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About my method for getting into my largest target customers.

by Jeremiah Walsh
26 replies
I have always been big on adopting a clean and clear cadence when making your outbound calls. Most of the time I am like everyone else and make my x amount of calls a day and went from there.


I am still a big advocate of that method because it works and I am paid very well for doing it and teaching others to do the same.



In my daily cadence that I call my "ground and pound" method I reserve some time in my day for whale hunting. This post will talk about what I do for that time.


Please keep in mind that this requires you to have a viable quality product, have experience cold calling, and have an understanding of your target customer. If you have none of these, you will never be able to sell your product very effectively... and this post probably isn't for you.


You may also disagree with this post and that's cool because each person sells a little differently and what works for me, might not work for you. Please take from this what you think will work for you.


So during my "ground and pound" I make time 2 days a week for whale hunting... typically Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days that work best for me. During this time I would target 10 specific companies that I want to make inroads with, and I would begin to call them at 10am (which is why I call it the 10@10 method).


I would pick out anywhere from 2-5 contacts at each company and start calling with a pre-defined simple script. I would also make the companies all from the same vertical so that the script resonates with all of them. The main purpose of this call was to get a best point of contact (BPOC). I would call these people and send a follow up email (template) after each call. I would make my first call/email set on the Tuesday, and then follow up with another call/email on Thursday. If they picked up the phone or responded to my email I would remove them from my follow up list.


The following week I would start the process all over again with another 10 whales. It could be a different vertical/script. Now, this isn't the only calls that I did that week as I would have a call list of hundreds to call that week. This was just the whales.


I did this just this morning and received 4 best points of contact from 4 different companies. Several times I was referred to the same individual when I was calling into the same company... which led me to believe that I was in fact being suggested to the correct person.


If you do this consistently week after week you will develop a list of your key "sell to" contacts of about 200 people. These people are the ones that can put through a single deal that makes your month a success. So all you would need to do is close a deal with 6% of that list and you have a yearly income. Once you add on the steady stream of run rate deals form your SMB market you will be "in the money".


Once I have that list of people I would go whale hunting on a Friday afternoon and use my call low to call high technique. Why Friday? I am not sure why... but it works best for me for some reason. I am targeting top level IT guys so it might be something to do with that...


Again, I didn't post this to teach you how to write a script, how to build a call list, or how to find your target customers. Those each deserve their own post. This post was to show the importance of segregating a portion of your call list and call time to go after the big deals and how planning/consistence is key.
If you are making a call cadence, try doing this and you might be surprised by the results.


Make your calls, have a plan, have a script, and reach for the stars. If you miss and get the moon, the moon is awesome too.

What works for you when whale hunting?
#10@10 #hunting #method #whale
  • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
    Great post bro. It's refreshingly different.

    There are a lot of people here probably looking at you thread, like, "what would I have to offer a whale?" I sell web design & SEO.

    In all honesty, right not I don't have the processes in place to handle the bandwidth a whale would bring...at least not in "x" timeframe.

    However, when I do have the time, Chet Holmes stuff seems like the hands-down best way to approach whale hunting.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
      Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

      Great post bro. It's refreshingly different.

      There are a lot of people here probably looking at you thread, like, "what would I have to offer a whale?" I sell web design & SEO.

      In all honesty, right not I don't have the processes in place to handle the bandwidth a whale would bring...at least not in "x" timeframe.

      However, when I do have the time, Chet Holmes stuff seems like the hands-down best way to approach whale hunting.
      I used to think that way, until I came to realize that those large companies are compartmentalized.

      There is a large bank in Canada called TD. It might seem like you could never provide them with service. However, they are broken down into several different companies, and each company is broken down into several different divisions, and then teams...

      Each one has its own agenda, its own process, and its own budget. You would need to figure out what their pains are and how you can help them accomplish that.

      Here is an example from the past. I used to sell IT products from a national IT reseller. I ended up selling HP toner cartridges to HP. It turns out that it was far easier for their employees to outsource it rather than submit an internal request and wait for all of the approvals to come through. I used HP as an example name and it wasn't HP... but it was someone equally as large and in charge.

      My point is that you should never let the size of a company prevent you from starting. In the end, its just one person who signs the paper, the paper just has a few more "zeros" on it.
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      • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
        Originally Posted by Jeremiah Walsh View Post

        I used to think that way, until I came to realize that those large companies are compartmentalized.

        There is a large bank in Canada called TD. It might seem like you could never provide them with service. However, they are broken down into several different companies, and each company is broken down into several different divisions, and then teams...

        Each one has its own agenda, its own process, and its own budget. You would need to figure out what their pains are and how you can help them accomplish that.

        Here is an example from the past. I used to sell IT products from a national IT reseller. I ended up selling HP toner cartridges to HP. It turns out that it was far easier for their employees to outsource it rather than submit an internal request and wait for all of the approvals to come through. I used HP as an example name and it wasn't HP... but it was someone equally as large and in charge.

        My point is that you should never let the size of a company prevent you from starting. In the end, its just one person who signs the paper, the paper just has a few more "zeros" on it.
        You just changed my perspective my friend. I didn't even realize that a large company may outsource something instead of going directly internal. I will add your prospecting idea to my current prospecting & just see what happens. It will not add much time to my weekly prospecting.

        The worst that can happens is they say "can you do [INSERT LARGE JOB] in [INSERT SHORT DEAD LINE]?"

        And as Chet Holmes says, "one of these clients can change your life!"
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  • Profile picture of the author Underground
    The dream 100? Yeah, I forgot about that. It's not going to be easy to get the massive clients in some cases and massive persistence will be necessary.


    I'll be using Brian Keurzbergers email method and probably buying the lists with company contacts and the starting point to try to get appointments with them.

    I would love also to be able to get callers some training by the guys at soar selling, who clients generate some staggering successful campaigns over 3 months.



    http://www.soarselling.com/wp-conten...ost_Anyone.pdf


    Fair play to for having a strategy for targeting these people. You're right, the money there is more then what most people make in year. Definitely worth trying and creating services for.
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    • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
      Originally Posted by Underground View Post

      The dream 100? Yeah, I forgot about that. It's not going to be easy to get the massive clients in some cases and massive persistence will be necessary.


      I'll be using Brian Keurzbergers email method and probably buying the lists with company contacts and the starting point to try to get appointments with them.

      I would love also to be able to get callers some training by the guys at soar selling, who clients generate some staggering successful campaigns over 3 months.

      SOAR Selling LIVE Dial - YouTube


      http://www.soarselling.com/wp-conten...ost_Anyone.pdf


      Fair play to for having a strategy for targeting these people. You're right, the money there is more then what most people make in year. Definitely worth trying and creating services for.
      Hey man,

      You post really intelligent stuff here, but it seems like you are waiting for something to happen. You've obviously read hundreds of articles and books on marketing and selling.. and probably know more than most posters here. I'm curious as to why you seem content with sharing this information for free instead of making money and applying it in the real world. I don't mean to come across as confrontational, and i'm not calling you out.. I just am sick of seeing people with talent and good ideas that do nothing with them. It seems like such a waste.

      @Jeremiah Walsh

      I also do this, every day. I have a 'Hit list' of the top 10 whales as a task reminder in Outlook. Except I don't make prospecting calls to these clients, I try to get them into a conversation first. I use all the tools in the Offline toolbox.. Linkedin requests, emails, content sharing on Quora, blog commenting, mentioning them in Twitter and Facebook posts. Anything to open the dialog. I will call a list of B quality prospects relentlessly, but for the A+ key accounts I will take my time and play a more strategic game. These aren't big corporations, but they're whales in the sense they have exclusivity over certain resources that my business needs, and there are only a handful of really top quality prospects.
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      • Profile picture of the author Underground
        Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

        Hey man,

        You post really intelligent stuff here, but it seems like you are waiting for something to happen. You've obviously read hundreds of articles and books on marketing and selling.. and probably know more than most posters here. I'm curious as to why you seem content with sharing this information for free instead of making money and applying it in the real world. I don't mean to come across as confrontational, and i'm not calling you out.. I just am sick of seeing people with talent and good ideas that do nothing with them. It seems like such a waste.
        That's fair. I can assure you that being delayed on getting started is the last thing I want or need or would ever wished to have to deal with. The last 4 days alone wasted when I could have had all my collateral done, instigate hiring, built a list of prospects, etc and be ready to go, because of trying to fix some software. 4 months behind schedule already after getting 90% complete on a massive project and then having to stall that and virtually start from scratch creating something out of thin air. And sometimes I post here when I have a delay or have to wait on the outcome. But have been sucked in lately, wasting my time, and that happens from time to time.

        But everyday I work on it and make progress.

        I absolutely can't wait to get going, but wearing all hats and having to do all the other things to make selling possible and make sure every process is at least workable, takes time. It's a real killer.


        But there are two opposing mindsets on this and both I think have their place.

        One, is to just get into action and think later. Done this many times already with many different offers and products.

