The CRAP Report

Steve Richard, co-founder for sales training organization Vorsight, wrote a guest blog article yesterday for sales strategist Chad Levitt’s New Sales Economy Blog.  The article, entitled “11 Sales Tips for Cold Calling and Prospecting,” offered some good insight into making the most out of each and every attempt to get in touch with your potential buyers.  One of the questions that Steve suggests asking yourself is this:

“Do you revisit your talking points periodically to more effectively tell your story and stand out from the vendor noise and static?”

This is a great question!  It makes me wonder how many times prospects hang up on teleprospectors because they do nothing to make themselves unique in terms of their messaging.  There is some interesting discussion going on over at that post, and I think you should take a look at it and join in the conversation.

*Picture credit:  Linda Cronin via Flickr

How lame does that title sound, huh?  Almost as lame as what one client told me, regarding how prospects would feel about their product:  “The streets are going to want to marry you!”  You know what I found during that campaign?  The streets didn’t even understand my language. Read more… »

This is a good question, and you know why?  Because sometimes you’re not.  Sometimes, you think you’re ready to outsource your sales opportunity development and you’re just really not.  You know, its like thinking you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a goddamn magic show…well, that’s another story.  But seriously, here are three ways to know you’re ready for lead gen.  Pick up your pens boys and girls, schools about to start:

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One of my favorite Brady Bunch episodes was the one were Greg was asked to become a singer named Johnny Bravo.  He thought he had made it!  What Greg didn’t know was that he wasn’t really wanted for his singing ability, as his first song becomes electronically enhanced (much to his chagrin).  By the end of the episode, though, we find out that Greg was only wanted because “he fit the [Johnny Bravo] suit.”  Greg wanted to sing his own songs, and not have them doctored.  When he realized he was just wanted because he fit some mold, he was ready to move on.

When it comes to teleprospecting rep’s (TPR’s), though it would be awesome to see a bunch of people wearing Johnny Bravo suits around my office, I want TPR’s to have Greg’s attitude when it comes to making calls.  I want them to be their own person.

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I once worked with a customer who told me that the easiest way to describe his offering was to tell me that they provided 90% of the functionality that a competitor (who’s name rhymes with “Bicrosoft”!) offers at twice the price, and then asked me to find him quality sales opportunities. 

Let that sink in for a minute. 

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