Tips from the Top
Expert advice to help you on the road to success
In the business world, we take a stand to keep on writing, and preserve this form of communications. We write messages in note cards to our customers, and to those we are in the process of solidifying a business relationship with. We write blogs to explain our customers’ services, and to inspire others…
It is March 19th, 2019 and I’m making cold calls, sending emails, thinking creatively, and looking for new ways to capture a business’s interest in the services my company offers. This task is not hard to do, but it is the response rate that is the challenge. Statistics show that 270 calls need to be made in order to get one sale!
So how to stay focused, current, persistent, in line with process, day after day, without getting burned out? We must do all the things I’ve discussed here, but we must also create balance in our lives. Without leading a healthy lifestyle, it’s virtually impossible to keep up the pace, maintain the energy, and sustain the positive attitude required to reach out to new contacts over and over, call after call.
After 14 years of working for the Department of the Navy, I was excited to be heading to the other side. Yes, I was venturing off to work with companies such as IBM and Perot Systems. These were excellent companies, and I was lucky, and my timing was good. I happen to like doing what most people run away from. Yes, I was the ultimate cold caller.
Most people in sales and marketing are familiar with the term “lead generation,” but often don’t understand what it entails, and seldom consider the work that goes on “behind-the-scenes.” Leads are collected in a database, but how exactly are these lists created and maintained? How are they kept current with up-to-date information?
By now, I think most everyone is aware of the importance of using social media to promote business, and hopefully your corporation has an active presence on the platforms that best reach your target audience. But are your posts engaging? Do they pop? In this fast-faced, scroll-through world, using eye-catching visuals in social media posts is super important.
It’s that time of the year, when most of us responsible for sales, are reflecting on numbers and quotas. These are the big line numbers, easy to identify with, whether you made your quota, or not. But as you’re pondering about what the new sales quota will be for 2019, don’t forget about all those other numbers that show progress throughout the year.
Your story is so important whenever surrounded by colleagues and new business acquaintances. Make it count. Spend some time thinking about the really great stories you've collected through the years that you can share with new customers. They'll remember them and most importantly will remember you and your company!
