Fresh Leads Development

One way to secure fresh sales leads is to develop a customer list and lead swap program with business owners and sales professionals in your area who represent noncompeting, but compatible products and services. For example, if you sell home renovation products and installation services, swap your customer and prospect list with an appliance store owner. The business are not in competition, but share common characteristics that could benefit each.

It's Important to deal with the person making the buying decision. However, since many executives have others do the scouting and the shopping before they put their stamp of approval on a sale

A vision in its earliest definition means to see and has been translated into the act or power of seeing. This is the big picture of where the executive team, business owner or even sales management, sees the company going. I like to call it the vanishing point on the horizon.

Visions change as do vanishing points on the horizon. What the big picture was 5 years ago may have been dramatically altered due to new product or service innovations or changes in the local to global marketplace. Wells Fargo is a great illustration of how they have altered their vision to keep the power of seeing going forward. Their vision has not blinded them as the case for many others organizations.

The Initial Step of Sales Lead Generation

Lead Generation is essentially a process of marketing appointments to present products. A lead is simply the name and address of someone who is prepared to listen to a presentation. A qualified lead also has the means to pay for the product, but a prospect is someone who also has a need for the product. the simplest way to generate leads is to ask buyers directly if they would like an appointment to hear the Presentations.

At one time, appointment making was carried out by cold calling the doorstep. Salespeople would arrive unannounced at the prospect's home or place of business, and try to make an appointment.

Hiring salespeople is a time consuming and costly exercise, so it's important to get it right and keep it right. Unfortunately, not all salespeople are equal and managing poor performers is a common (and stressful) problem for many businesses, no matter what their size.

There are many reasons why sales people stop selling and why some just don't work out and it's usually not the ones that they are telling you. Personally, I think the main reason salespeople fail to perform are due to lack of direction and little to no accountability. Salespeople, no matter how professional or how experienced need direction and need and expect accountability.

Salespeople can be your best asset or your worst asset depending on how you manage them. If you have a salesperson that is not performing, here are some reasons that might shed some light on the situation:

Salespeople need direction and they need to know exactly what is expected of them. Unfortunately, many Owners and Managers fail to communicate expectations clearly to their salespeople. When that happens, it's common for salespeople to think they're doing fine, whilst the Manager/Owner sees them as underperforming and starts to get very frustrated. Communicate expectations (also known as KPI's, key performance indicators) in writing from day one. Setting KPI's on sales activities, customer meetings & networking events in addition to sales revenue, will ensure that sales remain consistent month to month.

Sales Lead Generation in Recession

We are faced with uncertain times and many people are fearing the worse about their ability to sell their products and services in his recession. It may not be easy but there are some proven ways that, if you work smart, will guide you in the right direction.

One of the key areas that I have worked with sales teams over the last few years is the ability to develop their 'emotional' skills in selling. No - this is not about removing their own emotions to overcome their fear of rejection. It is about developing the ability to appeal to the emotional needs of the potential buyer - whether they are selling to business or consumers.

When selling in a recession this is more important than ever. Especially if you are selling to consumers. Consumers are proven to be seeking out confidence and escapism. Businesses tend to seek out products and services that they have confidence in and gives them confidence for the future.

How can you inspire confidence and appeal to the desire for escapism with your products and services. In my sales training business I have seen an increase in the number of inquiries from 'stressed' sales people and sale managers. They need things that will give them confidence in themselves, their products and services and they are also looking for confidence in the people they turn to help them through this period.