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Qualifying

by Demonthrall
12 replies
At what point do I start to let go of prospects, or stop calling and leave on my email blast only?

I have been Doing phone sales selling Cisco networking equipment for almost 3 years now, and making decent money. I use SalesLogix as a CRM. I did not do the best job of qualifying contacts in the first 2 years however, and am getting to the point where I need help figuring out how to deal with the volume of prospects I am scheduled to call. My day is full, but I feel like I'm wasting a good portion by calling on leads I haven't qualified.

Every day I have about 75 calls scheduled to make, but realistically, only 10 are qualified via LinkedIn, and only 5 are qualified by previous conversation.

This leaves about 60 calls a day where I have never gotten a hold of the prospect yet. The amount of voice mails I have left these people (followed by emails) over the last few years can be upwards of 15-18.

P.S. I put everyone on my weekly Cisco specials email blast after the 3rd call/voicemail regardless.

Any thoughts are very well appreciated!
#qualifying
  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Is there a reason you are dong what you are doing? is there a limit to who you can call? to be hashing over a list now for 3 years seems kind of odd no? why not introduce new blood into the mix. Yes call the LinkedIn and pre-qualified prospects.. but to be calling people over and over and over and over - how would you like it?

    The flip side of this is somewhere in the past few weeks someone shared THEY were the gatekeeper and kept a Sprint salesman at bay for a number of calls and finally let him through.

    I would sayif you feel like you beating your head against a wall, then you probably are.
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    • Profile picture of the author Demonthrall
      Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

      Is there a reason you are dong what you are doing? is there a limit to who you can call? to be hashing over a list now for 3 years seems kind of odd no? why not introduce new blood into the mix. Yes call the LinkedIn and pre-qualified prospects.. but to be calling people over and over and over and over - how would you like it?

      The flip side of this is somewhere in the past few weeks someone shared THEY were the gatekeeper and kept a Sprint salesman at bay for a number of calls and finally let him through.

      I would sayif you feel like you beating your head against a wall, then you probably are.
      There is no limit to who I can call, I just dont want to throw away all my work on these leads, as I know prospects can take multiple touches before buying.

      So, the leads I am calling unqualified were given to me by my boss. He chooses IT Directors and managers at companies between 50M and 500M annual revenue.

      What I have been doing myself, is finding people on Linkedin based on keywords I think fit. I think this works better than the above, but there is no denying that the above has given me some level of success. Again, I'm just not sure when to quit them, as much of my business comes from multiple, multiple touches.
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  • Profile picture of the author fasteasysuccess
    I am not sure why calling the same leads for years, that;s a lot of wasted time. Sure, peoples situation and buying stages can change, but you should, if anything following up automatically, not spending your time with non-qualified prospects.

    Easy Way To Avoid All That...Direct Response Marketing/Advertising.

    Get them to call you and make the appointment. You set up an automatic funnel or lead generation, then from their qualify and this way not only are interested prospects raising their hand and calling now, you have all the info of leads you personally generated to follow up with.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Are you just calling to "Sell" to them?

    Are they local to your area?

    Do they have large networks?

    Have you ever tried calling or emailing them to attend a live Cisco Event where you, or a tech, train them on Cisco products, or showoff a new Cisco product?

    Do you ever send them snail mail?

    Do you just ask if they need Cisco equipment, or are you offering to show them how Cisco equipment can make their network more efficient, save them money, and increase security?
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    • Profile picture of the author Demonthrall
      Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

      Are you just calling to "Sell" to them?

      Are they local to your area?

      Do they have large networks?

      Have you ever tried calling or emailing them to attend a live Cisco Event where you, or a tech, train them on Cisco products, or showoff a new Cisco product?

      Do you ever send them snail mail?

      Do you just ask if they need Cisco equipment, or are you offering to show them how Cisco equipment can make their network more efficient, save them money, and increase security?
      Not local, large networks, snail mail only after i've qualified them in a conversation. Wish I could invite them to something like that.

      Since a large majority of people use Cisco, I do not pursue non-Cisco shops, I simply find those who do, and strive to become their go-to vendor for monthly/quarterly purchases.
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      • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
        Originally Posted by Demonthrall View Post

        Wish I could invite them to something like that.
        Why can't you?

        It would not even need to be a live event. You could do bi-weekly or monthly webinars where you cover new gear and announcements from Cisco, or get one of the techs in your company to assist with a more technical discussion.

        It doesn't have to be hard in order to become the "go-to-guy" for information on Cisco products, which then turns into sales.

        You have to have a value-add for clients if you are going to pull them away from their existing suppliers. That usually means one of 3 things:

        1. Lower Prices (Not the best choice.)
        2. Better technical support.
        3. Better at teaching, informing, and assisting buyers through your sales process.

        Having #2 and/or #3 can trump #1.
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        • Profile picture of the author Demonthrall
          Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

          Why can't you?

          It would not even need to be a live event. You could do bi-weekly or monthly webinars where you cover new gear and announcements from Cisco, or get one of the techs in your company to assist with a more technical discussion.

          It doesn't have to be hard in order to become the "go-to-guy" for information on Cisco products, which then turns into sales.

          You have to have a value-add for clients if you are going to pull them away from their existing suppliers. That usually means one of 3 things:

          1. Lower Prices (Not the best choice.)
          2. Better technical support.
          3. Better at teaching, informing, and assisting buyers through your sales process.

          Having #2 and/or #3 can trump #1.
          I appreciate the advice. Can you help me with my original question: "At what point do I start to let go of prospects, or stop calling and leave on my email blast only? "
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    I don't know that you ever completely let them go, but you decrease the frequency.

    People that sound interested you contact monthly or bi-monthly, but make sure you have a purpose other than just "do you need Cisco equipment".

    People that express they are not interested can move over to a twice a year, or once a year call list, but still see if they are willing to share when they renew their contracts so you can send them an email ahead of that schedule.

    Everyone should be getting your emails, but the emphasis should be on educating them, providing value, and closing the emails with your sales pitch.

    It just takes one mistake by their current supplier to tick them off enough to look for a new supplier. That's why I suggest never taking them off, but just decreasing frequency.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesBarefield
    Banned
    If you are calling the same leads and expecting different results, there are so many better things you can be investing your energy and time in..
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    • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
      Originally Posted by JamesBarefield View Post

      If you are calling the same leads and expecting different results, there are so many better things you can be investing your energy and time in..
      If they fit an ideal prospect profile, I would absolutely continue to nurture the lead. Buyers change, goals change, plans change, budgets change. My multi-million dollar sales were the accounts I developed over time.
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      • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
        Originally Posted by joe golfer View Post

        If they fit an ideal prospect profile, I would absolutely continue to nurture the lead. Buyers change, goals change, plans change, budgets change. My multi-million dollar sales were the accounts I developed over time.
        That's true...and since he is calling companies, the person who said no may very well be replaced. And...I have found...when someone is "new" and eager at their job they are more likely to be open to changes, to hearing you out etc

        You can move some of the ones who have said no so many times to a back burner file but still keep them on email (unless they opt out LOL)...and periodically check back to see what's going on..."touch base" etc
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkHarnois
    I would definitely put in pre-call conversion guys who would act as assistants and will do some qualifications of the prospects and will then tag every prospect as per their assessment..

    That can really slash your workload in less than a hlalf..
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