B2B Sales Question

[StartupsRFun]

I am putting together a marketing plan for a mobile enterprise event app that we are going to be launching in the next month (will create a progress thread in another post). I have very little b2b sales and marketing experience, and was hoping to get some advice.

To reach out to prospective clients, instead of the initial cold calling, would it be beneficial to send something to them first, in order to make a connection? My thought was to send them a small box filled with some goodies (I would be sending these to local companies, so I was thinking local goods), to announce the launch of our app. It would be branded with our logo and include information on our company/app. Has anyone had any success with this or any advice on how to make that initial connection, without the cold call? If it helps the target market is corporate event planners

 

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[harerace]

mobile enterprise event app

What does that mean? What size are these local companies?

 

[StartupsRFun]

What does that mean? What size are these local companies?

Its an app for professional conferences (in the event space, its called a mobile enterprise event app), targeted towards large corporate events/conferences. The companies vary, what we are looking at is the size and demographic of the conferences/events, as we created the app to enable professionals to network and collaborate at these conferences/events. So for us we work our way backwards by looking at the events (say Intels
IDF13 conference for example) and then research as to who is in charge of planning the event. I live in a metropolitan so we are fortunate to have quite a few large corporate events here.

 

[Get Right]

Well you have to "cold" something.

I like picking up the phone first. Cheap and quick.

My B2B sales usually start working after the third "contact" with the right person. Usually in this order - phone call, meeting in person, e-mail asking for their business.

As a buyer - I get cookies and swag all the time. Never once bought something due to it. I guess they think the cookies are their magical salespeople.

Doesn't work that way. I want to know what they can do for me. Solve my problems and you have my business.

 

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[StartupsRFun]

My B2B sales usually start working after the third "contact" with the right person. Usually in this order - phone call, meeting in person, e-mail asking for their business.

Thanks for the reply. Why do you wait till the 3rd contact, and not ask for their business in the in person meeting?

Also because we are a new company launching and want to create a little buzz, at least locally, would you recommend some type of PR package, that way when we do "cold" call they at least have a reference as to who we are?

 

[Blueskies4me]

After working in the Corporate Insurance industry, I have A LOT of experience in setting appointments from cold calling. One of the biggest things is to make sure you're asking for the person that makes the decisions that you're asking them to make for the company. If the owner is active in that role then yes ask for the owner but a lot of times they're not. If there's an entire marketing department in charge of that then get the head of that department to sit down with you. The more yesses you have to get through to get an answer the harder it is going to be for you to actually make a sale. I wouldn't give away materials before you get an appointment for a presentation. They won't read it or even look at it and if they do they typically won't buy primarily from your materials. If someone does buy, the ROI on having it printed and just giving it out to hundreds of people just isn't worth it. Also, do not presell your product to the "gate keeper" who answers the phone but DO make them your best friend. I've had gate keepers give me the owner's cell phone number before.

If you get an appointment, then ask questions. What are they currently doing? What are the results? How do they feel about the situation they're in (that you're asking to fill). What are their concerns? THEN LISTEN. They'll tell you what they want. Would it be easier for you if you could do this... if they agree to all of the benefits of your product, you have a sale.

Look up information on how to close a sale using the upside down pyramid. If you ask them enough questions about their problem you won't need to close, they'll want to write you a check. But certainly ask for it. I would really try not to leave an appointment without either a check, contract or a future date and time for a second appointment to get that. Go in with that goal and don't leave without meeting it.

 

[StartupsRFun]

After working in the Corporate Insurance industry, I have A LOT of experience in setting appointments from cold calling. One of the biggest things is to make sure you're asking for the person that makes the decisions that you're asking them to make for the company. If the owner is active in that role then yes ask for the owner but a lot of times they're not. If there's an entire marketing department in charge of that then get the head of that department to sit down with you. The more yesses you have to get through to get an answer the harder it is going to be for you to actually make a sale. I wouldn't give away materials before you get an appointment for a presentation. They won't read it or even look at it and if they do they typically won't buy primarily from your materials. If someone does buy, the ROI on having it printed and just giving it out to hundreds of people just isn't worth it. Also, do not presell your product to the "gate keeper" who answers the phone but DO make them your best friend. I've had gate keepers give me the owner's cell phone number before.

