Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you another guest entry from one of our BDRs, Jill Ryan.
I was thinking the other day about how nice and helpful the most unqualified prospects can be. Rule of thumb around here is to try and reach out to about 3 contacts per account, with the end goal being to connect with the most appropriate person. Sometimes, I find my self spinning my wheels on a call rotation for 6 weeks only to receive an “I’m not the right guy” email back. I politely ask him or her for a reference, chock their lack of response up as a loss and onto the next. Every time this happens I am reminded that those weeks of work resulted in wasted calls, tailored emails and time. I whine to the cubes around me about another jerk that blew me off when what I really should be doing is reevaluating my process. I am not an inside sales guru, so it’s time to set the bitter tones aside and figure out: “who is in a position to be constantly reading their email, and has time to respond?” For me focusing on higher education, it’s the president’s office. I reach out with a simple referral request email:
Reaching out from XYZ, Referral help?
I'm sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering if you could help point me in the direction of the person who would be the decision maker for a solution that would increase enrollment and retention.
Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Warm Regards,
Jill Ryan
XYZ Company
000-000-0000
More often then not, this email gets me a name or at least a department to start with. The Executive Assistants to the presidents, Assistant Registrars and even the presidents themselves are very familiar with who handles these duties, and are great people to consult. Being polite and to the point without product dumping is effective. These people talk to every extreme of the sales community everyday, so why try and trick them with an email from a friend or a new free product! You’re lying and they will know that. We are all guilty of trying to glorify our process and get through gate keepers with white lies, and sure every now and then it works, but it’s a crappy process. Don’t get in a funk with the job, just take a look at what you are doing and make one small change. We are all guilty of getting too comfortable with the product. We learn the product so well that the top three “contact identified’s” become no brainers. It’s not effective. Take a step back, realize that you are in a role that is always changing and so are your prospects. You will be completely surprised with the references and directions this takes you in. I feel that starting with a reference from an individual in the HR office, or better yet the president’s office sets up a stronger pass down process and offers more names within your opportunity. A decision will rarely be made by one person. A decision is effected by multiple departments, the hierarchy and the individuals that are experiencing the pains. This is just another way to generate more activity and getting better leads by stepping out of the “Three prospect box” and touching base with a few more people. It takes next to no time and you will definitely pat yourself on the back when your inbox starts filling with referral request feedback. Its busy work, its effective, and it can save you from a few unproductive dials.
