Fancy Title – No Authority or Influence

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Hi everyone!

At Connect 5000, we use Salesforce.com as our CRM. I’ve been going through the CRM and have been purging executives no longer at their prospective company, companies who’ve gotten acquired or who are no longer in business, etc.

It’s interesting how many people I’ve eliminated from Salesforce.com.

I came across this company who I reached out to a while back. I called the VP of Business Development and we chatted several times and eventually he said our service was not a priority. I assumed incorrectly that he had authority and influence to make decisions. Read more

Price vs. Time Saved: A Tale of Dry Cleaning

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Greetings everyone!

I wear a lot of button up shirts to work. Shirts that go well with jeans, khaki pants , or black dress slacks.

I used to take my shirts to Hy-vee, a grocery store close to where I live, where I can drop them off and have them laundered and pressed and I can pick them up a few days later. $2.25 per shirt.

A while back as I was driving to the office I saw a Hangers Cleaners van so I visited to their website and called them up.

They will come to your home or office and pick up your laundry and deliver it a few days later.

Price per shirt: $2.50.

The difference between the 2 services = 25 cents. A quarter.

Why did I go with the more expensive option? Convenience!

I pay more per shirt but I don’t have to make 2 trips anymore. 1 to drop off my laundry. 1 to pick it up.

Is it worth the difference? Absolutely.

Moral of this blog: Prospects don’t always pick the cheapest option. They don’t just buy on price. They look at other factors like value, time saved, convenience, etc.

So when you are selling to companies, sell value!

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000!

10 Creative Subject Lines That Get Your Sales Emails Opened

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Using sales and marketing emails is one tool we use to engage and open dialogue with potential prospects for both Connect 5000 and our clients.

The telephone is another.

I’ve had several people ask me what the subject line should be for emails.

Below are several that I’ve used as well as others have used to get me to open their email.

The criteria should be short, sweet, and arouses curiosity to open the email.

Again, I didn’t not come up with all these on my own: Read more

Update up your CRM while sales prospecting

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A few years ago I did an email blast of executives in my Salesforce.com CRM. I wasn’t targeting low level executives but CEO’s, Presidents and Vice Presidents of Sales and Marketing.

I got a bounce back rate of between 19-22%! The data put in my CRM was probably less than 3 years ago at the time.

People change jobs, people quit or retire, or people get terminated from their position.

There’s no reason to keep bad data in your CRM if that person is longer there. Read more

How Credible Are You: Part II

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In my previous post, I wrote on credibility.

Here’s an example of not so incredible:

My office is in Cloverleaf Office Park among several other companies. On the 1st floor of my building is a licensed counselor / therapist. Read more

How Credible (Not Incredible!) Are You?

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If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’m been commuting back and forth between Kansas City and Torrance, CA.

6 trips down, 4 more to go!

I work out at a gym near the hotel which is owned by a former bodybuilder. He’s not just an owner or a manager.

I was asking him tips to lose weight and he gave me 2 main points:

1. Stay away from dairy, sugars, and wheat. Read more

It’s not over…. unless you give up!

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about a potential client that I thought I had landed. I thought it was in the bag. Then my contact told me the next day he was no longer with the company. Ouch!

So the story isn’t over just yet. I haven’t landed this prospect as a client yet but there’s progress. Read more

Employee or Entrepreneurship?

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As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m currently commuting between LA and KC for a software client of mine. I’m performing some sales coaching for their inside sales team. 45% of their yearly sales revenue happens between September 1 and December 31.

I was offered the Director of Sales position in July and politely turned it down since I didn’t want to uproot my wife and 2 kids and move to California. But I don’t mind being onsite through the fall.

I’ve co-owned or owned my own company since August 2006 and love it. Read more

Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: Is There Really A Difference?

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September is nearing an end. October is coming around the corner.

The last quarter for most companies starts soon. For many companies, it’s their busiest time of the year.

One of my software clients gets 45% of their entire business between September and December.

Times have changed in sales. Traditional sales has been typically done face to face.

With the Internet and telephone, companies spend thousands and millions of dollars with each other and rarely meet in person. Read more

I lost a sale. He lost his job.

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I had been engaged with a Sales VP of a target company. There was pain, need, etc.

We spoke on Tuesday  and he needed approval from his Divisional VP to move forward and requested a proposal.

I emailed the proposal on Wednesday and the Sales VP and I agreed to review it today for questions or clarifications before he submitted it to his boss. He accepted my meeting invite for 10:30 am and I thought it had a 75% chance of moving forward.

30 minutes before our time slot, he declined the meeting. Yikes! So I emailed him to see if we simply needed to move the meeting around. No answer. Read more

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