Jill Konrath's Blog, page 33

[Video] How To Write Effective Email Subject Lines

If you’re doing email prospecting and not concerned about your subject line, you should be. It’s the single biggest determinant if somebody opens your email - or not.

A lot of people don’t even think about email subject lines. They just put something like “Company overview” or “Update on what’s happening with our company.”  And of course, the person who gets this in their email box thinks, “Why do I care about that?”

If you have anything about your company in the subject line, the email gets deleted - unopened.

The second thing that gets deleted is anything that’s salesy. Things like special promotions, 50% off sales, or new product announcements get deleted fast too.

But what works?

If you have a referral, you should automatically put that in your email subject line. “Bob Smith suggested I get in touch with you.” It always works to get people to open the message.

The second thing you can do is reference something that is important to the company. You solve business issues. You help people with projects that are important to them. Put something in the subject line that would be relevant to them.

For example, I might use something like, “Quick question regarding new client acquisition.” Or, I might mention something about new product launches and how their competitors have increased sales of their new product. Mentioning competitors is something that helps too.

You need to think about what's interesting about what you do from your prospects point of view. Put that in the subject line. It’s only about them – that’s all they care about. They don’t care about your company or anything you say about yourself.

When you do that, you’ve bought yourself a little bit of time. Now they’re going to read the first couple of sentences of your message where you have another chance to capture their attention and pique curiosity.

But first things first. You subject line matters most. Spend time crafting a good one – it’s that critical.

[Video] 3 Ways to Find Decision Makers' Names

How do you find decision makers' names? That’s pretty important if you want to get your foot in the door of a new company. Let me tell you where to start.

The first thing to do is identify the position titles of the various people that you might want to talk to. Perhaps it’s the Head of Corporate Communications. Maybe it’s the Trade Show Director. Or, maybe it’s the VP of Marketing. Your job is to first identify the positions. That's where it all starts.

Here are 3 ways to find the decision maker’s names:

1. Check their website: If you’re calling on a small company I suggest you go to their website to see if you can find that information there. But, as the company gets bigger, that information becomes buried and more difficult to find. Then next thing you do is to go to LinkedIn. 

2. Check LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a wonderful resource if you’re calling on small to medium-sized businesses because nearly everybody has their information posted on it.

Go to the advanced search function and enter in the title of the position you're trying to reach. You can enter in information about the company name, position, and location – and boom! Up pops a list of people who meet your criteria.

3. Check paid services: And finally, you can use some of the resources that are available out there for a small fee. Places like Jigsaw.com, Hoovers, ZoomInfo and NetProspex.

These are the shortcuts to finding people’s names. You have to do a little research, but the information is out there. You can quickly get your foot in the door when you know who to contact.

[Video] Don't Ask Your Prospects This Qualifying Question

Should you ask a prospect, "What's in your budget?" You know, a lot of sales training programs tell you that it's very, very important to qualify your prospects. And if they don't have money in their budget, then you need move on because that's a sign of whether or not they are going to actually buy.

Let me give you an example that I think refutes this entirely.

Recently, I got a call from Lauren. She does website and social media stuff. She happened to look at my website and noticed that I was missing some very important things from a social media perspective. She sent me an email, told me what was missing, and asked if I was interested in learning more.  I was surprised and my curiosity was piqued. I thanked her for the insights, and asked if she did any work in that area. She said she did - then she asked me what my budget was.

That was not the right question to ask me! I had no idea what her value was worth or the time it takes to solve the problem. She was creating a box for herself and she got me flustered because I didn't know how to answer the question.

Now, my normal reaction would be to throw out a low ball number. This would make her upset because she would feel her time is worth more and that she couldn't afford to do that.

She shouldn't have asked the question at all. She should have focused on the need, found out a little bit more, and suggested what it would cost so I could find out if it was worth spending the money on.

If she'd have done that, she'd have gotten a sale a whole lot faster.

[Video] Pursuing Multiple Decision Makers At the Same Time

Is it a good idea to contact multiple decision makers in an organization at the same time? A lot of salespeople are afraid that means they're going behind somebody's back, and they certainly don't want to to do that.

The answer is - it's absolutely OK and you should be doing it!

You can't have your whole future in an organization based on one person's schedule. That person may be in overwhelm. Let me give you an example.

