I’ve devoted several blog posts to the art of cold calling. Long a staple of selling, it can be a salesperson’s go-to method of business development, or, their worst nightmare. So, what if you just can’t bring yourself to lift up that phone? Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal, understands your pain. In her article for the blog Selling to Big Companies, she writes, “I’m a passionate believer in alternate ways of prospecting… you need a plan that’ll bring leads in the door in a manner that’s comfortable for you.”
She goes on to detail a few methods that may be more comfortable than cold calling. The following are three of those methods, and you can access the rest here.
- Hold an on-line event. Sound time consuming and expensive? You can run one practically for free so don’t let the price stop you. If content or participation is your concern, remember that you’re the expert. Make your topic relevant to your target market’s top issues and they’ll want to hear what you have to say. Share recommendations based on work you’ve done with other clients. Offer something at the end that’ll separate hot prospects from warm leads.
- Start an email campaign. Afraid of the spam laws? Keep your list small and personalize your emails to participants’ needs so it feels as if you sat down to write them an individual message. Send a series of 3-4 emails three days apart to encourage a response.
- Use social media, press releases and / or articles to get noticed. They’ll keep you in front of your target market where they get to know you as an expert. You’ll begin to create a relationship even before they require your assistance.
Friday, Oct 16, 2009
Jessica Helinski