‘We only want super qualified hot sales leads’ – is what we hear on a daily basis here at our lead generation company. AKA – get us meetings with people who have a need for our product or service and who are ready to buy NOW!
Frankly, that’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Imagine how hard it’s going to be to find a company that not only needs what you are selling, but who is sat there waving the cheque book waiting for the phone to ring. Hard work, trust us. Fact is, if you are lucky enough to find any of the above they’ll most likely by already talking to suppliers, if not in an advanced state of negotiation on the deal – meaning you’ll be on catch up mode from the start.
So what’s the answer? ‘Speculate to accumulate boy!’ (as my Granddad used to say).
By speculation here we mean that companies looking to build their sales pipeline should research and target their ideal customers and start to network with them and book introductory meetings. There may not always be immediate requirements, but you’ll start the process of being in their thoughts as and when they do have a requirement.
More importantly – GO AND SEE THEM, don‘t just make a phone call. Things happen when you meet with people face to face. Such as:
- Oh, you provide that service do you? I didn’t realise, we’re interested in a quote for that…
- You should speak to XYZ company – they need one of those next month…
- Try speaking to Peter in Marketing, he’s the man with the budget
More than this, you leave with a new business ‘connection’ that, if used to your advantage should serve you well in the future.
Make sure you:
