The Sales Blog » Sales Leads

Where Do You Go After the Initial Prospect Meeting?

paulmccord — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:30:24 +0000

As Carle was walking back to her car after her first meeting with Ann, the COO for a small manufacturing company, she was worrying about her next call to Ann. The meeting seemed to have gone well—Ann seemed to be genuinely interested, there seemed to be real potential for a sale, but she didn’t feel that there was a definite direction to go from here. What should be her next move? When should she get back with Ann? What was she going to say? What could she do to move the sale along? What sale exactly?Carle’s dilemma is one faced by thousands of salespeople everyday. They work hard to find and connect with a prospect, have a really good initial meeting—and then don’t know where to go from there.If you find that you also have meetings that seem to go well but when you walk out you’re not sure how to proceed, there is a simple three prong solution that should be incorporated into every one of your sales calls: (more…)

It’s National Sales Lead Management Week

paulmccord — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:50:55 +0000

June 9 through 13 is National Sales Lead Management Weekâ€”so taking some time to visit the Sales Lead Management Association site and blog to get the latest on managing leads would be a good way to spend a bit of time this week.

In addition, the association although fairly new has just reached 500 members. If youâ€™re responsible for managing your companyâ€™s sales leads and havenâ€™t joined yet, now would be a great time to do during the Sales Lead Management Week.

The Value of Sales Leads: A Perspective from the Trenches

paulmccord — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:15:27 +0000

Sales leads.Â Coveted by salespeopleâ€”and equally hated by them.Â

Having worked in sales all my life, first as a salesman, then in management, then as sales trainer and consultant, Iâ€™ve had the opportunity to see sales lead generation from all perspectives, especially from the view of the salesperson and their immediate manager.

Salespeople love leads.Â They crave them.Â They canâ€™t get enough.Â Leads are manna from heaven.Â Leads mean the salesperson doesnâ€™t have to claw and scrape to find some kind of a suspect to callâ€”today anyway.
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Lessons Learned from a Podcasting Connoisseur, an article by Brian Carroll

paulmccord — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:21:14 +0000

Lessons LearnedÂ from a Podcasting Connoisseur

by Brian CarrollÂ

We all know that there is growing agreement that podcasts are a great way to share your thought-leading content. Â

According to a study released by KnowledgeStorm and Universall McCann on the emerging role of new media, more than 41% of survey respondents claimed they listen to podcasts on more than one occasion, while 13% stated they frequently download or listen to them. And 65% responded that they listen to podcasts for both personal and business interests.* Â
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Why Sales Fail, an article by Sharon Drew Morgen

paulmccord — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:40:02 +0000

WHY SALES FAIL
by Sharon Drew Morgen

(Note: this is an excerpt from my new book-in-progress â€“ Why Sales Fail, or, Iâ€™d close more sales if it werenâ€™t for the buyer)

Â Â Are your sales cycles longer than necessary?Â Â
Â Â Are you losing business to the competition when you shouldnâ€™t be?Â Â
Â Â Are you having trouble differentiating yourself?Â Â
Â Â Are you getting price objections when your product is clearly superior?

If you face any of the above, itâ€™s because you are using sales methods.

Do I have your attention? Good, because sales operates on a set of myths that perpetuate failure.
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Powerful Free Advertising

Rob Halvorsen — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 11:22:23 +0000

There are a myriad of techniques companies can use to get the word out about their business and all the wonderful things it has to offer. From direct mail and internet advertising to television and radio spots, there are plenty of advertising methods to choose from. All of these marketing techniques cost money, and it is important for companies to target their advertising where it will have the greatest impact.
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Increase Sales with Public Speaking and Seminars

Rob Halvorsen — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:57:10 +0000

Have you ever wondered why there are so many public speakers touring around the country? Do you marvel at the number of seminars coming to your town and wonder how all those seminar speakers can enjoy a good living and grow their businesses? While there are many reasons why a particular speaker enjoys success, in many cases those seminars and public speaking sessions are a way to generate multiple streams of income and increase sales.
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Think Long Term for Sales Lead Success

Rob Halvorsen — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:15:43 +0000

While getting a large one time sale is always exciting, it is the repeat customer who is craved above all in sales.Â Capturing those repeat customers and keeping them coming back is an essential part of any successful marketing campaign, and happy long term customers are great at generating the word of mouth advertising that money simply cannot buy.
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Using Online Buzz to Generate Sales Leads

Rob Halvorsen — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:30:56 +0000

Everyone in the highly competitive world of sales understands the importance of generating high quality sales leads. The importance of sales leads simply cannot be overestimated, and every sales professional understands how quality leads can grow company revenue, profits and of course commissions.
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