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fuelNet Monthly is a marketing newsletter published by The Pohly Co. consulting firm and is a monthly contributor to Kiplinger Recommends.Amid budget cuts and the impending threat of a recession, executives and sales managers are feeling intense heat to increase sales more than ever before. Mark Sneider, managing director of the Cincinnati-based lead generation firm Reardon Smith Whittaker, offers these five tips for building a better business lead pipeline:
1. Be marketing-centric. You need to establish a clear, concise, and well differentiated message for your brand. Without it, why would someone consider your business? The brand message also needs to be consistent across all touch points, both in print and online. If you have trouble doing this yourself, a proven lead generation firm or consultant can help ensure consistency in your integrated marketing communications strategy.
2. Be at the ready. Asking salespeople to sell, manage accounts and generate leads is an awfully tall order, and employing part-time lead generation professionals will produce only part-time success. You must make certain there are no breaks in the action. For example, while one of your top prospects may not need you today, tomorrow there could be a problem with their current supplier or vendor that needs immediate fixing. You need to be there when called upon.
3. Be relevant. The last thing you want to do is simply pound on doors in hopes that one will open. You won’t look very strategic, nor will you seem in tune with your prospect’s business. Being relevant takes time and focus -- the kind of focus that only a well-organized lead generation effort can bring. Before any sales call, conduct in-depth research. The Web is a great place to learn about your prospect and their industry. Doing so will help you exhibit understanding of the prospect’s challenges and how you might solve them.
4. Be particular. The problem with many prospecting efforts is that they’re more about numbers than about the quality of the engagement. When you create an internal program, you need to establish clear and measurable qualifying criteria for prospects up front. There are different points at which qualification can occur, including when the list is built, when the list is cleaned, and when the prospecting begins. In the spirit of constant improvement, conduct an open assessment of your program after the first couple of sales meetings to ensure that what’s being delivered is on par with customers’ expectations. If it isn’t, clearly define the deficiencies and put a plan in place to correct them.
5. Be a value-added partner. The best long-term partner is one who goes beyond the task at hand and brings new thinking and new ways of doing things for your client. If you can add value for your clients, they will be more forgiving when things aren’t going just right. The same holds true when you reach out to prospects. Share interesting industry news and provide ideas on how they can grow their business.
This article originally appeared in the customer communications and marketing newsletter fuelNet Monthly.To read more marketing tips from fuelNet, click here.
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