This is the third of five Monday sales tips designed to get you ready for a September 1 to November 30 sales sprint.
Today, let’s talk lead-gen.
Last week I instructed you to come up with a mix of sales activities, combining existing account maintenance with new business generation. Second, you were told to have a step-by-step process at the ready. That’s all well and good, but you are going to need an inventory of names and companies to call on if this is going to work.
The existing account list is easy; You know who they are. But you should also be taking a deeper dive into each account by finding new people to call on and selling them the full breadth of your products and services.
As for new customers, look at that list of current accounts and see if there are common denominators. Is there a company type or size you’d call a sweet spot? You might also look at vertical markets or geographic areas and make a list of prospects.
Then there’s selling to Big Fish. I believe everyone should have 7 identified and actively be pursuing 5.
As for general prospecting, this can be as easy as using Google or AI to learn which industries are hot right now. Or, just pay attention to the names of companies you either see or read about in your area.
The point is to use these quieter days to stock up on targets to go after. If the plan is to run a sales blitz in September, October, and November you will need a lot of names on your list.
What will you say to them when you call? We’ll talk about that next week.
The Sales Vault, created by Bill Farquharson, is a subscription-based resource and sales community featuring a calendar packed with live workshops, on-demand sales courses, peer-to-peer discussion groups, and 35+ years of sales training content all searchable by sales challenge. Think of it as a sales conference where the seminars and workshops, full of instantly applicable ideas, are ongoing and more programs are added constantly.
The Sales Vault is available on a monthly subscription basis, normally at a no-brainer monthly price of $45/participant, but… GMA members can take advantage of an exclusive offer: FREE membership for 30 days followed by a discounted monthly subscription price of just $40/participant.
Bill has been a friend of GMA for many years and is, no doubt, known to our members as a top sales trainer and content creator for the graphic arts.
Other Vault resources: