preparation on behalf of the sales person. But smart prospecting is very much alive. Sales people can execute "social calls" using the latest in Sales 2.0 tools and social networks.
Getting in the buyer's office is the hardest part of selling for the vast majority of sales organizations.
- We've come up with six factors that dictate if a buyer will meet with you when you're prospecting:
- i. Your product
- ii. Your message
- iii. Repetition of your message
- iv. Talking to the right people
- v. Using changes in your buyer's environment
- vi. Establishing relationships
There are Sales 2.0 tools now available (including social networks) that help you with the three most critical factors: talking to the right people, establishing relationships and using changes in your buyer's environment.
Using these tools in your prospecting can increase your ability to "get in" dramatically, using just one of these techniques can cause an eight-time improvement over "cold calling"
Again, check out Nigel's ebook for an in depth look at how to execute these Sales 2.0 strategies.
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