Seems like lately most of my conversations have been around leads and how to findthem and what makes them solid. One of the easiest and best ways to generate a good lead list is right in front of each one of us – our traditional lead list. This list is a solid foundation for building future business.
So, how do we mine our current list? Well, first and foremost there are three pools of money to tap into in every business: advertising, marketing/brand and sales. So take your top three accounts that spend the most money with you and ask yourself this question. Do I know who is in charge of each one of these areas? Then list them. If you do, great — you are covering all bases. If you do not, you just uncovered a new door to open for potential revenue.
Then continue this exercise until you finish your entire list. By the time you finish this list, you should begin to see patterns in your selling skill set — where you are strong, where you need work and categories you do well in. Take this information and begin your new lead list with three accounts you are going to develop deeper.
For example, let’s assume you are strong in auto and you do a ton of campaigns with the local Ford dealers and mainly work with the General Managers. While doing this exercise you realize you do not work with regional marketing and/or the other divisions such as certified pre-owned or parts and service managers. See how this works? We just identified three new doors to open within auto!
As always, the better prepared you are when opening these doors the better the conversation will go. So always do your homework ahead of time and find out the following facts about your prospect before you dial:
- Headquarters contact information
- Fiscal year
- Background information
- Organizational structure
- Marketing practices
- New and major products or services
- Sponsorships and corporate interests
Use the Morrison and Abraham website today and look up profiles on accounts to get a head start.