Get the "not looking" to "look" - Building your sales pipeline

By Bernard M. Aller, Certified Affiliate, CustomerCentric Selling

I’m often asked "What can be done immediately to add new opportunities to the sales pipeline?" While the logical answer may be to spend more time on effective business development activities, that generic response provides little guidance on specific activities. I usually suggest that every salesperson spend 15-20% of their time involved in the following activities:

Telephone Prospecting

Direct mail/e-mail/fax prospecting followed up with direct telephone calls

This is in addition to attending and networking at industry/trade meetings, getting on the agenda of local and regional associations as a presenter, speaking & publishing opportunities, conducting local and regional seminars and webinars, etc. The great paradox is that while direct mail followed by telephone prospecting will have the greatest direct, controllable impact on their success, it’s the first thing, given virtually any excuse, that salespeople will stop doing.

Where do we start?
What is your total sales universe? How many total organizations are there that are potential users of your product and/or services? Warren Culpepper, author of the Culpepper Report, indicates that most purchasers of technology do so on a 5 year cycle. In other words, at any given time, 20% of your total potential sales universe is actively looking for a way to improve their operation through the use of technology. While that may appear to be the most logical place to focus your lead-generating activities, remember that every one of your competitors are also focusing their energies and resources on the same 20% of your total sales universe. While the 20% have identified specific goals that they expect the technology to help them achieve, what’s the likelihood that the other 80% of your total sales universe who is not currently looking for a way to improve have the same goals as those that are currently looking to improve? Imagine how much less competitive your sales cycles would be if you focused more energy on those not currently looking, be the first vendor to contact a prospect, and be the first salesperson to help the prospect build a vision of themselves already in possession of the capabilities that you and your company can provide!

What can we do prior to making the first call?
A recent study completed by the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina researched senior business executives and the circumstances under which they would accept a telephone call from a salesperson. The findings were as follows:

	Always	Usually	Occasionally	Never
A recommendation from someone inside your Company	16%	68%	16%	0%
A referral from outside the Company	8%	36%	44%	12%
A letter(s) from a salesperson followed by a direct call	4%	25%	40%	31%
A contact at an off-site meeting	3%	16%	28%	53%
A direct telephone call from a salesperson	0%	8%	19%	73%

While the results of a direct (cold) call were daunting, yet not unexpected, the difference between a direct (cold) call and one followed by letter(s) is striking. The chance of the senior business executive taking a call from a salesperson doubles after they have received some preliminary information. While a single letter, e-mail, or fax to a prospect followed by a direct (cold) call will increase the likelihood of getting through to the senior business executive, we suggest that a series of letters, e-mails, or faxes that address business issues specific to the prospect’s job title, at a 7-10 day interval, will further increase the likelihood of having the senior business executive, the one who has the authority to make a buying decision, take the call.

On whom should I be calling?
In business development activities, I always try to ask, "To whom are you selling?" The reason for such a simple question comes from a great deal of frustration as I find that many salespeople spend an inordinate amount of time violating one of the core concepts of CustomerCentric Selling™ :

You can’t sell to someone who can’t buy
While this may appear to be a blinding flash of the obvious, I wish I had a dollar for every salesperson who continues to spend time calling on and demonstrating their product’s features to friendly end users while never attempting to uncover and discuss the critical business issues driving the search with the senior executives who will ultimately make the decision to buy. They will spend a majority of their time, and their company’s resources, with people "below the line" ... those who may use the capability that is being presented but without the authority to purchase that capability.

With each business having its own unique organizational structure, those "below the line" end users usually have a vision that is limited by a budget that may be in place without a full understanding of the value of the capability that is being presented. While the salesperson’s product may cost $200,000, what is the likelihood of success when attempting to sell such a product when the "below the line" individual is limited to a $100,000 budget? If, on the other hand, the salesperson has met with an "above the line" decision maker ... one who has the authority to secure unbudgeted funds ... and uncovered the fact that the "status quo" was costing $750,000 per year, the cost-benefit analysis would permit the "above the line" decision maker to re-allocate unbudgeted funds in order to obtain both the operational and financial benefits. Remember, when making buying decisions, people adhere to another CustomerCentric Selling™ Core Concept:

People buy from people who empower them to achieve their goals
You get delegated to people you talk (and act) like
How many of us have had a bad experience with a salesperson? When that happens, you can probably tell that it’s going to be a bad experience fairly early in the sales cycle and it’s usually because of something or some phrase that the salesperson said. If you’re fortunate enough to have done everything right and gain access to a senior business executive, if you start talking bits and bytes, you will most probably be banished to the IT Department who most likely doesn’t want to even consider any new technology of which he knows nothing and has no staff to support. For this reason, we strongly suggest that a series of sales-ready messaging tools be developed that focuses on both the specific job titles and the unique challenges that individuals of the same title may face on a daily basis. These sales-ready messaging tools may include customized scripts, relevant success stories, marketing collateral that supports the current sales methodology, solution prompters, and response letters. Simply stated, if you talk (and act) like a techno-weenie, you may never be granted access to the "above the line" senior business executive. If you act like the infamous Joe Izuzu, you will probably be shown the door.

Helpful Hints
After you’ve identified your total sales universe, created a demand for the product/service that you’re selling, decided on whom in the organization to call on, and developed some solid sales messaging materials, remember to:

Manage the rejection

Set aside ‘sacred time’ on your calendar

Prospecting should be done in existing customer accounts

Your scripts should lead with a critical business issue

Call at the senior business executive level

Track your success and make changes to your scripts as appropriate

Avoid stereotypical telephone behavior

Be prepared in case they say, "I’m interested ... "

True prospecting is causing people who weren’t looking to change to begin to look for a better way. And most importantly, Sales success is a personal responsibility.

Bernard Aller is the Managing Partner CustomerCentric Selling™-Mid Atlantic. CustomerCentric Selling™ provides the Sales and Marketing team with a repeatable, scalable sales process that is designed to align with the way sophisticated organizations buy. He may be contacted at 410-730-4747 or baller@customercentricsystems.com.

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