SEPTEMBER 2023
Focus on customers that do not have national needs
One participant observed their target customers are those who do not have national needs. “We’re finding that there are a lot of barriers to working with them. A lot times they are working with other (national) providers or brokers.” The sweet spot for them is customers that have a local presence rather than being part of a national network of facilities.
Utilize your local library to access business database
One participant found the library a great resource because they will typically have access and allow you access as a library member to those business databases. These databases are helpful in identifying manufacturing companies located in a particular place and what type of business they operate, for example, food and beverage producers in Bosie, Idaho. “It will give you the SIC code, information on the company and possibly even a contact number to start with.”
Organizing scripts and sales processes
“I've been taught in my sales career and my training is that scripts actually are a great resource. Because generally, when you go without a script, you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants.”
While making a sale was just a matter of picking up a phone call during the COVID-19 pandemic, things have changed. Now, it is a matter of going out and getting orders. It is essential to have a process in place for each part of the sales cycle, from cold calling to answering a phone call to quoting and closing. It is vital to have a tool for tracking your progress.
For example, how many prospects do you have to contact until you land a customer? You may have to contact 20 prospects to win a customer. Then you have to ask, how can I make the process more efficient? How can I improve the customer conversion rate to one in every 18 prospects or one out of every fifteen?
Bringing energy and perseverance to a customer engagement
“It's always about energy,” one participant observed. “I feel like sales is about energy.” If you can bring in a positive energy, you can relate to somebody on the inside, be nice to them and get the information you're looking for, it can help establish the groundwork for eventual success. The follow-up is critical. “It starts from day one, right? You have to go with the positive energy and come out with Cont'd on Page 20
something that's going to help, you progress to the next step, and you have to carry that through the entire way. Building those relationships and foundations are crucial to longevity in this business.”uuuuuuuuuu“That persistence of staying in touch following up, right, that's an integral part of that process, as well,” another attendee commented. “So we have to consider that part of the overall sales process.” One participant uses a feature in Microsoft Outlook to prompt follow-up contact.uuuuuuuuuuu“I've called on accounts for five years before it was ever given an opportunity to come in, and actually, quote, but when it came time to it, they remembered who I was. And that's because of the persistence.”