        And then people like the navy seals and special forces and how they make sure they eliminate most of what will hinder them in the planning stage so when they get going things can flow as smoothly as possible and will only have to deal with unforeseen factors but do the rest on autopilot. These guys tend to advocate making sure the prep is right so nothing they can plan for in advance holds them back when they get going. I feel that way.

        For me, my selling process relies on more than just conversations on the phone. I need info, media kits, rate cards, offers, a website that looks good and active, social media channels that are active so I look legit, because they will check me out fully, and all that will do alot of the presentation and selling work. I can't not have those things as I won't have the credibility I need to get the right people interested.

        I've had to prepare all the copy, design work, facts, figures, everything, and had to change and revamp that all in the last two weeks to focus more on one market, many of who belong in the category talked about in this thread.

        The last thing I want is to deal with that. But I have no choice. I'm not doing busy work to avoid getting going. Or waiting for things to happen. I've gone off a full tilt many times selling stuff and had to go back to the drawing board. This time is the last time I do that. There is no retreat this time once I get going.

        I'll be relentless and full on for the next 6 months to reach a critical mass that will sustain itself. But I have to create the strategic direction and long term goals of a company and get other people in in key positions, and my company is going to rely on the input of many thousands of people to succeed.

        I'd love to be out there making and generating the revenue but that's not possible until all the elements are in place. But it's not a simple as just getting going selling a £1000 video package in a business I could run as a 1 man operation.

        It's why I have to study more intently and mention all this stuff that hardcore sales people think is just filling my head with useless theory.

        It isn't. You can't sell to these whales in the same generic way you can get away with consumers or small businesses. I've seen interviews where the heads of departments are interviewed and are saying what approaches work with them and what don't. If you don't do you home work, if you have a generic pitch, don't have anything relevant for them, don't provide any value or understanding of their situation, if you try typical sales tactics on them, you'll be dismissed. I need to find out how successful people are doing it, what to look for when hiring someone and then be able to hire and train them.

        Yes, I'm all for getting going, but I need to make sure that action is deployed in the right areas and all the little facets of my business have workable processes. That is what it takes for my long term success in my case.


        It's not an easy task, and given a choice, I'd rather be able to hire someone to go out and sell something simple and straight-forward and not have the headaches and the major challenges that will come, but I'm nearly there and ready to go on what I'm doing, and getting it the right, even to one tenth of it's potential will have a massive pay-off and set me on the right long-term path to growth.
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        • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
          Originally Posted by Underground View Post



          But there are two opposing mindsets on this and both I think have their place.
          One, it to just get into action and think later. Done this many times already.

          And then people like the navy seals and special forces and how they make sure they eliminate most of what will hinder them in the planning stage so when they get going things can flow as smoothly as possible. These guys tend to advocate making sure the prep is right so nothing they can plan for in advance holds them back when they get going.


          For me, my selling process relies on more than just conversations on the phone. I need info, media kits, rate cards, a website that looks good and active, social media channels that are active so I look legit, because they will check me out fully.

          I've had to prepare all the copy, design work, facts, figures, everything, and had to change and revamp that all in the last two weeks.

          The last thing I want is to deal with that. But I have no choice. I'm not doing busy work to avoid getting going. Or waiting for things to happen. I've gone off a full tilt many times selling stuff and had to go back to the drawing board. This time is the last time I do that. There is no retreat this time once I get going.

          I'll be relentless and full on for the next 6 months to reach a critical mass that will sustain itself. But I have to create the strategic direction and long term goals of company and get other people in in key positions.

          I'd love to be out the making generating the revenue that's possible. But it's not a simple as just getting going selling a £1000 video package in a business I could run as a 1 man operation.

          It's why I have to study more intently and mention all this stuff that hardcore sales people think is just filling my head with useless theory.

          It isn't. You can't sell to these whales in the same generic way you can get away with consumers or small businesses. I've seen interviews where the heads of departments are interviewed and and saying what approaches work with them and what don't. If you don't do you home work, have a generic pitch, don't have anything relevant to them, don't provide any value or understanding of their situation, you'll be dismissed.

          Yes, I'm all for getting go, but I need to make sure that action is deployed in the right areas and all the little facets of my business have workable processes.


          It's not an easy task, and given a choice, I'd rather be able to hire someone to go out and sell something simple and straight-forward and not have the headaches, but I'm all and nearly there and ready to go on what I'm doing.
          I'm glad that things are progressing for you, I'd be interested in hearing how your business idea develops.

