Did you prepare well prior to your Cold Call?

Too many times I witness senior sales executives tenaciously and vigorously cold calling to a categories of executives without first properly doing the necessary homework to increase their odds of success. Maybe they are lazy. Maybe they are stuck in the 80's way of selling.

From IT and HR to Operations to Mahogany Row; all these people you are trying to reach are busy. Very busy. So when they are interrupted (or their administrative staff is interrupted), what will you do differently to create a razor's edge difference in the buyers' eyes?

Buyers routinely tell us that they want callers to know about THEIR BUSINESS PRIORITIES. Let's face it, if it is not a priority for the buyer, they won't take much time to engage you in meantingful conversation.

How do you find out their priorities? This is not so easy but your efforts will bear fruit! Let's map it out for you in easy bite-size chunks:

1) READ- scour the web for INDUSTRY dynamics, GOVERNMENT pressures, ECONOMIC impact on your buyer and FINANCIALS relative to others.
2) STUDY- based on the research, learn what the indicaters would most likely cause your target firm to focus on; revenue and profit, Customer Service, Cost Containment, etc.
3) WRITE- next draw a map of cause and affect; how one data point feeds another in order to show YOUR UNDERSTANDING of what you THINK the buyers' priorities are.
4) PRESENT- ... your findings. You may be surprised at how few sales people will WRITE what they think they know. Most will speak "... I did my homework prior to calling you and ....." but few will write it down. Why is writing important? When was the last time you asked someone to correct/review your resume or an email and they didn't have at least one suggestion for change? (That's what I thought!)
5) ASK FOR FEEDBACK- simple but so powerful. Ask your buyer if your ASSUMPTIONS are on-track or off-track BEFORE asking for an appointment. Buyers find this refreshing and thoughtful.

Remember- do your homework, write it down, show it to your buyers and see your results improve! Its the Knowledge-Advantage way!