If you get an appointment, then ask questions. What are they currently doing? What are the results? How do they feel about the situation they're in (that you're asking to fill). What are their concerns? THEN LISTEN. They'll tell you what they want. Would it be easier for you if you could do this... if they agree to all of the benefits of your product, you have a sale.

Look up information on how to close a sale using the upside down pyramid. If you ask them enough questions about their problem you won't need to close, they'll want to write you a check. But certainly ask for it. I would really try not to leave an appointment without either a check, contract or a future date and time for a second appointment to get that. Go in with that goal and don't leave without meeting it.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that out, just had a couple of questions. Ive cold called before and frankly I hate it (tend to be an introverted person), is there any suggestions you have that you used to make yourself feel confident in cold calling? When you ask who makes the decisions, are you literally asking that question or do you phrase it in another way? Lastly what are some of the mistakes you have seen, that immediately turn people away and what are some things you have seen done that have drawn people in, without immediately rejecting you?

 

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[Get Right]

You are going to have to get over the fear of sales/failure/rejection to make this work.

Pick up the phone, call some people, make mistakes, lose sales, etc. This is how you learn what works.

I have never seen a business have a closing ratio of 99%. It's more like 1%. That means 99 no's for 1 yes. (Your ratio will be different but you need to know what that ratio is).

 

[Blueskies4me]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that out, just had a couple of questions. Ive cold called before and frankly I hate it (tend to be an introverted person), is there any suggestions you have that you used to make yourself feel confident in cold calling? When you ask who makes the decisions, are you literally asking that question or do you phrase it in another way? Lastly what are some of the mistakes you have seen, that immediately turn people away and what are some things you have seen done that have drawn people in, without immediately rejecting you?

First of all, the people answering the phone are used to getting multiple sales calls a day so it's not a big deal to them. Get used to the realization that they make appointments to see sales reps all the time. Don't freak out however it will NEVER get comfortable. NEVER.
This is also a numbers game. You HAVE to call 200 companies a day. Minimum. If that sounds horrible then hire it out. Remember don't be embarrassed or feel like you have to apologize for being a business owner who wants to meet another business owner. You are a professional not a salesman.

Recruit a college intern (cheapest) on commission or odesk / elance professionals to call for you. Out of 1000 calls in a week you should have a full week of 20 appointments. If you can't see making that many calls a day hire it out.

Mistakes:

• Sales requires FACE TIME so don't use your materials or samples as a crutch. They won't get a signature on a contract and like GetRight said they get a ton of promo crap. It's not that impressive.
  
  
• Some of the larger businesses have a regular schedule for reviewing products. Some don't. Don't be afraid to schedule an appointment during that time even if it's 6 months out.

• Some companies in some industries especially franchises can't approve large purchases or changes for an individual site. That's why it's important to find out what decisions are made by whom. If you're going to the CEO of a large company. That's often a marketing / PR campaign.
  
  
• NEVER EVER try to sell over the phone if you can get an appointment face to face. I've rarely closed a sale over the phone and if you try to close the sale too early they'll say no. Once the no is out there you're in an uphill battle to get a yes.
  
  
• Don't start pushing your product too early. Find out how and if you can help. Make a list of questions and ask the same ones every time so you head the right direction. Open ended "Explain how you set events now..." or "People in this industry have mentioned to me that they see [problem your product solves] as one of the biggest problems, what do you think about it?" Yes, no (closing questions) "Would you agree that in a perfect world solving that problem would save you time / money / effort?" If you ask enough of these... you will have your close fall into your lap.
  
  
• Always warm up and cool down. Talk about kids, the town, the weather for a few minutes before, then wind down with a "Thank you" and "What are your plans for the weekend?" or something else.

Appointment Setting:

• If you have the owner's first name (from infofree.com or salesgenie or just the phone book), use it. "Hey Betty, this is Bob from XYZ company over here on Main Street (sounding local), is Joe (owner) around today?" If she thinks you know him on a first name basis, sometimes she'll just transfer you. If it's that easy just say, "Hey Joe, thanks for taking my call. This is Bob over here at XYZ company on Main St. I know you're a busy guy so I'm not going to take up your time today but I'm going to be out that way on Tuesday and just wanted to stop by for 5 minutes and introduce myself. Are you a morning or afternoon guy?" Then set your appointment. This is the script you would give to your callers if you want to have people call for you. Only they would say this is Gary calling on behalf of Mr. Bob. I know that may sound too informal but if sometimes if you're too formal they feel a sales pitch coming and often shut you down right away.
  