          There's one point I do disagree with you on: sales is sales is sales.. no matter if the person is your mom and dad or the president. Your attitude isn't good towards salespeople, and you are overvaluing people's positions way too much. They are just people at the end of the day.. being able to adjust to the emotional context of the situation is a GIVEN for any proven salesperson. We are human beings, not doings after all. Your job doesn't define you, and it's now how you connect or relate to people.

          You seem to think that salespeople are super pushy, aggressive, hardcore, not taking no for an answer, ramming a product down people's throats. That's about the complete opposite to what a competent salespeople would do.. You simply do not respect the industry at all, and it's kind of insulting.
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          • Profile picture of the author Underground
            Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

            I'm glad that things are progressing for you, I'd be interested in hearing how your business idea develops.

            There's one point I do disagree with you on: sales is sales is sales.. no matter if the person is your mom and dad or the president. Your attitude isn't good towards salespeople, and you are overvaluing people's positions way too much. They are just people at the end of the day.. being able to adjust to the emotional context of the situation is a GIVEN for any proven salesperson. We are human beings, not doings after all. Your job doesn't define you, and it's now how you connect or relate to people.

            You seem to think that salespeople are super pushy, aggressive, hardcore, not taking no for an answer, ramming a product down people's throats. That's about the complete opposite to what a competent salespeople would do.. You simply do not respect the industry at all, and it's kind of insulting.
            Well look, I used to think you were one of them, and gave you a bit of shit for it at one point, but I see you've changed you approach so the whole thing is not some cat and mouse game.

            I have no problem with certain sales, in their place. For certain offer it's would not make sense to spend hours on pre-call research, and just hammering out calls with a generic pitch will do.

            But others, required I do quite a bit of pre-call research.


            All I'm saying is what you've been saying yourself in some of your posts lately. You don't need to be dick and force yourself on them so they have no breathing space.

            You can non-pushy and they'll respect that.

            It's just a simple as being genuine in your approach rather than a robot.

            Other than that I only have respect for sales people. People respect that and will open up far more. Am I wrong?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
    A "whale" is a relative term. For me, a whale is a company that employs over 1000 people. For someone else s business that might be over 10,000 employees... or over 100...

    Whatever your whale might be, you should know your target market is and who your whales are.

    I like to use the "basho" prospecting method and have used the "selling through curiosity" methodology in the past.

    I have looked into soar selling. They seem to have a great package together.

    However, I find that those types of sales trainings can only take you so far. Think of them as a framework that you can then insulate, drywall, and add finishing touches.
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    • Profile picture of the author Underground
      Originally Posted by Jeremiah Walsh View Post

      A "whale" is a relative term. For me, a whale is a company that employs over 1000 people. For someone else s business that might be over 10,000 employees... or over 100...

      Whatever your whale might be, you should know your target market is and who your whales are.

      I like to use the "basho" prospecting method and have used the "selling through curiosity" methodology in the past.

      I have looked into soar selling. They seem to have a great package together.

      However, I find that those types of sales trainings can only take you so far. Think of them as a framework that you can then insulate, drywall, and add finishing touches.
      What is the Basho method?


      I agree that Soar selling method is more about getting through and it's more a framework for that. Their scripts are perfectly suited to finding the right person. I'll be using them just to get through because it works and the companies using it are having great success but for the rest of it, what happens once the appointment is set up, etc, I have no direct experience of for what I'm selling, so I'll be hiring someone who has sold at this level in my field to get round that. Every credible source I've read has made the distinction in the kind of posture and demeanor you need for C-level selling compared to a general one.

      I don't buy a one size fits all theory of selling.

      I would not attempt it myself right now and I need someone experienced to give live feedback and fill in all the blanks of what happens at the appointment , etc, objections.

      But this thread, like with Qua4k, has made me sharpen my focus on this, and brought forward certain considerations that I need to start finding someone with experience in the field and start grilling them and filling in the blank spaces fast because just 10 corporate contracts could secure my business for the next 6 months. And that security is something I need fast.

      A while it's not straight-forward and quick as simple sales, even one deal with the right company can be a game-changer.

      Great advice you've given your approach to setting time aside to target these people.

      Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
        Originally Posted by Underground View Post

        What is the Basho method?


        I agree that Soar selling method is more about getting through and it's more a framework for that. Their scripts are perfectly suited to finding the right person. I'll be using them just to get through because it works and the companies using it are having great success but for the rest of it, what happens once the appointment is set up, etc, I have no direct experience of for what I'm selling, so I'll be hiring someone who has sold at this level in my field to get round that. Every credible source I've read has made the distinction in the kind of posture and demeanor you need for C-level selling compared to a general one.

        I don't buy a one size fits all theory of selling.

