Sales Lead Management Association^SM Newsletter
In this Issue

• If Revenue is the Issue, Why Do Presidents Reduce the Sales Satff- Jim Obermayer
• How to Make Your Niche Follow You   - Susan Friedmann
• Lead Scoring -  Jay Hidalgo
• Making PR Accountability Second Nature  --Christel Hall
• Do You Have A Sales Plan - Philip Nasser
• Questioning Errors Create Confusion   - Michael Brown

If Revenue is the Issue, Why Do Presidents Reduce the Sales Staff?

By James W. Obermayer - Sales Leakage Consulting, Inc.

Most company presidents will admit that if revenue increases, nearly all of the problems the company faces will disappear.  And yet, too many companies are firing some of  their salespeople or reducing the total number of salespeople (a bit like stopping their watch to save time).

I can understand replacing people who don't make quota.   Yes, this is a good time to weed the garden and find"A" players who will perform.  It is time to build the sales team, not reduce the number of people who are responsible for bringing in the one thing you desperately need, new customers.    If  reducing the sales staff has crossed you mind, may I first suggest the following:

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How to Make Your Niche Follow You Anywhere

By Susan A. Friedmann,CSP - Nichepreneur

Is your niche happy with you? Does the media hang on your every word? Will they still love you tomorrow? To build strong, lasting relationships, you must remain front and center. The allure is all in your availability.

As an adroit Nichepreneur®, making constant, consistent connections helps your niche get to know you. Some of the most powerful resources that improve your accessibility—without losing precious time—are online. By crafting blog posts, you engage your target audience. When you send an email newsletter packed with tips, checklists and articles, you build credibility right from the inbox. You're on. They can tell.

From initiating online discussions to instructing webinars that support industry professionals, the web is your platform to create and sustain key relationships. Every day, dozens of new Nichepreneur® tools become available to help you succeed. Some of them take time to master. Others only require a few minutes to reap the benefits.

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Lead Scoring

by Jay Hidalgo, Partner - The Annuitas Group

Chances are, intuitively, your company is already using a lead scoring system.  If marketing or sales personnel have enough knowledge to classify a lead as"Hot", "Warm", or"Cold", then you are using a lead scoring system.   However, this rudimentary"system" does not allow for the kind of lead routing and closed loop tracking needed in today's business environment.   In response, many companies are developing formal numeric lead scoring systems that will allow them to effectively qualify, route and nurture leads.

What is Lead Scoring?

• Score of 91-125 Route Lead to Sales
• Score of 51-90 Send Lead through Lead Nurture Track
• Score of 1-51  Discard Lead from System

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Making PR Accountability Second Nature

by Christel Hall, PRowrite Public Relations

Granted, all public relations efforts are not about lead generation.  Some campaigns are about generating awareness, increasing credibility, garnering support for an issue or cause; in essence, building relationships.  That doesn't mean you can't measure your results or provide the CEO with hard facts about how, when or why a campaign worked.   

With my indoctrination into the Public Relations Society of America's accreditation program years ago, I learned that measurement and evaluation should be part of every public relations and marketing communications effort, whether you're looking at a product launch, a press tour, or an event.  Accountability in PR needn't be the headache so many communicators think it must, as long as you make certain research and evaluation steps second nature to your planning.

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Do You Have a Sales Plan?

by Philip A. Nasser, www.salesproductivityinstitute.com

Your sales team has just completed a fiscal year with good performance.  Your boss is happy…therefore, you are happy.  You learned some things, did some things well, made some mistakes, grew the business and, overall, feel good about what has been accomplished.  The new fiscal year is here and you may be asking yourself"what am I going to do to move closer to our objective of excellence?" "How do we get better?"  Do you have a plan to help with these questions?

Many managers just"start all over."  By that we mean they assign new quotas, make territorial adjustments as needed, make a few"deployment adjustments" with the available manpower (key accounts, alliances, customer base sales people, outbound telemarketing, etc.) and move onto the next twelve months.  This approach has worked in the past, why should it be changed?   

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Questioning Errors Create Confusion, Suspicion, and Lost Sales

By Michael A. Brown
 
The CNN news program host asked his guest,"What is the significance of these elections? I mean, these are not national elections or even parliamentary, but rather provincial, and the prime minister is not standing for re-election. Clearly the United States has an interest in the outcome, but these do not appear to be terribly important."
 
In formulating and asking the question this way, the host made three very serious errors. And we, as marketers and sales people, should take heed and avoid them in our own questioning.
 
First, the host got it 100% backward. The"set up"… the conditions that make the question meaningful in the first place… are stated AFTER the question itself. In marketing and sales, as in journalism, always establish the conditions first, THEN ask your question. Anything else confuses.
 
Second, the host prompted a particular response. He told the guest, indirectly, to agree with his (the host's) contention that the elections really were not that important. In law, this is called"leading the witness" and is not permitted. In journalism, it is called manipulation and is disrespected. In marketing and sales, it raises suspicion and resistance.
 
Third, by stating an opinion (“do not appear to be terribly important") as part of the question, the host showed bias. Prospects and customers expect bias during our presentations, but not as part of a"loaded" question during discovery and qualification. Misplaced bias can and will cost you sales.
 
Best Advice: Listen to and emulate how excellent interviewers formulate and ask questions. The top tier includes Bill Moyers of PBS, Robert Siegel and Melissa Block of NPR, Bob Shieffer of CBS, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC. Do not model your questioning on that of anyone at Fox. 

Michael A. Brown helps business marketers conduct profitable, distinctive Business To Business By Phone^® via consulting and training. He provides advisory and training services to B2B marketers. Clients include a "who's who" of successful business marketers, from startups to the Fortune 100. Contact Michael in Austin, Texas, 800 373-3966. www.michaelabrown.net. E-mail is [email protected]
 
© 2009, Michael A. Brown, President, Business To Business By Phone® Austin, Texas.

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