  
• If the owner's not in, don't get all speechy about your product with the gate keeper..she doesn't need to know you've got the most amazing product in the world just that you're a super relaxed nice guy and she likes you. Just say, "Thanks Betty. Hey, what's the best way to reach him? How can I get some time with Joe?" Sometimes she's actually in charge of his calendar and can schedule you an appointment. So ask. If she keeps answering your questions then keep asking. Make her sound like a genius for knowing so much about the company. "Thanks Betty, Oh...hey you might know, does your company use a [your type of product] now? Who makes the decision about what kind of [your type of product] to use? Is that Joe? OK thanks Betty you've been very helpful."

What draws people in? They need to trust you. 100% trust that you're going to steer their company in the right direction. If your gut tells you they don't need you... TELL THEM. I've refused to write insurance policies that are wrong for a company or individual even if they WANTED it. It was hard but I had to say, this will not benefit you.

 

[SGBoise]

I have tried sending out CDs with info about my product but never gotten a sale with it. It's extra overhead that you don't need.

I would also mention that I've had people say no and 6 months or a year later; they said yes.

Don't worry about the NOs because eventually they can be YESs.

 

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[Blueskies4me]

Don't worry about the NOs because eventually they can be YESs.

I would agree. Don't get discouraged by No's!! Just be sure that you're actually using the techniques of sales and you'll have a LOT less No's. I've gotten a yes walking in behind someone that just threw out a brochure, asked for a sale and walked away when they said No. Most people object between 3 and 7 times before they say yes. Do a lot of research on Overcoming Objections. I've had appointment's a year out that were No's that have converted easily to sales.

 

[Tennis Arvo]

Check out the book Predictable Revenue if you expect to be doing a lot of cold reach outs. It's got the methods that helped Salesforce.com grow quickly.

 

[StartupsRFun]

Thanks everyone for the advice, going to be putting it into use this week and will relay the results.

 

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[MHolland]

I am putting together a marketing plan for a mobile enterprise event app that we are going to be launching in the next month (will create a progress thread in another post). I have very little b2b sales and marketing experience, and was hoping to get some advice.

To reach out to prospective clients, instead of the initial cold calling, would it be beneficial to send something to them first, in order to make a connection? My thought was to send them a small box filled with some goodies (I would be sending these to local companies, so I was thinking local goods), to announce the launch of our app. It would be branded with our logo and include information on our company/app. Has anyone had any success with this or any advice on how to make that initial connection, without the cold call? If it helps the target market is corporate event planners

I don't have experience in your industry but I've been making B2B cold calls for 10+ years (in the freight transportation industry, buying and selling space on cargo planes and trucks for the movement of dry, frozen, perishable, dangerous goods, etc.). In all this time I have not met a single customer in person yet - everything's handled over the phone. Maybe it's just the old skool nature of the industry that I'm in. I mean, the vast majority of people still use FAXES to send/receive shipping orders and delivery confirmations! It is very labor-slowlane-intensive, trading time for dollars, but cold-calling works in the freight world.

It's definitely a numbers game but I'm pretty sure you could do some serious damage if you had a short, concise message outlining exactly how you can alleviate your prospect's headache(s). Again, I'm not familiar with your industry but below is my format for prospecting. Feel free to adapt it to your situation:

MONDAY - Cold Call - Hey Mr. Prospect, my/our name is ABC. I/We offer DEF. Do you ever have a need for XYZ? ..XYZ is exactly what we provide. Get permission to send your info.

TUESDAY - Send Info - Email 1 page PDF, highlighting how you can alleviate your prospect's headache(s). Avoid bragging about the size of your company or how many eons you've been in business, when it was established, etc..nobody give a rat's a** about that stuff. Those strategies are from 1984, they don't work in this day and age. Avoid ME, ME, ME. Stick to YOU, YOU, YOU (the prospect).

WEDNESDAY - Follow-up Call - Hey Mr. Prospect..review my info yet? TRIAL CLOSE - got my info? Great. Got any live freight I can move for you today? ..didn't get my email? No problem, I'll resend it. In the meantime..got any live freight I can move for you today? ASK FOR THE BUSINESS!