        I would not attempt it myself right now and I need someone experienced to give live feedback and fill in all the blanks of what happens at the appointment , etc, objections.

        But this thread, like with Qua4k, has made me sharpen my focus on this, and brought forward certain considerations that I need to start finding someone with experience in the field and start grilling them and filling in the blank spaces fast because just 10 corporate contracts could secure my business for the next 6 months. And that security is something I need fast.

        A while it's not straight-forward and quick as simple sales, even one deal with the right company can be a game-changer.

        Great advice you've given your approach to setting time aside to target these people.

        Thanks.
        Basho is a branded sales training approach created and later sold by MJ Hoffman. Even though he sold the brand he still teaches its principles... albeit for a pretty penny. This method is used by corporate giants such as Salesforce and SAP. The key to this type of prospecting is the "why you, why you now" approach.


        For example
        Why you: I am calling you because I recently read a positive business review on xxx

        Why you now: and wanted to know if you have thought about leveraging that into more sales.

        While this example might not be the best as I just came up with it on the fly it does show the prospect that you are not just smiling and dialing, you somewhat know their business, and them. If its a new review they might be proud to talk about it. If they have never seen it before, they would definitely want to talk about it.

        When I pick my target list of companies I follow them in LinkedIn Sales Navigator, set up google alerts, and such.

        Today I got 2 more follow ups from my calls/email yesterday, which brings my total higher than before. These replies were BPOC (best point of contact) referrals. Now when I call the BPOC on Friday I can say "hi Sue, I was talking to Jim the other day and he suggested that I talk to you about something important".

        Now the BPOC call is no longer a cold call, its a refferal from a colleague/friend. Your call will be heard and it will be good.
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        • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
          Ok, so here is an opportunity that is a direct result of this thread. I called a guy that I've networked with for a while. He does something completely different than me, but still does B2B. I talk to him about partnering up & remind him of how I could be beneficial to his clients...this morning.

          I get a call this afternoon where one of his clients is dissatisfied with their current website. The biggest dissatisfaction is their lack of traffic to their website. It is a national e-commerce website.

          He tells me that they are interested in speaking with someone who can help them with this, as they have no knowledge of this (from the VP of Marketing's mouth).

          He told me an estimate of their budget minumum total Marketing budget. If I could get 5% of that, it would change my life...LITERALLY.

          Call it coincidence or Law of Attaction. Either way...Great thread Jeremiah.

          Takeaway...who do you know that sells to whales!
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          • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
            Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

            Ok, so here is an opportunity that is a direct result of this thread. I called a guy that I've networked with for a while. He does something completely different than me, but still does B2B. I talk to him about partnering up & remind him of how I could be beneficial to his clients...this morning.

            I get a call this afternoon where one of his clients is dissatisfied with their current website. The biggest dissatisfaction is their lack of traffic to their website. It is a national e-commerce website.

            He tells me that they are interested in speaking with someone who can help them with this, as they have no knowledge of this (from the VP of Marketing's mouth).

            He told me an estimate of their budget minumum total Marketing budget. If I could get 5% of that, it would change my life...LITERALLY.

            Call it coincidence or Law of Attaction. Either way...Great thread Jeremiah.

            Takeaway...who do you know that sells to whales!
            This has just made my day! You are awesome bro!

            The trick here is to wash rinse and repeat. If you can do it once, you can do it again and again.
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          • Profile picture of the author eccj
            Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

            Ok, so here is an opportunity that is a direct result of this thread. I called a guy that I've networked with for a while. He does something completely different than me, but still does B2B. I talk to him about partnering up & remind him of how I could be beneficial to his clients...this morning.

            I get a call this afternoon where one of his clients is dissatisfied with their current website. The biggest dissatisfaction is their lack of traffic to their website. It is a national e-commerce website.

            He tells me that they are interested in speaking with someone who can help them with this, as they have no knowledge of this (from the VP of Marketing's mouth).

            He told me an estimate of their budget minumum total Marketing budget. If I could get 5% of that, it would change my life...LITERALLY.

            Call it coincidence or Law of Attaction. Either way...Great thread Jeremiah.

            Takeaway...who do you know that sells to whales!
            Good for you man. Please update us on how it turns out.
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          • Profile picture of the author Underground
            Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

            Ok, so here is an opportunity that is a direct result of this thread. I called a guy that I've networked with for a while. He does something completely different than me, but still does B2B. I talk to him about partnering up & remind him of how I could be beneficial to his clients...this morning.

            I get a call this afternoon where one of his clients is dissatisfied with their current website. The biggest dissatisfaction is their lack of traffic to their website. It is a national e-commerce website.

