Two Methods for Using Business Letters

Got some questions from sales people asking about how they should use business letters or direct mail in their sales process?

This is a great question at this time since most b2b sales people think the only thing working today is email. Email is a great tool for immediate responses after you have made contact with a customer or an existing customer who uses the email as an electronic delivery service and a paperless “green thing.”

Email is great for transacting current business, yet, it is not easy to use for prospects or people within companies you have not done business with in the past. In fact, the CAN-SPAM Act has made it a very expensive legal issue to use unsolicited email to individuals or companies. It can cost you up to $10,000 per emailed account – so beware of sending out unsolicited emails.

Business development or prospecting can be very effective using the old direct mail process. Today, direct mail is making a comeback since most people are not using it properly. In fact, it is pretty simple and there are only two true methods in my opinion to use direct mail.

These two methods are…

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Lead Generation techniques with Purchased Lists

Continuing my Lead Generation theme and creating sales growth, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss buying a list. Most people think buying leads is easy and straight forward. While it is simple, easy does not fit the description due to certain factors.

First, all lists are not created equal. There is a lot of junk in the marketplace and the lower the cost, the more you should question the source. A targeted customer list is your most valuable sales growth tool.

Second, data is not the same across available databases. Some databases really work at keeping their databases current and clean of junk. Unfortunately, these are the minority – so Buyer Beware!

Third, specifics are better for productivity reason than general information. And, the more targeted you get the more the price goes up. However, here is the big reason to buy a specific list – it saves you time and therefore the cost is a trade off.

Now there are factors or elements to consider when buying a prospect list and here is a list of factors to consider…

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Find New Accounts to Grow Your Sales

I am asked multiple times a week, How Can I Grow My Sales?

This questions hangs with every sales person I speak to and to my surprise very few get the best answer to question.

What is the answer?

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10 Things to Learn at Your Prospects Website

So you have found a list of potential customers or a book of list or some other source of prospect leads, what do you do now?

The first thing is to compare the companies on the list to your ideal customer profile and the preferred market or vertical markets who are better suited for your products and services. Discard any companies on the list that are questionable based upon your criteria. If they are larger, public companies, then check them out against sources such as a Hoovers or Dun & Bradstreet (I know D&B owns Hoovers but they keep them separate) or some other independent business research service.

Now for the fun part, it is time for you to check out the prospect companies website. A simple AND difficult process – depends if a company is less than sharing of their information on the web. More often you will find a treasure chest of information on these websites. In fact, there are 12 things that I look for on these sites – and you should look for them also. Here are the big twelve…

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Lead Generation in B2B Sales

One of the most common questions that I get from sales people is…

What is the best method for sales lead generation?

This is an interesting question because there are numerous answers available that depend upon what you sell and who you sell to as a group. Now, I know that is not the answer most of you want, but it is the truth.

So here are a few of the more common answers to this question.

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