The above may or may not apply to your situation but I'm a firm believer in cold-calling because it's cost-effective as compared to mailing out brochures (or a box of goodies). It can certainly be scary at first if you haven't done any cold calls before but believe me it gets easier and easier as you go along.

What's the worst that could happen? They don't end up doing business with you. No biggie. NEXXXTTT!!! Plenty of other fish in the corporate event planners' sea! But the thing to remember is that eventually you will be getting more YES's than MAYBE's or NO's.

If you need a hand, PM me and I'll gladly help you put together a cold calling "script" of sorts.

 

[StartupsRFun]

I don't have experience in your industry but I've been making B2B cold calls for 10+ years (in the freight transportation industry, buying and selling space on cargo planes and trucks for the movement of dry, frozen, perishable, dangerous goods, etc.). In all this time I have not met a single customer in person yet - everything's handled over the phone. Maybe it's just the old skool nature of the industry that I'm in. I mean, the vast majority of people still use FAXES to send/receive shipping orders and delivery confirmations! It is very labor-slowlane-intensive, trading time for dollars, but cold-calling works in the freight world.

It's definitely a numbers game but I'm pretty sure you could do some serious damage if you had a short, concise message outlining exactly how you can alleviate your prospect's headache(s). Again, I'm not familiar with your industry but below is my format for prospecting. Feel free to adapt it to your situation:

MONDAY - Cold Call - Hey Mr. Prospect, my/our name is ABC. I/We offer DEF. Do you ever have a need for XYZ? ..XYZ is exactly what we provide. Get permission to send your info.

TUESDAY - Send Info - Email 1 page PDF, highlighting how you can alleviate your prospect's headache(s). Avoid bragging about the size of your company or how many eons you've been in business, when it was established, etc..nobody give a rat's a** about that stuff. Those strategies are from 1984, they don't work in this day and age. Avoid ME, ME, ME. Stick to YOU, YOU, YOU (the prospect).

WEDNESDAY - Follow-up Call - Hey Mr. Prospect..review my info yet? TRIAL CLOSE - got my info? Great. Got any live freight I can move for you today? ..didn't get my email? No problem, I'll resend it. In the meantime..got any live freight I can move for you today? ASK FOR THE BUSINESS!

The above may or may not apply to your situation but I'm a firm believer in cold-calling because it's cost-effective as compared to mailing out brochures (or a box of goodies). It can certainly be scary at first if you haven't done any cold calls before but believe me it gets easier and easier as you go along.

What's the worst that could happen? They don't end up doing business with you. No biggie. NEXXXTTT!!! Plenty of other fish in the corporate event planners' sea! But the thing to remember is that eventually you will be getting more YES's than MAYBE's or NO's.

If you need a hand, PM me and I'll gladly help you put together a cold calling "script" of sorts.

Thanks for the advice, very appreciative of you to take the time to write all that out. Just sent you a PM

 

[Oztrepreneur]

First of all, the people answering the phone are used to getting multiple sales calls a day so it's not a big deal to them. Get used to the realization that they make appointments to see sales reps all the time. Don't freak out however it will NEVER get comfortable. NEVER.
This is also a numbers game. You HAVE to call 200 companies a day. Minimum. If that sounds horrible then hire it out. Remember don't be embarrassed or feel like you have to apologize for being a business owner who wants to meet another business owner. You are a professional not a salesman.

Recruit a college intern (cheapest) on commission or odesk / elance professionals to call for you. Out of 1000 calls in a week you should have a full week of 20 appointments. If you can't see making that many calls a day hire it out.

Mistakes:

• Sales requires FACE TIME so don't use your materials or samples as a crutch. They won't get a signature on a contract and like GetRight said they get a ton of promo crap. It's not that impressive.
  
  
• Some of the larger businesses have a regular schedule for reviewing products. Some don't. Don't be afraid to schedule an appointment during that time even if it's 6 months out.

• Some companies in some industries especially franchises can't approve large purchases or changes for an individual site. That's why it's important to find out what decisions are made by whom. If you're going to the CEO of a large company. That's often a marketing / PR campaign.
  
