The Connection Magazine AIM MUTUAL Fall 2019 | Page 21

SALES SHORTCUT
YOUR BIG prospects need something.
They have plans. They’re looking for
solutions, ideas, services, products —
everything they need to implement those
plans. Maybe you have exactly what they
need. Maybe you have all the answers.
Maybe your company would be the perfect
fit for their big plans – they just don’t know
it yet. So how are you going to figure out
what they need? And, the real trick… how
are you going to convince them you’re “the
one?”
Whatever your methods for sussing out
what your prospects need, and however
you usually go about pitching your services
or products to said prospects, there is an
unbelievably effective shortcut that will
help you first find the what’s needed and
then land the deal. This shortcut is all about
looking for opportunity in an unlikely place:
job listings.
When companies expand, take on new
projects or re-organize, they start hiring.
When you know what type of positions
they are hiring for, you can figure out what
they’ve got planned and what they need. It’s
simple enough, but there are other benefits
to taking this shortcut. For example, it’s
challenging to get a face-to-face with the
right person, especially when you don’t
know who he or she is! The receptionist
may be hesitant to give you contact info,
but companies almost always give a point
person in job listings.
The other hidden benefit of this shortcut
is you learn a company’s language, and a
little bit about their culture. It’s all right
there in the job description. They’re trying
to attract someone who would be a good
fit for their company, so if their HR person
is smart, they’ve crafted the job description
to appeal to the right, key people. Now you
know their terms for this or that, you know
if their communication is super formal
or off the cuff, and you know how they
describe their own company and projects.
And because you know this, you can pitch
prospects using their own terminology in a
way that makes them feel like you just “get
them.” (Because now, you do.)
This shortcut is one of my favorites
because it works on so many levels. No blind
cold calling. No pesky surveys. No buying
lists. No direct mail. No Thursday night
networking meetings. Okay, maybe you’ll
still have to show up to those, but this time,
you’ll have something really specific to say,
and you’ll know exactly how to say it, which
means this time, you’ll absolutely get their
attention.
Start with the short list of companies
you’d do almost anything to work with
(short of murder and auditioning for
American Idol), and then move on to other
big companies in your industry. Go to their
websites and click on “Careers” or “Job
Opportunities.” Study their list of available
jobs. Could your company be an outsourcing
alternative for them? Or, do you have a
related product or service that they need?
Sometimes your company can do the same
job a new hire could do; sometimes you’ll
Mike Michalowicz
have to put on your creative mojo hat to find
the opportunity hidden in the listing.
For example, if a company is hiring
multiple positions for one location, it could
be that they are opening a new branch.
What services or products do you provide
that would help them with their launch?
Event coordinators could pitch organizing a
grand opening. PR folks could pitch helping
them out with local press outlets. Security
companies could try to secure a service
contract before the company even goes
looking for it.
Or maybe one of your prospects keeps
recruiting for the same position over and
over again. What does that tell you? (I hope
it tells you to call the contact person and
give them 10 good reasons why they should
outsource to you instead.) Or, if a prospect
is looking for a new office manager, this
may be your chance to become one of his
or her preferred vendors (because you’re
probably not getting the old office manager
to switch teams).
Lakshmi Mittal said, “Always think
outside the box and embrace opportunities
that appear, wherever they might be.” It’s a
simple quote, but most people don’t follow
it. (Mittal does. And he has more than three
billion to show for it.) If you’re willing to get
a little creative, this is one shortcut that will
uncover scads of hidden opportunities…
and help you land prospects before anyone
else even spots the opportunity.
Mike Michalowicz is now running his third million dollar venture, is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street
Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics;
and is the author of Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, which BusinessWeek deemed
“the entrepreneur’s cult classic.” To learn more about Mike and get access to a treasure trove of entrepreneurial tips, visit:
MikeMichalowicz.com.
21