Is that email address correct?

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Today’s email tip of the day:

Just because you send an email and it doesn’t bounce back, doesn’t mean they received it.

I reached out to this prospect and sent an email as well but it never bounced back.

I decided one day to verify the prospect’s email address with his executive assistant.

She gave me the correct email address.

The worst the assistant will tell you is “We don’t give out email addresses.”

Another good reason to follow up with a prospect by phone after emailing them.

Does that employee still work there?

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My wife was a paralegal at the same law firm the past 7 years. She left in July 2013 to stay home with my 4 year old daughter and 1 year old son.

For grins recently, I decided to call her direct number, and sure enough my wife’s voice and message were still there. The company hadn’t changed it at all.

I called a prospect the other day and his profile was still listed on the corporate website, his direct phone still had his name on it, BUT when I emailed him, the auto responder simply stated he was no longer with the company.

If you’re having trouble getting hold of a prospect, there’s a chance that person may no longer be with the company.

I did a recent CRM cleanup and between 19-22% of my prospects were no longer there. I’m talking about C-level Officers, Vice Presidents, and Directors. Not exactly mid level people.

When in doubt, call the main number, ask to speak to your targeted person and if the receptionist says  that person is no longer there, it’s one less person to follow up on.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000 and hope you find this tip useful!

 

Are Your Salespeople Still Cold Calling? The Ugly Truth

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I came across an article that you may find helpful.

Here’s the link:

www.omghub.com/salesdevelopmentblog/tabid/5809/bid/76911/are-your-salespeople-still-cold-calling-the-ugly-truth.aspx

Here’s 3 simple sentences verbatim from the article that ring true:

1. You can’t control the number of inbound leads your salespeople will get.

2. You can’t control the number of introductions you receive from your clients, customers or your social network.

3.  You can control the number of cold calls you or your salespeople make.

Short but true principles!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000!



Sales Prospecting and Priorities

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Happy New Year everyone!

I hope 2016 is off to a great start for you!

You’re probably thinking that this blog post is about how sales prospecting should be a priority this year.

Well, it’s not! Got you! We all know sales prospecting should be a priority.

I read David Newman’s book recently titled “Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition”

One of the chapters talked about follow up and how it can be tedious, yet necessary.

To get your prospects to a quick “yes” or “no” on whether they should schedule a meeting with you, ask them a question about their priorities.

Examples:

Is using walkthrough data for instructional improvement a priority this year?

Is adding a mobile app to expand your audience reach and increase your advertising revenue a priority this year?

Mine: Is getting your sales team in front of more qualified prospects a priority this year?

It’s a yes or no question. If their answer is no, move on because no amount of arm twisting is going to work because companies and businesses have many competing priorities.

If their answer is yes, get them to expound: How so? Tell me more? How long have you had this problem?

Get them to verbally throw up on the table! Hope this tip helps!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000. Wishing you a prosperous 2016!