Mastering the Art of Success(^)
BERNARD
I have more than thirty name lists of prospecting suggestions of
where you can get leads from. I will go through a few, however, I
suggest the readers e-mail me [email protected]. I am more
th an willing to send them a complete list of generating leads. If they
also want me to look at their script, I will do that, too, and give them
some advice.
In generating lead s, some great sources include newspapers, industry
associations, Ye llow Pages, and vehicles on the road. Keep your
eyes open for vehicles driving around with their logo and contact
information. Get the number and the name of the company (use a voice
recorder if driving). There is your lead. Then you have to do your due
diligence to find the decision-maker. There are also trade shows, the
li brar y, the Internet. At trade shows, gather business cards then Google
th em to find out more about the company. There is social media. I’ve
known people in sales who are somewhat intimidated by social media—
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr—but that is a great way of
ge tting the specific leads you need. If you know how to use it, use it! It’s
very useful, as long as it’s not a bused.
Old files are another great lead source. I just talked with a
cl ient about keeping a file for the prospects who say “no” to you. Those
are potential leads. The people you talked with six m onths ago might
not be there now, and things can change at any given time. Not many
people are loyal like they used to be, so don’t throw away those old
fil es. There can be a lot of turnover in business. People l eave the
business, move to new ones, retire, or are downsized. Remember that
25 percent of all customers are unhappy at any given time due to
feeling neglected. There are also building directories. When you do go
on a sales call, look at the building directory—either take a picture of
the directory with your cell phone or write down some names. These
will become your leads.
Cold-calling, when done effectively, is a huge piece of lead generati on
but people are often fearful of this one. Telephone prospectin g and
leveraged databases are great lead generators.
Here is quick example of asking for databases or e-mail lists, “I’ll do
a free presentation on my product or service, but for that, I would love