Need More Sales? Business to Business Telemarketing

It astonishes me to find how complacent many companies are about the acquisition of new business. So it£s no surprise to find that companies are going to the wall, cutting overheads and blaming the impending recession when in reality it is their reactive approach to new business which has got them there.£

Any company should spread its risk over a number of clients for fear of losing the big one.£ Also, in order just to remain the same size companies need to gain new clients as some old ones inevitably drift away. £

All companies lose clients and orders, often not through their own fault. A change in buyer, in strategy, in direction and a client will disappear, just like water from a leaking bucket. The secret is to continually fill the bucket with new opportunities.£

The art of new business acquisition requires a great deal of commitment. Small to medium size companies often perceive they cannot afford to have a dedicated new business function.£ It is therefore left as an ad hoc job for existing staff when they have time.

Timing is key to new business.£ Having the right database system in place to keep records of customers and when to get back in contact with them is fundamental.£ Yet, very few companies have an adequate system.£ Those that are thinking about it are prepared to invest thousands of pounds and many months in re-inventing the wheel when for a couple of hundred pounds they could have a tried and tested system operating the next day.£

The next key issue is delivery.£ Once a company embarks on a new business drive it should expect new opportunities to come its way.£ Therefore it should have people who are 'customer friendly' and able to deliver the sold business.£

The secret of a company's success is in looking at the big picture and think long as well as short term.£ New business prospecting often results in a 'snowball effect' with nothing at first but building up into a 'huge deluge'.£ This needs to be planned for and self motivated and focused people need to be involved in the sales process.£ After all, if you don't look for new business when you are busy, you can bet that you won't be busy for long!£

Ask any business owner and they will tell you that there is never enough time to do everything!£ When we are being constantly bombarded with pressing needs from our existing customers how can we possibly find time to create new ones?£

We cannot be specialists in everything we do so we need to take on specialists. Finance people, Sales people and Marketers among others.£

Whilst we can make excuses that we are doing the sales prospecting activity by advertising, doing a bit of PR or sending out the odd sales letter, these are all passive activities and do not guarantee that anyone is going to respond.£

The only marketing activity that can virtually guarantee a response is selling!£

In the world of business to business selling, there are fewer buyers and therefore the target to sell to is easier to identify and define.£

The secret is in finding the right method to make contact with them. Often the best way is to just pick up the phone and TALK TO THEM.£

A shudder runs down the back of most people at the concept of this and they would rather make the tea, clean the floor or deal with that full in tray rather than to cold call!£

The fear stems from our own hatred of people phoning us and trying to sell us something we don£t want, yet what we should be thinking is, £this prospect really needs my products or services but just doesn£t know it yet£.£

A different approach to a targeted prospect list plus a big dollop of enthusiasm may be all that is required to get you going. Then of course you have to ask for the order or the appointment. This should come naturally if your enthusiasm is being transferred to the buyer. It may even come from your prospect! £

Add a contact management system (CRM) so you know when to follow up, allow time each day for your sales prospecting activity.£

However, if you really cant do it yourself then you will need to delegate the task £ but not abdicate it!£

As companies grow they can either take on their own specialists or outsource those elements of their business that they do not want to handle internally.£

If a business owner can keep £all the plates spinning£ then they will reduce the feast and famine scenario that many small businesses suffer from.£

So, always be selling in order to keep in business and always be selling more in order to grow!£
£

Nigel Woods £

Article supplied by:

Need More Sales £ A specialist in B2B lead generation.

www.needmoresales.co.uk or call 01444 454546