*The following is an excerpt from Mark Bishop's book, The Trusted Seller; the foundation for the What Buyers Want sales training program. Contact us for more information.
As a business-to-business (B2B) salesperson, you undoubtedly make an effort to target good suspects (organizations meeting certain criteria that suggest they could become prospective customers). But how much effort do you expend when targeting the organization? Are you doing enough? And, do your efforts at targeting stop at the company level or carry through to your message and the buyer as a person?
The very best sales reps target all of their communications – they target the message to the company, they target the message to a defined marketplace, and they target the message to the buyer. This means that the communications are personalized, and it also means the message is appropriate. The effort pays off. Salespeople who put forth such effort attract buyer attention because they stand out from the rest of the bunch. Now, let's look more specifically at what's meant by being targeted.
Every time you communicate with anyone in business, the first thing you do is target the person you need to reach. Right? Well, it's especially applicable when reaching out to a buyer. Always address your communication to the buyer personally.
If you don't know the buyer's name, find out. You usually can get the buyer's name with a quick call to the receptionist. The very best reps not only remember to find out the prospect's title and general decision-making authority, they also found out how the person likes to be addressed. (Is it Mr. Bishop or Mark? Charles or Chuck? Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzie or Beth?)
Getting to this level of detail usually works best if you preface your request by explaining to the receptionist that you're sending a letter or an email and you'd like to make sure it gets to the right person. A fib? Not really. You may be using the information when you initially call the prospect; but, at some point, you'll undoubtedly be sending something.
And that brings me to my next point: how you get the buyer to READ your message. In its most basic form, the answer is ridiculously simple but frequently overlooked: Address your message to the buyer! I won't waste your time (or mine) by launching into "101: The Basics of Addressing an Envelope." I simply want you to consider this story:
The buyer staggers into work in the wee hours of the morning, sloshing coffee on the industrial-grade carpet. Stumbling over a large, unsolicited box of something stamped "urgent" in nine places, the buyer spies a clutter-free spot on the desk that immediately becomes the new home for his cup of joe.
The buyer knows it's going to be a good day. With the exception of the "urgent" package that made itself at home in the doorway, the mountain of mail is limited to his desk and the computer isn't quivering from email overload.
Arming himself with a swig of caffeine, the buyer works through the mountain as though shuffling cards. Three minutes later, he pushes the "Dear Valued Buyer" and "Attn: Purchasing Department" pile off the desk and right into the adjacent 40-gallon wastebasket. Taking another swig, he settles in to read his mail.
Let me put it another way. On behalf of all buyers: If my name is on the envelope, I've got to open it. I don't know if it's a bill from a current vendor, or something I'd previously requested. I don't know what it is. I've got to open it to find out.
When you put the buyer's name on the envelope and when the envelope doesn't look like as though it's part of a mass mailing, your message suddenly stands a chance of being seen. When an e-mail message starts with the buyer's name, your message stands a chance. It's that simple.
Once you have established some type of contact with the buyer – either by reaching him on the phone or connecting briefly at an exhibition you both attended – you can gain valuable information that will later help you target the buyer even better.
When you score a few minutes with the buyer, one of the most important things you can do is listen when the buyer speaks. The information you learn can be invaluable in how you choose to approach the buyer once you land an appointment. The more information you know about your buyer, the better. It will pay off at some point, I assure you.
As a buyer, I provide every seller who meets with me most of the information required to address my personal and business needs. Interestingly, I see the information utilized in only a small percentage of follow-up calls. I suspect this is because many sellers are so preoccupied with devising the next question that they miss what the buyer is saying! The top sales reps actively listen to their buyers, recognizing that the very questions they need to ask are frequently follow-ups to the clues the buyer provides in such an exchange. Questions are great – but only if the answers are heard.
Think back to the story about the harried buyer who staggered into work early. Regardless of whether your initial buyer contact is via snail mail, email, voice mail or just plain voice-to-voice, as long as you address the buyer personally, you earn yourself a quick shot in the spotlight to share your message.
Sadly, if your message isn't targeted to the buyer and the company, its fate is the same as the mountains of mail shoved directly in the 40-gallon wastebasket. See, buyers notice when the message is targeted. They notice when a message is aligned with the buying organization's mission, and they notice when the message is relevant to the products or services being purchased. When the message is not aligned, it's typically discarded.
For example, let's say that you sell flat-panel LCD screens to resellers and that your target buyer distributes video content to hotels. If the buyer receives a message indicating that you'd like to talk about reselling your LCD screens, I'd stake my life on the fact that he won't respond. Why? You're fishing and the buyer isn't going to waste his time biting.