            He tells me that they are interested in speaking with someone who can help them with this, as they have no knowledge of this (from the VP of Marketing's mouth).

            He told me an estimate of their budget minumum total Marketing budget. If I could get 5% of that, it would change my life...LITERALLY.

            Call it coincidence or Law of Attaction. Either way...Great thread Jeremiah.

            Takeaway...who do you know that sells to whales!
            Hope you bag some big money on this. Good luck.
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        • Profile picture of the author Underground
          Originally Posted by Jeremiah Walsh View Post

          Basho is a branded sales training approach created and later sold by MJ Hoffman. Even though he sold the brand he still teaches its principles... albeit for a pretty penny. This method is used by corporate giants such as Salesforce and SAP. The key to this type of prospecting is the "why you, why you now" approach.


          For example
          Why you: I am calling you because I recently read a positive business review on xxx

          Why you now: and wanted to know if you have thought about leveraging that into more sales.

          While this example might not be the best as I just came up with it on the fly it does show the prospect that you are not just smiling and dialing, you somewhat know their business, and them. If its a new review they might be proud to talk about it. If they have never seen it before, they would definitely want to talk about it.

          When I pick my target list of companies I follow them in LinkedIn Sales Navigator, set up google alerts, and such.

          Today I got 2 more follow ups from my calls/email yesterday, which brings my total higher than before. These replies were BPOC (best point of contact) referrals. Now when I call the BPOC on Friday I can say "hi Sue, I was talking to Jim the other day and he suggested that I talk to you about something important".

          Now the BPOC call is no longer a cold call, its a refferal from a colleague/friend. Your call will be heard and it will be good.
          I hope this thread can become a good resource for sharing this kind of stuff on selling to companies in the big league.


          Yeah, I checked Basho out earlier and saw some say they were getting 50% responses rates. From various sources I've seen anything from 50-90% with emails.

          What is a 'BASHO email' in the context of a sales play? - Quora

          And your concise explanation helps to boil it down.

          Very straight-forward. I like Aaron Ross' approach of breaking the whole thing down so one person specializes in the prospecting and identifying the targets, and the sales people focus solely on the meetings and closing, and then another person handles the after sales care. He was doing that for Salesforce. And I never found out his exact email, but from your description he was using the Basho method. And was massively successful. That was a full on, full time whale getting method.


          You can't get away with not being personalized with these people.


          Sales navigator looks like a great tool. You can manually use that to find up to 3 thousand people by company designation?

          I was tempted by using Sales Loft, but they're very expensive and only let you find 500 people before the want enterprise prices last time I checked. Sales navigator seems like a much better option.

          I'll be taking a different approach that trying to find the BPOC. It's one where you target a cluster of 4 people in a department in the pre-research phase. Like the CEO, Senior Vice President, Head of division, etc who all work closely together. And then CC them all in an email where you are asking for the right person to speak to. Something about the ways it's done with 4 people working in close proximity that gets you referred to the right person and generates quite a few appointments. The guy whose's system it is suggests just keeping 20 companies in your CRM at one time as any more would be too much activity to handle.

          You're system's obviously working. Once people have the rules down on this, selling to the big league companies will become just as routine as the smaller ones, but many times more profitable and less intimidating.
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  • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
    Yes, I will definitely keep everyone posted...Good, bad or ugly. My expectation is landing a whale. I'm not fond of those thread where people don't update on what happened. It's like a movie that ends during the middle.

    I'm trying to figure out who else I know that sells to whales!
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    • Profile picture of the author Underground
      Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

      Yes, I will definitely keep everyone posted...Good, bad or ugly. My expectation is landing a whale. I'm not fond of those thread where people don't update on what happened. It's like a movie that ends during the middle.

      I'm trying to figure out who else I know that sells to whales!
      I'd better put extra-focus on putting a drip feed info, trust and credibility campaign together for the kinds of agencies and professionals who work with large numbers of my ideal market, and treat them like VIP's and build rapport. Give them free advertising, interviews, exposure, etc, and just keep myself on their radar.

      You're post reminded how beneficial and easier it is with referrals and not to be half-hearted and think just sending some info other and giving them a call would be enough.

      It's hard getting through and winning business with top level people. You'll need to hire someone with exceptional skill and competence, like Chet Homes in the video, which is rare. Or just become such a well liked and known entity among your centres of influence who could open up doors for you, that people will recommend you like that guy did, make the whole getting in thing far easier. There's a lot to learn selling to these people who give you 100K contracts, and people selling to them here are going to have a lot of trial and error. But one day you're sales process will be as easy and natural as it is it selling bargain basement.