I work with the VP of Sales, but there are many ways for me to get into an account. I can go to the Regional Sales Manager, CEO, or VP of Marketing because my work extends to all those people.

You can do this same thing too. If you're selling to the marketing people, you might go into the Head of Corporate Communications, the trade show person, or you might go in and speak with the Director of Marketing Communications.

Now, you don't want to hide this. You want to be very open about it. That's what's important. So, you can literally say to people, "Based on my experience working with other organizations, we usually have multiple decision makers involved in the process. And so, I've taken it upon myself to talk to [these people] as well."

So, as you can see, you're open, your honest, and it's just the way that you work because there's multiple decision makers involved and you need to talk with them to do your job well.

Sales Attraction Strategies You'll Want to Know About

Want to know how to get more customers without cold calling? Then I think you'll be interested in my interview today with Kendra Lee, author of The Sales Magnet. In this excellent new book, she shares tons of strategies you can use to fill your pipeline with new prospects. (Click here to download two free chapters.) 

Jill: Kendra, what are the biggest changes you see in the sales prospecting landscape today? 

Kendra Lee: I think there are several important changes that are fueled by many different things, but one of the biggest — or most important — is that sales prospecting now requires more persistence and multi-channel execution than ever before. 

When you think about prospecting today, it’s not just about cold calling, dropping by, delivering a clever note, or even sending a LinkedIn request to connect with someone. Those things are all important, but if you’re just trying to reach prospects through one channel or at one specific time, you’re not going to be successful. 

Jill: What are the primary mistakes you see salespeople making because they’re taking these changes into account?

Kendra Lee: These kind of feed off of my previous answer, but I think there are three mistakes that are most prevalent:

Salespeople give up too quickly
They use only one prospecting approach
And they don’t have a focused message that fits their prospect

As for what prompts those mistakes, it really boils down to two issues. First, salespeople look for the easy way out, setting their sights on the low-hanging fruit that appears easier to pick. And second, companies understaff or under-employ their sales teams. The latter is mostly fueled by a weak economy, but it can have serious prospecting implications. At the end of the day, one salesperson can only do so much. 

Jill: Let’s talk about Attraction Strategies. You say that they're the best way for sales reps to get more hot prospects. What’s the basic idea of attraction selling?

Kendra Lee: The basic idea is to not give up, and to be in front of your prospects even before they realize they have a need. In a lot of marketing departments, you might hear attraction selling referred to as “awareness campaigns,” while sales teams might call them “warming techniques.” 

Either way, the general idea is that you need to be proactively educating prospects about business issues, even if they don’t recognize that they’re dealing with them yet. That way, when they do realize those issues are a problem, you’re top of mind. It’s really about being ubiquitous. 

Jill: What are the three Attraction Strategies and how do they work?

Kendra Lee: In my book The Sales Magnet, I talk about 14 different attraction strategies, but I group them into what I call the “Prospect Attraction Trifecta.” That includes three specific attraction categories: personal, digital, and collaborative. 

Personal strategies include tactics like personalized e-mails or hand written letters that make prospects feel like you’re talking to them one-to-one. Digital strategies engage prospects through various Web-based channels (social media, corporate blogging, e-newsletters, etc.) with the goal of driving real-time interaction and initiating offline conversations. Collaborative strategies include things like local events, offline PR, alliance partnering, or any of the digital or personal strategies I listed above executed in tandem. 

As for how or why they work, it’s really about broadening your base of contacts, being where your prospects are deepening your conversations, and, as I said previously, becoming more ubiquitous. Truthfully, prospect attraction strategies like email, social media, local events, and blogging are all effective on their own, but not consistently. Executed together, their impact is amplified and your results are multiplied significantly. 

Jill: How are these Attraction Strategies more effective than cold calling?

Kendra Lee: With cold calling, even if you have a very strong message and have done the research, the odds are still against you. If you’re calling people that aren’t aware of you or your solution, it’s going to take several attempts to get them to respond to you. In that sense, cold calling is your only awareness building effort. 

With Attraction Strategies, you’re constantly and consistently warming up prospects across several mediums. You’re building awareness, keeping yourself in front of your prospects, and doing all of that without peppering them with cold calls.

That way, when you do go to make your cold calls, you’ve already banked some awareness equity and your prospects will be more likely to pick up the phone. They still might not answer the first time, but it probably won’t take nine or 10 calls to reach them.  

