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Strategic Guidance to Build Your Business
Volume 34, Issue 4, March 2008

"The Business Builder" is brought to you by VSA, Inc. in collaboration with Rink Consulting. VSA, Inc., founded by Valerie Schlitt, builds and implements B2B prospecting programs for businesses and professional service firms. VSA has a team of professional telephone callers who open doors to new business opportunities for VSA clients. Linda Rink, president of Rink Consulting, specializes in B2B and consumer marketing and research. Both Wharton MBA graduates, Valerie and Linda often team together to help clients identify and reach new customers. In this newsletter, they share some of their business development insights.

Q & A Forum: Real Tele-Prospecting Concerns from Real Clients
by Valerie Schlitt, President of VSA, Inc.
Valerie Schlitt photo

When VSA starts a tele-prospecting program, our clients ask many questions. Several of these questions are universal and we are therefore devoting this issue of the Business Builder to their answers. The answers apply to any company, whether you are using an outsourced cold calling firm, or whether you are tele-prospecting in-house.

Q: Is it strange or uncomfortable for one person to perform the initial telephone prospecting and then have another person attend the subsequent sales appointment?
A: Both our clients and VSA callers have told us that transitioning from the cold call by one person to the sales appointment with another is not at all uncomfortable.

By the time VSA has qualified the prospect and the prospect has asked enough questions, both the VSA caller and the prospect realize that the time is right for the prospect to talk to an "expert." At that point, prospects are eager to get questions answered.

Sometimes prospects will ask our callers if we plan to attend the meeting, too. This indicates we've done a good job establishing credibility and a connection for our client, something all calling operations should strive to do. But, we have never found that starting a prospecting telephone call with one person has stopped any interested company from easily moving to a meeting with a knowledgeable sales person.

Q: Is it better to set phone appointments or face to face appointments?
A: Clearly, a face to face appointment is much better, if sales people have the time and ability to travel to prospects' locations. Here are two reasons why:

  • It's significantly easier to build personal rapport in a face to face setting. This rapport helps close sales.
  • Prospects are more likely to "forget" about a telephone appointment. That is why we recommend a confirmation call in advance of the telephone appointment, sending an email with "material to be referenced during the call," and if possible getting a cell phone number in the event the prospect has been called away.

However, many companies have prospects nationwide and just cannot travel everywhere. Telephone sales appointments are commonplace today. Phone meetings are essential for sales people who cover large territories. Most importantly, they work and generate business. In fact, we encourage telephone appointments when they are needed.

Q: How much should you "push" for an appointment?
A: VSA believes the prospect should want the appointment, and it is our job as tele-prospectors to encourage and persuade. We do not believe the caller should push a prospect into an appointment. We have two main reasons for this belief:
  • If we push for appointments, our own clients will likely meet with people who have no interest in seeing them, no interest in their product or service and potentially not even show up. This is a waste of our clients' time.
  • Typically, the target market for many companies' products or services is finite, and the company will want to come back to these same prospects again in the future. The more respectful we can be as callers, the better the chances are of leaving the door open for a future appointment. The callers' job is to establish credibility, identify potential current prospects and generate future interest. Certainly it is not to alienate future prospects while doing so.
We in no way want to imply that callers should not try everything possible to open doors to sales opportunities. Probing, asking questions, engaging in conversation, relationship building: these all are ways to continue the selling process and encourage prospects to "want" a sales meeting.

Q: Should we leave a call-back number?
A: VSA believes in leaving a call-back number. We believe doing so allows us to sound less like sales people. We sound more like a fellow professional starting a business conversation.

And, we believe with 70 - 95% of our calls being answered by voicemail, some percentage of those the callers don't reach may want to return our clients' call.

Tips: For highly generic products or services, we do not recommend leaving call-back numbers. If we are calling for a service or product that few on our calling list are likely to need, we do not leave a call-back number.

There's so much more--

The above is a small sampling of the questions we receive every day, as we talk to companies who want to implement tele-prospecting campaigns. Whether you're making calls internally, using an outsourced vendor or are considering venturing into tele- prospecting for the first time, there are many issues to consider. If you or anyone from your company has questions, we offer our assistance.

How to Write a Request for Proposals and Get the Results You Want!
by Linda Rink, President of RINK Consulting

Whether you work for a large company or own your own business, at some point you have probably asked suppliers to submit a proposal for outsourced work. If so, you most likely gave them a written document outlining your needs: a Request for Proposals, or RFP.

Were the proposals you received what you had in mind? Or were there misunderstandings, missing information, a sky-high fee? If you were less than happy with the responses, rest assured, you're not alone.

But don't blame your suppliers. Those of us on the receiving end of RFP's have our own war stories to share about unreasonable expectations, impossible deadlines, and unclear language.

Problems arise when you and your supplier have different perceptions of the scope of work and how it should be handled. The ideal RFP is one that makes it easy for both parties to understand the project and come to an agreement.

Here are some guidelines for writing RFP's that maximize your chances of receiving proposals that meet your expectations:

  1. Explain why you need to have the work done. What will the results be used for? By whom? In my opinion, this is the single most important part of the RFP. Yet it is often given short shrift, or omitted entirely. A capable supplier produces his best work when he understands the context of the assignment and works with you as a partner.


  2. Use clear, simple language. Do not assume your suppliers have any knowledge of your project; the RFP should be self-explanatory. And leave out industry jargon.


  3. State who you (the issuer of the RFP) are, and what your role will be vis-�-vis the supplier.


  4. What kind of expertise are you looking for? Any specific technical skills? Industry background? Similar assignments handled?


  5. Are you flexible regarding the type of methodology? Either be very specific, or ask for the vendor's recommended methodology. But don't do both and make your vendors waste time costing out options that won't be used. And never steal a supplier's ideas and then not award the work to them - that's just plain unethical.


  6. Be as explicit as you can about the deliverables. Are you looking for a report? If so, approximately how many pages? Or do you prefer a PowerPoint presentation? Do you expect tables and graphs?


  7. Give the time frame for doing the Project. If there are important dates or deadlines looming - like a Board of Directors presentation - include them. That way the contractor can pace the work.


  8. Budget parameters. This is tricky, because you may not want to tip your hand. But if your budget absolutely cannot exceed a certain amount, you might as well say so. What is the point of receiving a $100,000 proposal if all you can afford is $20,000?


  9. State if there are any licenses, certifications, insurance policies, etc. that you require the vendor to have.


  10. Will there be follow-up assignments? Will they also be put out to bid, or will the winning supplier automatically get to do them? This can be a very nice carrot to dangle!


  11. What format should the proposal be in (e.g., an electronic Word document)? Should vendors attach background Bio's, client lists or references, examples of similar projects?


  12. On what criteria will the proposals be judged? If it's strictly price, say so. If you are looking for creativity or fresh insight, it's important to say that as well. Also, who will be the decision-makers in selecting the winning proposal?


  13. Give your suppliers sufficient time for preparing proposals. It is unfair and unwise to assume they will work over the weekend or a holiday to meet your deadline.


  14. Make yourself available by phone or e-mail, in case of questions.
These guidelines may seem obvious, but I have been the recipient of RFP's from large organizations which have been unclear and/or onerous indeed - and for no apparent reason.

So when you write an RFP, put yourself in the shoes of the suppliers receiving it. The easier you make it for them, the better the proposals you will receive.

Next time: Tips on writing a winning proposal!

RINK Consulting
1420 Locust Street, Suite 31N
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-546-5863
[email protected]
www.lindarink.com

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