Many sales programs suggest that sales success happens through considerable "knocking on doors" and facing rejection again and again (followed by a sale). To a certain degree, this is true; however, I believe we can have more success with a "rifled" approach, rather than the "shotgun" approach to prospecting.

Yes, you must make calls.  And, yes, sometimes someone may not be interested in your product or service.  But, guess what - many people are.  I also know that people who you treat well will treat you well.  

A company I used to work for, Data General, treated their employees and customers with total respect (in my experience).  A customer who had phased-out all of their Data General equipment still gave me the time of day to call me and thanked me for my interest in them when I called them about our services.  My point: when you're treating people with respect - for their time, their intelligence, and their higher noble intention, you will likely succeed everywhere you go.

I know I can get in the door by utilizing the following keys to success:

  Treat the customer with respect;

  Be unique in my approach (no "how are you today" comments);

  Explain how my company helped someone else and how that might matter to them;

  If there is no interest at this time, ask who else might I speak to;

  Ask for another time to speak with them when they might be interested.

There are also techniques to getting in the door that are not sneaky but do work quite well.  Statistics show that 70% of people are visual (over 30% auditory and some other figure kinesthetic).  Well, then they must SEE something from me if I am to succeed with them.  Perhaps a card, or a letter.  But, these days, most of the mail gets screened by administrative help.

So, I determine the email address of the prospect.  This can be done by reading press releases and various other parts of the company's website.  I have to know whether the email extension is Scott_Andrews@xyzcorp.com (please don't click on these - they are not real emails addresses) or Scott.Andrews@xyz.com or SAndrews@xyz.com.  Most companies follow one of these three formats.  However, some companies are catching on and now changing their email routing systems to different extensions.  In this case, you may need to call to ask for the email address or ask a peer of the manager you need to reach for it.

If an email is to be read, it must again answer the keys from part 5 of Conceptual Selling, 

The email must answer these questions:

  Who am I?

  Why I am emailing them?

  What I've done for someone else  or idea that triggered the "mission"?

  What must the prospect do? (The prospect must respond with interest, just like in tennis, hitting the ball over the net. Get commitments!)

  When can we meet to discuss this further?

Click here for an example of an email I used that recently worked with a CEO of a fortune 500 company.

Telephone:  when using the phone, ask to speak directly with the person.  If you get the "why are you calling" question, simply stay focused on the person at hand - don't go around them.  I treat the administrator the same as the person - many times they can speak for them if they are a high level administrator.  If they block me, I then call after hours or before hours - using an extension similar to the root extension of the primary telephone number.  If you find the telephone extension for the CFO it is usually pretty likely the CEO's extension is nearby.

I always remember - no matter what, I must have a differentiated and unique reason for calling.  It also helps if I know someone who can refer me in -- most C-level executives report that referral-based selling is much more successful than a cold call.

Getting in the door isn't always easy - but it can be done more often than not using cutting-edge techniques. Get creative. Think of how you can surprise people. Do anything the prospect DOESN'T expect you to do. You will be surprised what works when you try this approach.

Scott Andrews is CEO and Founder of AspireNow (www.AspireNow.com), a leading business productivity and personal development firm based in California. AspireNow helps organizations launch new products and services, train sales teams, and innovatively change businesses through  cutting-edge business models and techniques to improve success. For more information, contact Scott@AspireNow.com, or visit http://www.AspireNow.com.

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