When you fail to target a message to the buying organization, the buyer perceives you're fishing for prospects and that you don't know anything about the buyer, much less his company. That's why the buyer ignores your efforts to reach out – your message isn't targeted and is therefore completely irrelevant. You can (and should) avoid mistakes such as the one described here. How? Arm yourself with facts. Make sure you target your message to the company.
Knowledge is power in B2B sales. Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, you've got the world at your fingertips. Use it. Don't limit yourself to Google searches on a company. (Did you realize that only 20 to 25 percent of the information available on the Internet is accessible through Google?!)
Most business information or research is housed on secure servers. If you're not already tapping into the websites below, check them out. Arming yourself with company knowledge pays off. That's how you target good suspects.
These are great starting points. But it's up to you to make the information work to your advantage. Incorporate what you learn about a company to prove to your prospect that you are seeking his business – not just anyone's.
Here's what I'm talking about. Pretend for a minute that you're a buyer. You should receive a voice message from a salesperson you've never heard from before. It should sound like this:
"Hi, this is Joe Schmoe with Marketing Solutions calling for Mark Bishop. Mark, I'm calling at the suggestion of Suzy Smith, a customer of yours. She suggested that we should talk. Suzy is also a customer of mine, and she thought that your prospective customers may have trouble finding you online to order products. When I checked out your site, I saw a number of things that you could do to optimize your search engine hits. For example, I found an opportunity to dramatically increase the number of links to your site. I also believe that we could do a few things differently for those people who try your name directly in a search engine – the rankings suggest you may need help in better directing them to your site.
Anyway, we were able to help Suzy's firm with a similar issue, and I'd like to see if we can help you as well.
I can tell from your voice message that you're out of town this week. So, I'll try calling you back late next week. My hope is that I could spend about 45 minutes with you, preferably in person if your schedule allows. I'd like to explain a bit more what I'm talking about with the search engines and show you what our firm can do to help with this problem. If you want to reach me in the meantime, my name again is Joe Schmoe, with Marketing Solutions, and you can reach me at 123-456-7890. Thanks, Mark. Talk to you soon."
As a buyer, are you convinced that Joe Schmoe really researched your company and put effort into that sales call and you remember... "He's been recommended to us by a customer. Suzy seems to think we have something to talk about. I don't know Suzy personally, but I don't want to make anyone mad. This guy Joe obviously checked out our site and seems to see something worth discussing. What's he talking about with other companies linking to our site? I wonder how many firms are doing that. Hmm."
Joe Schmoe hasn't developed a relationship with the buyer. And he certainly hasn't made a sale (that's not his goal right now anyway). He may not even have time on the buyer's calendar – yet. But he will at some point. He's on his way to getting the buyer's attention, which ultimately positions him to share details about the services he offers through Marketing Solutions.
One last time? Your first job, when executing a sound communications strategy, is to target the buyer. Pick the right company in the right market, find out that person's name, and then personalize your communications if you want a strong base for a potential business relationship.
Next, make sure you target your message. Your message stands a chance at being heard when the buyer sees that it is aligned with the needs or interests of the buying organization. The same thinking holds true for targeting the company: The buyer must believe you've invested time and energy in choosing his organization as a prospect. The best way you can help the buyer come to this realization is to spend some time learning about the company and its needs, thus proving to the buyer that you have some skin in the game, if you will.
So, why does it matter? As a buyer, who do you think will invest time in your company after making a sale? The rep who invested as little time as possible when working to obtain the order? Or the one who invested obvious time and energy in attempting to understand your business and its needs? Well, since I'm the buyer, I'll answer that one for you. The buyer chooses the latter. Every single time.
When you target your buyer, your message and the company, you demonstrate you believe there are valid reasons for you to speak with that particular person within that particular organization regarding a particular issue. Helping the buyer to reach this conclusion is your first step in getting the buyer's attention.
What NOT to do. Don't cut yourself short by expending less effort when you target the company, the buyer or your message. The information is there. You've got a few tools now to help you find it. You don't need a complete history on a company (although that may help in some cases). You need just enough to prove to yourself – and the buyer – that the buying organization really is a good suspect.
Validate any contact information provided to you by your marketing department; never assume the information is right. If you try to obtain the buyer's name from the receptionist and receive no help because of company policy, don't give up! Try the company's website for a list of all key contact people. No website? Try other contacts you have within the industry or who you happen to know locally. Many times, other salespeople who call on me provide that information as a professional courtesy. Your colleagues may help you out as well, unless you are a direct competitor, of course.
Contact us today to get started. FREE SHIPPING within the U.S., international orders please call: 913.208.4943 for shipping rates.
Stay current with all the latest developments with the seminars and DVD training What Buyers Want has to offer.
Find out about News & EventsCome join us for a full-day workshop and discover what your buyers want! Reserve your seat today!
View upcoming seminars
