Random Sales Equals Random Results

As the CEO of a media company, I receive more than 100 sales pitches a week. I am amazed how little time and effort people spend researching me or my company before reaching out. As a prime example, I run a content marketing agency, and we help our members produce videos; yet at least three pitches a week are asking me if I have ever considered creating a video for my business.

I recently interviewed Ryan Dohrn on my weekly radio show and podcast. Ryan is a global sales and marketing advisor, having impacted over a billion dollars in sales. He has even won an Emmy for his ability to market and sell. So naturally I wanted his take on this random sales pattern I keep seeing.

“Random patterns kill sales,” says Dohrn. “When you think about sales being successful it is all about identifying and creating repeatable patterns of success. But the secret really is identifying things that don’t work and getting them out of your life.”

Waking up on a Monday and sending out hundreds of emails to people you don’t know does not work. I might add, sending random request to people on LinkedIn and then trying to sell them on a product the second they accept your request also does not work. Please stop!

What does work is making sure you are reaching out to qualified prospects. “Someone that has money to spend, but the bigger thing is, do they have some type of need for what it is that I’m selling,” says Dohrn. “Or do I really see that their competition is outmaneuvering them and that my product or service can help them. That is always a good way to find new clients to go after.”

This kind of sales process takes time on the front end, and most salespeople get impatient. But what they don’t understand is how much time they are wasting on the back end by reaching out to unqualified prospects.

Ryan recommends you create a top list of prospects you want to target based on your research. “It is always a list of 20 or 50 depending on the project; it never goes below that number. The secret to keeping a great pipeline in play is never let that number drop.”

The idea is to work the list until you get a meeting with the prospect. Once a meeting is set, you move the prospect to an in-process list and add a new prospect to your first list. Close the prospect and move them to an active list to retain the client.

Ryan also recommends that when calling on a prospect, don’t ask them to call you back. Instead ask them to respond to your email. Your email should have only three words in the subject line and only three sentences in the body of the email. You can also use success stories to get their attention when asking for a meeting.

I mentioned that I get more than 100 sales pitches a week. Those are mainly emails. Very few take the time to call me. Notice Ryan says you should call your prospect and leave a voicemail asking for a response to the email. It adds a personal touch and lets the prospect know you have taken the time to research.

Bottom line, do the work before you reach out to prospects. You will save yourself time in the long run and close more business.

Learn more about Ryan at http://RyanDohrn.com

Scott Miller is the CEO of Centerpost Media and host of the Create, Build and Manage Radio Show and Podcast. You can find Scott on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via “@scottmillerceo.” Centerpost Media is a marketing agency with a vision to help every business they encounter with their media needs by providing outstanding quality, service and value. Centerpost Media is the parent company to BizTV, BizTalkRadio, BizTalkPodcasts and Bizvod.