Tweet

Sales Prospecting on Steroids

Written by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: With all of the articles written about sales and cold calls being dead (I usually write the counter arguments to that. How would you find new business if the only thing you could rely on was a lead?) it was a breath of fresh air when Michael Strickland, my guest on this week's edition of Meet the Sales Experts, spoke about prospecting on steroids. His five tips for sales success in today's economy are:

Sales Prospecting on Steroids

With all of the articles written about sales and cold calls being dead (I usually write the counter arguments to that. How would you find new business if the only thing you could rely on was a lead?) it was a breath of fresh air when Michael Strickland, my guest on this week's edition of Meet the Sales Experts, spoke about prospecting on steroids. His five tips for sales success in today's economy are: 1. Review your prospecting strategy - prospecting on steroids - redouble everyone's efforts

2. Have a signature communication - own a channel - communicate your value proposition

3. Leverage technology - CRM - to identify and manage opportunities

4. Have a web presence - make sure people can find you by Googling you

5. Identify all of the weaknesses in the sales organization - fix them.

Michael, the former banker, turned banking consultant, turned sales consultant, turned Vistage chair also spoke about how executive teams and sales teams spend 97% of their time planning and only 3% of their time doing. He strongly suggested reversing those percentages.

"Action conquers fear. Make a strategic decision to grow." That was his comment when asked about the fear that has paralyzed so many businesses, causing them to wait and see what happens, rather than do something about their slumping sales force and revenue.

Listen to the show. Contact Michael Strickland.

Related Articles
  Sales Prospecting Techniques
  Sales Prospecting for Sales Results
  Prospecting it is simple only DOING counts
  Sales Prospecting is the most important skill©
  Prospecting - Time really is money©

Article Tags: breath of fresh air, cold calls, economy, executive teams, leverage technology, michael strickland, new business, percentages, sales consultant, sales organization, sales success, signature, steroids, target, value proposition, web presence



Related Forum Posts
Prime Means of Selling - Prospecting and Selling aren't the same. Prospecting is finding the few within a target group who are prime candidates for your service. I don't think everyone will agree on what "prime" means but I'd say if the prospects actively want what you're offering and have the ability to pay for what you're offering then they qualify as "prime".
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Hello From Marietta GA! - Hello All! My name is Tim Naylor and I am in Direct Sales! I am glad I have found EC's sites and I hope to learn and share a lot!
taxes in canada - Well in Canada we only have a few provinces and the Sales tax is slightly different. Here in Ontario the Goods & Services tax has reduced to 5% from 7% in the last year due to the promises made by the government in place.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The five pillars of internet marketing strategy

Creating a Better Place to Work

Building a Business From 30,000 Feet

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.