How to Generate More--And Better--Sales Leads

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Making sales is a lot easier when people who really need what you've got call you. So how can you get more of these people to call? There are ways if you refine your strategies to target these customers and build on your relationships with them. Here are four proves strategies from our executive guide The Secrets to Generating & Closing High Volume, High Quality Sales Leads, that can really make a difference.

1. Design a Natural Relationship Building Process

Big sales never happen on the first call. They are the result of a relationship building process. Natural, human relationship building processes involve multiple contacts, mutual sharing and the building of credibility, confidence and trust. If all goes well, the process leads to significant commitments on the part of both parties.

Review all of your marketing communications from the first flyer, letter, or ad through all the calls, presentations and proposals. Do they smoothly support a natural relationship building process (like courting) or do they start right out of the gate with the business equivalent of, "Hi! Will you marry me?" Smooth and natural works better and more often.

2. Target Your Market

A common marketing mistake is to go after any and everyone. The truth is, some people are much better prospects for your products and services than others.

Since it's not likely that you have unlimited time and marketing resources, it makes a lot of sense to focus your efforts on your prime suspects and prospects. You'll save a lot of time and money, plus you have a much easier and more enjoyable time selling.

3. Analyze Your Value

Another big, yet very common, marketing mistake is for marketing and sales people to get so enamored with their products and services they lose sight of what it is that people are actually buying.

Business decision makers are not buying your technology. If they could do without it, they happily would. In reality they are buying the cost reduction or the profit gain your technology promises. This is a difficult

concept for many technologists. Making sales gets a whole lot easier once they grasp it.

Ask yourself how your unique blend of products and services reduces cost and increases profit. If you can quantify some big numbers for your prospects you'll attract many more of them and find them easier to sell.

4. Make Irresistible Offers

Analyze your prospects' problems then package some information that addresses those problems and offer it to them for free. You'll get lots of takers. And guess what? Those takers will be people with problems you are uniquely qualified to do something about. If the information you publish is solid, you'll wind up with more credibility, deepening the prospects' interest and creating easy bridges to your first meeting with them.

Ask yourself what you know that good prospects would really like to know. Your answer to that question will be the inspiration for an irresistible lead generation offer.

Ray Cobel is president of Cobel Target Marketing a consulting firm that specializes in planning, communications, systems and training. He can be reached at raycobel@cobel.com.

If you'd like to learn how to implement these tips, and many others, see our executive guide entitled, "The Secrets to Generating & Closing High Volume, High Quality Sales Leads" at www.cobel.com/leadgeneration.htm