Happy Good Friday and Easter to you!
In my previous post on how to succeed at getting solid sales appointments, I wrote about identifying your target niche audience and being as specific as possible.
For example, at Connect 5000, our target market is software, technology, and consulting firms with large average sales and long sales cycles. If a company’s average sale is at least $25,000 they’re in our sweet spot. Hopefully you can identify and articulate your company’s in 2 sentences or less. Being specific not only helps you, but potential prospects who approach you as well. Read more
Books, Authors and Email Subscriptions I Recommend
/in Sales /by Ray RueckerMy family didn’t own a television set until I was in the 5th grade. What madness! Kidding.
Since we didn’t own a tv, I read a bit. Quite a bit. I’ve always been a voracious reading. Read more
5 Key Numbers Every Sales Rep Should Know
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerYou can’t track what you don’t measure.
You can’t improve an area if you don’t know your numbers. Plain and simple.
If you want to improve your free throw percentage, shouldn’t you track the number of made free throws divided by total number of attempts?
Of course. Read more
5 Words That Will Help You Successfully Set Sales Appointments While Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting /by Ray Ruecker“Can you help me please?”
You may have been expecting some thing more complex and deeper, but I’m just a simple guy.
Most people like to help other human beings out. If you’re nice, polite, and professional. Read more
A Simple Tool to Improve Sales Prospecting and Time Management
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting /by Ray RueckerThe past few weeks I’ve met up with or had lunch with a social media coach, a sales vice president for an employee benefits company, a financial adviser, and a sales representative for a data and storage solutions company.
Guess what challenges they all have in common? Read more
What does Michael Jordan have to do with prospecting?
/in Sales /by Ray RueckerMichael Jordan is arguably considered the best basketball player. Ever. 6 time NBA Champion. 5 time NBA MVP. 14 time NBA All-Star. I could go on and on about his accomplishments. But I won’t.
You may or may not know that Michael Jordan tried being a professional baseball player but was not successful at it.
Does that diminish Jordan’s basketball accomplishments? Absolutely not.
How does this apply to sales and prospecting? Read more
Do CEO’s respond to prospecting calls and emails?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerThe answer is:
A. It depends.
B. Some of the time.
C. Yes, if you have something relevant to say that arouses curiosity.
D. All of the above. Read more
Machine Guns, Shot Guns, and Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting /by Ray RueckerLast week I did some heavy sales and marketing for Connect 5000. My employees and I play a dual role: filling our client’s sales pipelines as well as our internal one. We know that clients do not last forever. We always need to keep our pipeline full because the harsh reality is that clients leave you for a variety of reasons and it may not be your fault at all. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t.
For 3 days, I did some marketing activities and got zero positive responses. 3 days felt like an eternity. It isn’t. We all know that you have to plant a ton of sales seeds for the future. Some sprout up quickly. Others take months.
I felt a little discouraged due to my instant gratification nature and wanted results like NOW. Read more
3 Simple Prospecting Rules For Setting Sales Appointments
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray Ruecker1. The goal of cold calling or sales prospecting is to secure a meeting or appointment. (It’s not to sell.)
2. The goal of leaving a voicemail is to get the prospect to return your call by arousing curiosity. (It’s not to sell.)
3. The goal of the sales meeting is to qualify the prospect to see if there’s an opportunity and to uncover pain and problems. (It’s to sell and solve problems!)
Keep it simple!
How to determine decision makers within companies
/in Cold Calls /by Ray RueckerHappy Good Friday and Easter to you!
In my previous post on how to succeed at getting solid sales appointments, I wrote about identifying your target niche audience and being as specific as possible.
For example, at Connect 5000, our target market is software, technology, and consulting firms with large average sales and long sales cycles. If a company’s average sale is at least $25,000 they’re in our sweet spot. Hopefully you can identify and articulate your company’s in 2 sentences or less. Being specific not only helps you, but potential prospects who approach you as well. Read more
Oil Changes and Selling Steak Recipes to Vegeterians
/in Prospecting /by Ray RueckerAt 10:00 am this morning I took my Honda CRV in to get my usual oil change at The Import Shop. It’s a locally owned car repair shop owned by a mom and son and as a small business owner, I prefer to spend my money at other small businesses rather than the dealership right down the road. They provide a great service at a fair rate and I’ve been a customer for well over 7 years. I asked Harriet today if they worked on other import cars or just Honda’s. She said just Honda’s. At one point named their company “The Honda Import Shop” but Honda’s legal department asked them to change their name in a nicely written letter. Read more