Are you using your LinkedIn headline to your best advantage? When your prospects check you out, that’s the first thing they see besides your name. And, if you’re like most sellers, you most likely have your job title listed. That is sooo boring. You need to make it memorable – so you standout in your prospect’s mind as an interesting person, an invaluable resource, or both.
Let me give you some examples.
You don’t exist to your prospects. You’re nobody. They’ve never heard of you. If they went to your company’s website, could they get a sense of your personal expertise and the value you could bring them?
Probably not. And, that’s a real issue! Recent research by CEB shows that YOU are more important than your products/services in getting the business.
What prospects really care about today is working with a knowledgeable person who can help them achieve their business objectives.
LinkedIn provides one of the best ways for you to show prospects that you can be an invaluable asset.
I was just a kid when I discovered the truth about being lucky. According to the Irish, all I needed to do was find a 4-leaf clover. Because I felt it was doable, I walked over to the grassy meadow across from my house and plopped down on the ground.
If you’re doing email prospecting and not concerned about your subject line, you should be. It’s the single biggest determinant if somebody opens your email - or not.
A lot of people don’t even think about email subject lines. They just put something like “Company overview” or “Update on what’s happening with our company.” And of course, the person who gets this in their email box thinks, “Why do I care about that?”
How do you find decision makers' names? That’s pretty important if you want to get your foot in the door of a new company. Let me tell you where to start.
The first thing to do is identify the position titles of the various people that you might want to talk to. Perhaps it’s the Head of Corporate Communications. Maybe it’s the Trade Show Director. Or, maybe it’s the VP of Marketing. Your job is to first identify the positions. That's where it all starts.
Should you ask a prospect, "What's in your budget?" You know, a lot of sales training programs tell you that it's very, very important to qualify your prospects. And if they don't have money in their budget, then you need move on because that's a sign of whether or not they are going to actually buy.
Let me give you an example that I think refutes this entirely.
Is it a good idea to contact multiple decision makers in an organization at the same time? A lot of salespeople are afraid that means they’re going behind somebody’s back, and they certainly don’t want to to do that.
The answer is - it’s absolutely OK and you should be doing it!
Want to know how to get more customers without cold calling? Then I think you'll be interested in my interview today with Kendra Lee, author of The Sales Magnet. In this excellent new book, she shares tons of strategies you can use to fill your pipeline with new prospects. (Click here to download two free chapters.)
Are you wondering how much prospect research you should be doing before you contact a potential prospect? The answer depends on the value of the opportunity.
How often should you contact potential prospects? After all, no one wants to feel like a pest or a nag, and you don't want to be seen as desperate. I get asked that question all the time and here's my answer: much more often than you think.