I would like your thoughts on prospecting. Last week, our company held a sales seminar where a number of sales strategies were discussed. One was about telephone prospecting, which includes scripts and manipulative approaches.  For example, we have been told that when a gate keeper asks, "Who are you with?" we should respond, "I'm embarrassed to say I'm alone right now. Sounds like this maybe a bad time, should I call back?"

I personally am uncomfortable responding that way. What are your thoughts on telephone prospecting and getting past gatekeepers.

Madison, WI

David:

The oldest profession in the world is selling. Ever wonder why our children typically don't aspire to be a salesperson? That is because the training methods you describe are manipulative, demeaning and contentious. Your instincts are correct David. If you want to feel uncomfortable about what you do, use an old-school and derisive tactic like that. Besides, how successful do you think those types of techniques are? 

Your example brings to mind some thoughts along with some best practices to share with you on prospecting.

Being a successful, professional salesperson is really not about "selling" at all. It is about fully understanding the challenges and opportunities your customer faces and helping solve them.  

I despise cold calling and would NEVER suggest to my clients that they ask their sales team to cold call. "Dialing for Dollars" is a sure way to waste precious corporate resources. Referrals are by far the best way to acquire new clients. There is now a powerful new software platform that drives efficiency in referrals. It is called LinkedIn. Invest the time to understand how to leverage this powerful tool to connect you with key players in your target market. The new "Navigator" tool is extremely impressive in its ability to help you understand how your personal and business connections can assist you in connecting to potential clients.

Another suggestion for you and your employer is to leverage the power of social media (LinkedIn is just one aspect of your social media efforts). Orchestrated properly, your social media strategy should include re-purposing and creating new content which will serve as "magnets" to attract qualified clients. A recent webinar Jacco van der Kooij and I just completed provides a step-by-step process to help you get started. Click HERE for the Prezi version and click HERE for the YouTube version.  

If you cannot leverage enough referrals to fill your pipeline with solid opportunities and have yet to embrace social media to attract new leads, you must find an alternative. One alternative is called "hot calling". The difference between hot and cold calling involves the amount of research and preparation you put into each call. Exactly how do you turn a cold call into a warm call? The three important elements are deep research, the connection, and the 3- R's:

Deep Research

Deep research is used to uncover who your target should be along with their key strategic goals and objectives. You will find that their goals are tied directly to the key strategic initiatives of the CEO and senior executives. Exactly where do you find this information? There are a wide variety of sources that are free or available at a cost. Here is a partial list:

• Key Partners
• Target Company Web Site
• Annual Report
• Research Page of Financial Websites (Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.)
• Blogs
• LinkedIn
• Google
• Google Alerts
• Crush Reports
• Hoovers
• Manta
• InsideView
• Jigsaw

Each industry has its own list of great research sites. For example, in the healthcare market there is:

US Hospital Finder

http://www.ushospitalfinder.com/   

Why Not The Best?

http://whynotthebest.org/ 

US News and World Report:

http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals.com 

Drug Safety

http://consumermedsafety.org/ 

Healthgrades

http://www.healthgrades.com 

Hazardous Materials Exposure

http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/ 

JCAHO

http://www.qualitycheck.org/consumer/searchQCR.aspx 

Leapfrog Group

http://www.leapfroggroup.org/ 

US Dept. of Heath & Human Services: Hospital Compare

http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ 

State of Wisconsin Quality Measures

http://www.wchq.org/ 

American Hospital Directory

www.AHD.com 

Make the Connection:  

You must make a tight connection between the benefits of the product/solution that you are offering and the key goals/objectives of your target. You then must share this information with your client.

The 3-R's:  

You now must convert your research and connection into a 3-R's power message. For example, listen to this script: 

Research: "I have done some extensive research on your company over the past several days and  have uncovered (describe a key challenge)."   This helps to cement the point that this is NOT a cold call. 

Reference: "We are working with (company A, B, and C) with excellent results in solving this same challenge."

Request: "I would like the opportunity to get your opinion on the results we have achieved for these companies. Then we can see how we may be able to assist you as well."

Close: "I will be in your area next Thursday and Friday. Would either of those days work for you?"

The Gate Keeper:  

Never feel like you need to "get around" a gate keeper/administrator for a senior executive. This is a ticket to disaster. You must consider the gate keeper essential. Use the same 3-R's to demonstrate how you can assist the administrator to understand why you deserve access to the senior executive.

Will you be 100% successful using this "hot call" approach? No, of course not. Your best bet is referrals and social media "magnets".  But you will find that "hot call" results in a better success rate in reaching senior executives than the manipulative approach you have been taught.

Good Selling!

Best,