      And you'll be wealthy. Again, well done. I really hope you nail this deal. Is this the Chet Homes thing you mentioned?

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      • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
        Originally Posted by Underground View Post

        I'd better put extra-focus on putting a drip feed info, trust and credibility campaign together for the kinds of agencies and professionals who work with large numbers of my ideal market, and treat them like VIP's and build rapport. Give them free advertising, interviews, exposure, etc, and just keep myself on their radar.

        You're post reminded how beneficial and easier it is with referrals and not to be half-hearted and think just sending some info other and giving them a call would be enough.

        It's hard getting through and winning business with top level people. You'll need to hire someone with exceptional skill and competence, like Chet Homes in the video, which is rare. Or just become such a well liked and known entity among your centres of influence who could open up doors for you, that people will recommend you like that guy did, make the whole getting in thing far easier. There's a lot to learn selling to these people who give you 100K contracts, and people selling to them here are going to have a lot of trial and error. But one day you're sales process will be as easy and natural as it is it selling bargain basement.

        And you'll be wealthy. Again, well done. I really hope you nail this deal. Is this the Chet Homes thing you mentioned?

        Chet Holmes BGM 16 The High Art of Getting Appointments With Anyone, Pt 1 - YouTube
        Well, in my earlier posts I was speaking of the Dream 100 clients when I referenced Chet. But this guy that is giving me this lead is a dream affiliate. Both work the same. If you listen to Chet in this video, he explains how he had to "Dream 100 affiliate" Jay Abraham for 2 years. Then, he says, but it made us both a lot of money.

        You just helped put 2 & 2 together here. I wasn't even thinking of doing a dream 100 affiliate list. After watching the 1st 5 minutes of this, I think I will get on that..

        I have one guy, now it's time to go after the other 99.

        Great thread guys!
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        • Profile picture of the author Underground
          Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

          Well, in my earlier posts I was speaking of the Dream 100 clients when I referenced Chet. But this guy that is giving me this lead is a dream affiliate. Both work the same. If you listen to Chet in this video, he explains how he had to "Dream 100 affiliate" Jay Abraham for 2 years. Then, he says, but it made us both a lot of money.

          You just helped put 2 & 2 together here. I wasn't even thinking of doing a dream 100 affiliate list. After watching the 1st 5 minutes of this, I think I will get on that..

          I have one guy, now it's time to go after the other 99.

          Great thread guys!
          Yeah, that word jumped out at me and I did a google check to see if there was a segment of product on this somewhere.

          I'd heard of the dream 100 list, but never heard mention of the dream affiliate. We're on the same page. I'm sure in the sense Chet is talking he doesn't mean a list of internet affiliates in the way we'd think of them in the IM world, but referrers.

          That idea might have flown out of my head for a good while due to my ADD, until I saw your post, and thought I'd better round a list of people and start growing my network fast among that circle.

          I've got to try and find out more about what his dream affiliate set up is. If he pays them to refer and if that's enough and can give a short cut. I know whatever it is it would be workable and have been tested. I'd much rather have a dream 100 affiliate list than try to find and manage 100 top producing sales people.
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          • Profile picture of the author savidge4
            This concept is interesting to me on many levels. Its not so much a technique to getting "bigger" sales as it can be a methodology to better overall development and growth. In the current business I am in the process of building and developing, my goal is not to land "whales".

            However, knocking back the concept a bit, I can have a set client criteria and spend that 10% of time increasing my market criteria. Using web design as an example If I am building 5 page websites, striving for that next level of 10 page websites. As you start landing more and more of the extended criteria clients for your business, that becomes the norm. There comes a point that your client criteria does become those 10 page sites. and from there you start the cycle over, and spend 10% of your time going after 20 page site clients.

            This concept does not stop at just developing bigger and better clients. The process can be replicated in many many things. I use it in SEO as an example. In SEO there is more than a tendency to target terms after an amount of research that you KNOW you will be able to list and rank for.

            I spend about 10 to 20% of my development targeting terms that are outside of my reachable realm. I find that over time, your reach does increase. your sites values change ( we hope for the positive ) and the terms that were at one time were not obtainable become so.

            Having pre built targeting in place allows for a natural progression in this process removing some of the urgency of figuring out you could be getting better traffic and then developing the ways to get it.

            When we bring these concepts back into sales I think we need to look at the idea of Six Degrees of Separation. Qu4rk ends up knowing someone that knew someone, 2nd degree separation. Jeremiah Walsh talks about using LinkedIn to get an introduction. Again Degrees of Separation.