  
• NEVER EVER try to sell over the phone if you can get an appointment face to face. I've rarely closed a sale over the phone and if you try to close the sale too early they'll say no. Once the no is out there you're in an uphill battle to get a yes.
  
  
• Don't start pushing your product too early. Find out how and if you can help. Make a list of questions and ask the same ones every time so you head the right direction. Open ended "Explain how you set events now..." or "People in this industry have mentioned to me that they see [problem your product solves] as one of the biggest problems, what do you think about it?" Yes, no (closing questions) "Would you agree that in a perfect world solving that problem would save you time / money / effort?" If you ask enough of these... you will have your close fall into your lap.
  
  
• Always warm up and cool down. Talk about kids, the town, the weather for a few minutes before, then wind down with a "Thank you" and "What are your plans for the weekend?" or something else.

Appointment Setting:

• If you have the owner's first name (from infofree.com or salesgenie or just the phone book), use it. "Hey Betty, this is Bob from XYZ company over here on Main Street (sounding local), is Joe (owner) around today?" If she thinks you know him on a first name basis, sometimes she'll just transfer you. If it's that easy just say, "Hey Joe, thanks for taking my call. This is Bob over here at XYZ company on Main St. I know you're a busy guy so I'm not going to take up your time today but I'm going to be out that way on Tuesday and just wanted to stop by for 5 minutes and introduce myself. Are you a morning or afternoon guy?" Then set your appointment. This is the script you would give to your callers if you want to have people call for you. Only they would say this is Gary calling on behalf of Mr. Bob. I know that may sound too informal but if sometimes if you're too formal they feel a sales pitch coming and often shut you down right away.
  
  
• If the owner's not in, don't get all speechy about your product with the gate keeper..she doesn't need to know you've got the most amazing product in the world just that you're a super relaxed nice guy and she likes you. Just say, "Thanks Betty. Hey, what's the best way to reach him? How can I get some time with Joe?" Sometimes she's actually in charge of his calendar and can schedule you an appointment. So ask. If she keeps answering your questions then keep asking. Make her sound like a genius for knowing so much about the company. "Thanks Betty, Oh...hey you might know, does your company use a [your type of product] now? Who makes the decision about what kind of [your type of product] to use? Is that Joe? OK thanks Betty you've been very helpful."

What draws people in? They need to trust you. 100% trust that you're going to steer their company in the right direction. If your gut tells you they don't need you... TELL THEM. I've refused to write insurance policies that are wrong for a company or individual even if they WANTED it. It was hard but I had to say, this will not benefit you.

AWESOME info Blueskies, thanks for that. This is the exact sort of info I am also chasing. How to approach cold calls for problem finding and product offering. So many experienced guys on here say 'get on the phone'. I understand the reason but no idea on how to approach, what to say, how to speak to the right people. Cold calling could almost do with its own thread seeing as how it is such a large portion of this game! Have you used similar scripts with success to actually find pain points if you haven't yet found one?

Startupsrfun, really looking forward to hearing your experience after this advice. Best of luck, hope it goes really well for you.

 

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[Blueskies4me]

AWESOME info Blueskies, thanks for that. This is the exact sort of info I am also chasing. How to approach cold calls for problem finding and product offering. So many experienced guys on here say 'get on the phone'. I understand the reason but no idea on how to approach, what to say, how to speak to the right people. Cold calling could almost do with its own thread seeing as how it is such a large portion of this game! Have you used similar scripts with success to actually find pain points if you haven't yet found one?

Thanks Oz, I'm glad it was helpful.

ASK FOR THE BUSINESS!
The above may or may not apply to your situation but I'm a firm believer in cold-calling because it's cost-effective as compared to mailing out brochures (or a box of goodies). It can certainly be scary at first if you haven't done any cold calls before but believe me it gets easier and easier as you go along.

Good God.. YES!! Ask for their business!! I think sales people think their goal is to talk about their product and they're finished. Understand this is a false sense of accomplishment and push to ask for the sale. Write down closes and practice them. Role play this with anyone that will. This should be well rehearsed.

And like @MHolland says here, follow up is key. If you're talking to non local companies do NOT rely on your products to make the sale. Call them. Send them info. Call them again. Be brief but professional. If they say not right now. Ask if you can call back in 6 months. Then call again.

I'll start a thread if it seems helpful for everyone.