How to Get Sales Without Cold Calling
Cold calling, the process of contacting a prospective customer without prior warning or permission, has become less effective with the advent of the Internet and advanced phone systems that allow for easy screening of incoming callers. In addition, most salespeople hate to cold call, either over the phone or in person, further reducing its effectiveness. Fortunately, numerous methods exist for generating sales leads without the need for extensive cold calling.
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Instructions
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Research your territory. Conduct extensive research on the companies in your territory, identifying their lines of business, strengths and weaknesses, competitive environment and general market. Whenever possible, identify key decision-makers within each prospect, and make note of their email address. From the research on your territory, rank each prospect based on their potential. These will be your immediate targets.
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Establish a web presence. If your company has no policies against establishing a personal website to promote yourself as a salesperson, create one. Make sure it talks about your strengths as a salesperson, and highlights your skills and experience. Emphasize yourself as a resource, with your company representing the solutions that you can bring to bear to solve a prospect's most pressing business needs. Create a blog to communicate with customers and prospects on both personal and professional levels. Include a prominent link to your website on all of your communications.
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Develop and distribute a flyer. Immerse yourself in your company's products and services, and create a simple, one-page flyer that outlines your company's strengths and your willingness to serve as an expert in resolving prospective customers' business needs. The flyer should be simply designed and highlight only the most important features and benefits that you can provide as a salesperson. Hand out this flyer at every opportunity, including stopping by each prospect within your territory. Your goal will not be to force contact with a decision-maker who is likely unwilling to meet with you, but to provide information in a non-threatening manner.
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Hold informational seminars or webinars. Develop a number of presentations that provide overviews of the benefits of your company's products and services, and of what you offer as a salesperson. Make each presentation an hour or less, to fit into lunchtime schedules. Send mailers to your top prospects inviting them to a seminar if they are within 15 minutes of the seminar location, or to a webinar for prospects at farther travel distances. Hold seminars at an appropriate restaurant and provide lunch to entice prospects to attend. Otherwise, hold webinars, which are more likely to achieve higher rates of attendance due to the savings in travel time.
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Send direct mail and email blasts. Develop short, easy-to-read synopses of your company and yourself, and send them via direct mail or as email blasts. For postal mail, handwrite the addresses and use first-class stamps to avoid the appearance of mass mailings. For email blasts, ensure that your email doesn't appear as spam; always send to recipients who have freely provided their email addresses. Make sure that all correspondence refers to your website for further information.
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Develop a lead nurturing program. Not all prospects will be in a position to buy immediately. Create a number of informational pieces such as case studies, white papers and industry news items that you can mail or email to your list of prospects on an ongoing basis. Use these to keep your name, and your company's name, in front of every prospect on a consistent basis, so that they remember you when they are ready to buy.
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Track your results. Keep records of which methods are most successful in generating qualified leads that result in actual sales. Over time, increase your efforts on those methods and abandon those that produce little or no sales revenue. Be prepared to make constant adjustments to your plan.
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Tips & Warnings
The goal of all of these efforts is to establish yourself as an expert in your field who prospects should turn to when looking to solve a relevant business problem.