            Networking is critical in this type of growth. Applying these ideals to other aspects of business, Networking may not be the ideal term... "Reach" fits well. Mindfully increasing your 1st degree of separation can only increase reach over all. Learning how to present yourself to such a degree to your 1st degree connections that when someone says "Do you know a web Designer?" and they think of you - is the trick.

            Again using Qu4rk as an example. It was that simple little connection.. reaching out... that gentle reminder... hey I do this... its essential in growth.

            Social Media is super key in all of this. I have kind of broken my accounts up in degrees. I have personal accounts. I have business accounts. I have recently started what I call industry accounts. My grandmother doesn't need a web site. My clients don't need to know uncle Johnny broke his leg. And the Web Development community doesn't need to know who my clients are ( that's never a good thing lol )

            The point of these accounts is creating those connections. Allowing me to continually and consistently tap on that shoulder "Hey I do this". Calling past a current clients... "Hey how are things?" - and doing this without selling anything. Just be genuinely interested in the person.

            Past and current clients that I can, I will look up traffic patterns etc. if it has increased I say things like "Hey I see your web traffic has boosted this month how is that working for you?" This type of communication says "hey I do this" without even having to say it. It reinforces that you are there for them. ( you are taking the time to see how things are ) and you are not directly trying to pitch or ask for anything.

            And then the magic happens.. someone in the next few days asks that client of yours "Do you know anyone that does web design?" What are they going to say?
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            • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
              Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

              This concept is interesting to me on many levels. Its not so much a technique to getting "bigger" sales as it can be a methodology to better overall development and growth. In the current business I am in the process of building and developing, my goal is not to land "whales".
              I would call this a growth role and I am very familiar with it. When I do my "ground and pound" calling cadence I always leave Wednesdays for my "customer love" day and devote lost of my time (other than from 10-11am) to current customers. That is where you will find your easiest and sometimes best deals. It is far easier to get a current customer to buy than it is for a brand new one. That is why all of the IMers on here have buyers lists and treat them differently than prospect lists.

              Here is an example of that I would do. I would contact every one of my customers that use my company's remote support software and try to start a conversation around a trouble ticket system. The products complement each other and are used by the same people. This makes the job of building pipeline much easier as you are dealing with current customers about add on products that complement what they are currently using.

              Perhaps one day I will make a post on my entire cadence... I just dont have the time to sit down and write it all out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremiah Walsh
    Referrals are one of the best ways of selling to a large company. I will always look at some contacts in linkedin and see if I am connected in any way, shape, or form. I have no problem asking for an introduction.
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    The Biggest UNTAPPED Income Source You Have NEVER Heard About.
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  • Profile picture of the author Underground
    For some reason, even after clearing cookies a few times I still can't email as my box won't clear and I'm over my limit but I'm all for that idea.

    I'd like to share stuff and real life feedback and hear other's who I know are just as serious about raising their aims and becoming a professional outfit or consultant with real world skills and getting the big contracts. Going for it in life and taking on that challenge. .

    Might be a couple of weeks to you hear from me as I'm not on skype often and it will be when I have real feedback on stuff I've implements or others post something.

    But I'm all for that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Underground
    Yeah, it's certainly not as easy as just saying I'm going to go after the big money and try and the sell the same thing your selling for £197 for £20,000.

    There are people paying £100,000 for digital marketers, but to approach them as company you'd need a lot more to offer than how most of us first started out.

    I would have preferred to have taken an iterative approach and had intended to. But that was not to happen.

    I'm fortunate that service I offer, with a bit of tweaking and position and improving the quality in what I do, that I can approach these people and know what they are after and can provide it.


    But the period to get to that stage has been years of trial and error, but with a strong vision and goal to get there and a commitment to constantly learning, tweaking, applying, failing, temporary success.

    The iterative approach of consistent improvement is a great one and necessary for how most of us start us and the bad we education we have to get past.

    But people having a long-term strategy is a very beneficial thing if they don't feel ready yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
    I'm hoping that someone can point me in the right direction. I am definitely out to do my whale hunting. I've seen that Underground is a fan of Bryan Kreuzberger’s Breakthrough Email program. I'm trying to craft an email based upon the the free PDF that, but I'm running into some snags.

    What are the problems you have helped other clients solve?

    I don't have any big clients to name to name. I certainly don't have anything that resembles a whale.

    Also, if they ask for references. Man, I don't have anything that resembles that size of a massive company.

    I'm trying to stay out of Analysis Paralysis, but get a good game plan.

    Any advice is welcome.
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