Getting in the Door "Three Questions to ask before prospecting"

Special thanx to Mike Adams for this article. I had the privilege of being able to attend one of Mike's seminars at the dealership I work for today. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks right? Well, today I didn't learn any tricks but learned how to get more out of my phone prospecting and how to get appointments on the first call! If you're interested in having Mike out at your dealership or branch give him a call and make sure you tell him you saw the article on the P4P Hotel and you will receive a special. Call Mike for the details!

Three Questions to ask before prospecting

Today’s economy makes it more critical than ever for dealers to minimize operating costs, generate increased lead volume at the lowest possible cost and maximize sales results. The most common challenge for most dealers is how to get in the door with the right prospect.

This can be addressed by answering three questions:

Who should we call on?
How should we contact them to schedule a face-to-face meeting?
What offer should we use to entice them to meet with us?

Who Should We Call?

The “shotgun” approach — in which companies canvas large numbers of prospects in hopes of catching a few great leads — is outdated, not to mention time-consuming, costly and detrimental to the morale of the sales force. A targeted approach is needed in order to identify qualified companies and reach the key decision-makers. For most dealers, the greatest potential lies with CFOs, CIOs and high level administrators at mid-major (15-250 employees) and corporate-production print (250 employees or more) account markets, where sales typically exceed the average across all BTA Channel segments by approximately $42,000 and $92,000,
respectively.

To target the most likely prospects in these segments, it is important to acquire or have access to a comprehensive and up-to-date database. The database can be leveraged to prioritize prospects based on the following criteria: type of business, annual revenue, total number of employees and more. Other valuable sources of data are the prospect’s Web site and their advertising. Once prospects are identified, they can be distributed to the sales team in the form of a list for telemarketing.

What Offer Should We Use?

The classic offer of replacing current equipment with new machines is no longer effective. In today’s economy, businesses are less inclined to acquire new capital equipment, so new approaches are necessary. Since most prospects are interested in new ways to lower their operating expenses, a unique approach is to propose that the client outsource management of their printer fleet to your dealership. Dealers who have had success with this strategy do not replace any equipment initially, but are able to reduce the company’s operating costs by 10 to 30 percent by offering a lower per page rate for printing. Once they have developed the client relationship, sales, service and supply opportunities gradually evolve. This approach positions
the dealer in a more consultative role, which can be more profitable while maintaining a consistent revenue stream.

How Should We Contact Them?

Some dealers still do “Blitz Days” where the whole sales team makes personal calls on companies in one geographic area. This is a personal approach, but is costly and does not use sales representatives’ time wisely.

A more effective method for lead generation in these markets is phone prospecting to a targeted list of ideal prospects, combined with canvassing local businesses in the vicinity of prospects where personal appointments have been set via telemarketing. The actual work of generating these leads can be very challenging.

A number of dealers have set up their own internal telemarketing teams to generate these appointments in order to maximize the face time salespeople have with potential clients. Other dealers have chosen to outsource the telemarketing in order to reduce costs such as payroll, database fees and the headaches associated with managing employees.

When targeted correctly through effective telemarketing, mid-major and corporate accounts are easier to sell at a reasonable profit and due to their volume, may also present opportunities for future sales. The best approach, via either telemarketing or outsourcing, is the one that provides your dealership with the highest yield of qualified leads at the lowest total cost per lead.


Mike Adams is CEO of A-Tech Direct. He spent 20 years running a BTA member dealership in Southern California where he was an equity partner and served as vice president of sales and marketing.

He can be reached at (949) 292-1339
or madams@a-techdirect.com.
Visit www.a-techdirect.com.