THINKING DIFFERENTLY - Ussco.com

PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESSSEPT/OCT 2008TO WIN NEW BUSINESS, IT’S ANADVANTAGETO START WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LEADInsights into building an effective lead generation programChances are, the future of your company lies in the list ofsales leads and prospects that is currently in your files.Among these names are your future customers, businessesthat will not only replace lost accounts but also spur incrementalgrowth of sales and profits. The challenge is to determine which ofthose names is most likely to become your customer — and whatyour organization must do to make that happen. That’s the purposeof developing a lead generation program that will assist youin allocating your sales and marketing resources where they willhave the most impact.Qualifying Names: The first step in any lead generation programis knowing which companies to target. Jackie Walts, a direct marketingand lead generation consultant, says that defining yourperfect customer is a prerequisite to any lead generation program.“If you haven’t done this, you have no business conducting leadgeneration at all.“Find any detailed information about a perfect customer, but focuson information that is easily quantifiable in marketing,” saysWalts. The idea behind customer cloning is that by using informationyou gather in your customer database, you can create a profileof your perfect customer — and then go out and find others thatare just like them in the marketplace.Companies such as infoUSA maintain huge databases of businessesthat can use criteria — such as revenue, number of employees,12OFFICELINE | www.ussco.comSIC code and age of business — to generate a list of organizationsthat match the profile of your perfect customer, or fall within anyparameters you set. If, like most office products dealers, you primarilyoperate within a defined geographic area, you can obtain acomplete list of potential customers fairly inexpensively.Of course, you will also get leads from other sources such as yourWeb site, trade shows, phone inquiries, responses to direct mail,advertising campaigns and customer referrals. You should alwaysfind ways to capture information on these prospects and record thedetails for your prospect files.Just because potential customers meet your criteria or visit yourWeb site, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re viable prospects, soyou may want to further qualify these businesses. A phone call isa quick, easy and inexpensive way to obtain a lot of valuable informationbefore you commit salespeople and resources to the salesprocess. Ask who their current supplier is, if they have any specialproduct or service needs, how satisfied they are with their currentsource and if they’re open to switching vendors.Classifying leads: Once you have input on prospects, it’s essentialto classify them to prioritize your sales efforts. Avoid the traditionalhot, warm, cold system of classifying leads, advises BrianCarroll of InTouch, Inc. No salesperson will ever want to touch awarm or cold lead.Instead, Carroll suggests a system in which every element of data