One sales rep we work with used cold calling combined with a lunch and learn event in her office’s conference room to uncover new prospects. She was averaging just 20% of her target attendees, and of those only 1% were qualified. She changed her strategy to encompass multiple attraction strategies and within one month not only sold out her next event, but uncovered highly qualified leads. She was ecstatic. The strategy works.

Jill: Salespeople are as crazy busy as their clients. Can they really do this type of prospecting efficiently?

Kendra Lee: The short answer is, “Yes.” The trick to making it work is to find your focus. The way you do that is to take your territory, region, or market, and divide it into microsegments — groups of people that share similar needs and respond to similar messages.  

Ultimately, doing that creates efficiency because you only have to create content once and it can be recycled in each of your interactions with prospects in a particular microsegment. You can approach them individually with personal attraction strategies or as a group with collaborative and digital attraction strategies. 

The other natural byproduct of focusing on microsegments is that you’ll inevitably become more knowledgeable about a specific market niche or need. That knowledge will fuel more effective, strategic, and personal conversations, and that will lead to prospects referring you to their microsegment peers. You’ll become the expert that prospects turn to, which creates this fantastic snowball effect.  

Jill: How can salespeople incorporate Attraction Strategies into their work right now?

Kendra Lee: I’ve talked a little bit about that already, but I’ll summarize those tips here: 

Develop microsegments so that you can prospect more efficiently and develop market expertise 
Focus your message on a specific microsegment so that it feels more personal and specific to each prospect’s needs and pain points
Integrate or connect your prospecting efforts so that you’re not just using a single channel. Most sales reps prefer emailing and calling. Go beyond that and use social media, a blog, a newsletter, a webinar, or some other channel that’s particularly relevant to your microsegment. That channel diversity will make you ubiquitous. 

I recognize that salespeople might feel overwhelmed by this, but it honestly requires only a little bit of upfront work for a big payoff down the line. Choose just two or three attraction strategies that you’re comfortable with to get started. The return on your time and energy will be well worth it. 

Thanks a million, Kendra, for sharing all your insights. Your book is excellent -- and so is the toolkit that goes with it. I highly recommend it.  For more info, click here to download two chapters of The Sales Magnet right now. 

Kendra Lee is president of KLA Group, a sales consulting and training firm. KLA Group guides mid-market companies in breaking through tough prospecting barriers to get more customers and exceed revenue goals.

To learn more, visit www.klagroup.com or call 303-741-6636.

[Video] How Much Prospect Research You Should Do

Are you wondering how much prospect research you should be doing before you contact a potential prospect? The answer depends on the value of the opportunity.

Now, if you’re going after a big company like GE or IBM, you will want to spend a lot of time doing research on their website, finding out what industry analysts are saying, etc. – especially if it’s a big opportunity that could be pivotal for your business.

But, if you’re going after smaller companies, you don’t need to invest that much time. The reality of it is, many people call on the same type of decision makers all the time and they know a whole lot about their main concerns and challenges. They develop a depth of expertise on that individual or market segment. And when you have that, you don’t have to do as much specific research on a company.

For example, I always sell to VP’s of Sales, and they're always concerned about new client acquisition.

So, think of the size of the opportunity and what it might mean for your business. If it’s worth researching, go after it. If it's not that big of deal, don’t do as much homework because it won’t make that much difference.

[Video] How Often Should You Contact Prospects?

How often should you contact potential prospects? After all, no one wants to feel like a pest or a nag, and you don't want to be seen as desperate. I get asked that question all the time and here's my answer: much more often than you think.

You may think that calling or emailing every two weeks is reasonable. But, if you think about how crazy busy people react, you'll realize that they don't remember what they deleted even earlier in day. And, if you left a bad message, they've deleted you so fast you didn't even enter into their short-term memory.

So I suggest you think about contacting your prospects every 3 or 4 days -- unless you have a very important trigger event that happens. In that situation, you might need to contact them quite frequently within a week because you have some ideas regarding a specific situation that just happened.

So don't worry about being a pest. If you wrote a bad email message they'll delete you and won't remember you.

And finally, just keep things going. Prospects can't remember that you wrote them two days ago, or you called them three days ago. Contact often and plan many, many contacts.

4 Ways to Stay Upbeat in Sales

Today's post from the Chamber of Commerce features business-growth advice for small companies.

The business of direct sales can be tough on the ego. Even the most seasoned sales professionals have days where it feels like the prospecting universe is out to get them. Have heart, keep the faith, carry your head up high and remember that this too shall pass.

Not a fan of vague inspirational clichés? Try these tangible tips for staying upbeat on the tough days in sales:

Remember that it’s not you. If you take every rejection or insult personally, you won’t last long in sales. Every approach will not work for every client, and in some cases a sale is next to impossible. Of course there are always ways to improve your technique and limit sales objections, but do not take a “no” as a personal attack. Accept rejection when you encounter it and shake it off before contacting the next prospect.
Walk away from your desk. Did you know that negativity is contagious? While there is no physical evidence of this, a person with a bad attitude sends out a negative vibe to anyone he encounters. Walk away from your work station for 10 minutes if your mental state is at a low point, you feel distracted or you are simply tired. Reset your internal outlook in order to have a better shot at a positive outcome.
Ask for help. It is okay to not have all the answers when it comes to making sales. If you are in a rut or unsure how to approach the next potential client, get some coaching from a peer or mentor first. Ask what tactics have worked for them in similar situations and put those tips into practice. You may also want to tap into referral selling techniques to help you with the introduction portion of a sale.
Keep records of wins. Just like a sports team, you cannot win every scenario in sales. Instead of wallowing in losses, however, revisit the details of your triumphs. Each time you make a significant sale, jot down a few notes on how you made it happen. This is a great way to learn from your own lessons and conjure up some encouragement on the low days.

When it comes to sales, you are your strongest asset. In order to stay valuable, stay upbeat about your talent, worth and potential. Learn from your mistakes but do not let them dictate your mood moving forward.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com . She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

[Video] Examples of a Good LinkedIn Summary

You know how you go on LinkedIn to check out your prospect’s profile? Well, guess what? They’re checking you out too.

If all they see is a bare-bones resume listing your previous work experience, they’re not going to be one bit impressed.

Nor will they get excited about meeting you if you describe yourself as a high energy, tenacious sales hunter. That’ll scare ‘em off good.

Instead, you want them to say, “This person sounds really sharp. She gets my challenges. It’d be worth meeting with her."

One of the best ways to make that happen is to craft a customer-focused summary that makes you come alive. Let me give you a couple examples.

Dave sells commercial real estate. In his LinkedIn summary he says, “I help people make high quality business decisions that involve real estate. I do everything I can to help them maximize their returns by minimizing risk.” Then he tells them how he does it.

And here’s how Lorena starts hers out: "Are you using email marketing to reach your customers and prospects?” She then proceeds to talk about why it’s important and how she helps her customers.

In John’s profile he says, “I've enjoyed an amazing 20 year career in the telecommunications industry that’s given me a deep understanding of my customer’s challenges."

See the difference?

To have immediate credibility with your prospects, make sure you write your LinkedIn summary with them in mind. Keep it short and engaging too – they’re quickly scanning to see if it’s worth talking with you.

Examples of a Good LinkedIn Summary

You know how you go on LinkedIn to check out your prospect’s profile? Well, guess what? They’re checking you out too.

If all they see is a bare-bones resume listing your previous work experience, they’re not going to be one bit impressed.

Nor will they get excited about meeting you if you describe yourself as a high energy, tenacious sales hunter. That’ll scare ‘em off good.

Instead, you want them to say, “This person sounds really sharp. She gets my challenges. It’d be worth meeting with her."

One of the best ways to make that happen is to craft a customer-focused summary that makes you come alive. Let me give you a couple examples.

Dave sells commercial real estate. In his LinkedIn summary he says, “I help people make high quality business decisions that involve real estate. I do everything I can to help them maximize their returns by minimizing risk.” Then he tells them how he does it.

And here’s how Lorena starts hers out: "Are you using email marketing to reach your customers and prospects?” She then proceeds to talk about why it’s important and how she helps her customers.

In John’s profile he says, “I've enjoyed an amazing 20 year career in the telecommunications industry that’s given me a deep understanding of my customer’s challenges."

See the difference?

To have immediate credibility with your prospects, make sure you write your LinkedIn summary with them in mind. Keep it short and engaging too – they’re quickly scanning to see if it’s worth talking with you.