Selling is a very detailed process. There are four basic things that every person in Sales needs to do to be successful. These four things are: 1.belief in your products and services, 2. knowing how to prospect/knowing your target market, 3.knowing how to engage prospects and customers with a message that is compelling 4. the ability to persist in the face of rejection and knowing how to get past objections Let's explore each of these in depth.

1. A guide to getting started by @DanGalante
Former NYC Outside Sales Rep

2. Selling is a very detailed process. There are four
basic things that every person in Sales needs to do
to be successful.
These four things are:
1.belief in your products and services,
2. knowing how to prospect/knowing your target
market,
3.knowing how to engage prospects and customers
with a message that is compelling
4. the ability to persist in the face of rejection and
knowing how to get past objections.

3. 1. Belief in your products and services
Once you decide that you want to go into sales, you need
to pick a product that you want to sell. The product
should be something that you use yourself or if it is a
technical product the product should be one that after
doing some research that you could stand behind. When
you make a sales presentation to a prospect, it is
imperative that you believe in your product. Believing in
your product means that you think it is the best on the
market and that you would buy it. Belief in your product is
key because your presentation will fail to impress the
prospect if you do not. Believing in your product or
service will enable you to speak about them
enthusiastically. This will give you a chance to get the
prospect excited.

4.  2.Knowing how to prospect and identifying
your target market
 When you decide on the product and
services you are going to sell, it is
important to know who would a good fit for
your offering. For example if you were
selling Dental equipment like I was, you
would look for Dental professionals in your
sales territory, you would not call on other
medical professionals and offices that do
not have a need.

5. According to Salesforce.com 82% of
sellers are not in tuned to the
buyer.
 Once you identify people who
are a good you need to obtain a
prospecting list. This list should
be created or generated by zip
code and should include the
names and the addresses of
businesses in your area.
 Once you have this list, you
should develop a sales plan that
determines: how many calls you
will make per day and the
specific businesses you will call
on and how often you will see
them. For example, I would call
on customers and prospects
every two to three weeks.
Image via Salesforce.com

6. 3. Knowing how to engage prospects and
customers with a message that is compelling
 In order to engage prospects and
customers with a message that compelling
it is important you have the following:
• Build rapport with prospect when you call
on them and get to know their needs
• Develop and maintain a strong knowledge
of your products
• Develop and maintain a strong knowledge
of your competitors
• Know what areas your company beats them
and what areas they beat you and develop a
selling strategy based on this
• Know current trends and happenings in
your industry these details can be obtained
by attending trade shows and reading
industry trade magazines.
Image via
smartdraw.com

7.  4. The ability to persist in the face of
rejection/Knowing how to get past
objections
 In selling you will face a lot rejection. I
was selling in New York City where I was
thrown out of offices and told to not go
back to certain places. Rejection is
tough to take at first but it is important
to keep in mind that the prospect is
rejecting your product offerings and not
you.
 In order to succeed you need to keep
making calls and keep a stiff upper lip.
 Getting past objections.
 It is important to know what customers
true objections are to uncover what
motivates them to buy.
 Objections in many cases are buying
signals because if you do not get asked
any questions by a prospect, it means
they are not interested.

8.  Once you have your prospecting list, it is now time to
add up how many total prospects are in your total
territory.
 Once you have this number, you need to divide it by a
two to three-week sales cycle. In most sales
positions, you are required to be on a two to three-
week sales cycle.
 In other words, you should be able to see all of your
prospects and customers at least once in a two to
three-week period.
 My sales plan was built on this cycle. The only
exceptions to this, is if you have an extremely large
territory such as several states or if the item you are
selling is a high ticket item; where multiple decision
makers have to approve the sale.

9.  You have now come up with the number of customers
that you must call on each week. Now you must
divide the weekly number of calls by the amount of
days that you work, which is five or six. Now you have
the number of calls you must make per day. It is
important to either put the names of the prospects
into a daily spreadsheet or log sheet. When I was in
sales, I had to fill in prospect names and information
on a log sheet my manager printed out for me. Also
your monthly sales goals can be broken down into
weekly and daily goals. Simply take your monthly
goal and divide it by four to get your weekly goal; to
obtain your daily goal take your monthly goal and
divide it by the number of days you work in a month.

10.  When you use your spread sheet or log sheet, it is important to collect
information on the prospects you call on. The sheet should contain the
following: (CRM software such as ACT! OR Salesforce can be used to keep this
information)
 1 The names and addresses of the prospect you are calling
 2 The date and time of your visit
 3 The person in the office that you spoke with
 4 The name of the decision maker
 5 The service provider that they use
 6 Notes on the call and what the next step in the process should be
 It is imperative as a sales person that you keep records so that your calls with
customers are organized and focused. This information will also help you forge
relationships with your prospects and customers. If you are new to sales, you
will fill in the above information as you make calls.
 I would recommend getting some kind of CRM software that I mentioned above
to help with the record keeping and creating a Sales Funnel.
 As you keep making calls, the information you collect on prospects and your
customers will provide you with a great deal of insight into developing your
sales process. This information can also be used to build a sales funnel.

11. When you use your spread sheet or log sheet, it is important to collect
information on the prospects you call on. The sheet should contain the
following: (CRM software such as ACT! OR Salesforce can be used to keep this
information)
1 The names and addresses of the prospect you are calling
2 The date and time of your visit
3 The person in the office that you spoke with
4 The name of the decision maker
5 The service provider that they use
6 Notes on the call and what the next step in the process should be
It is imperative as a sales person that you keep records so that your calls with
customers are organized and focused. This information will also help you
forge relationships with your prospects and customers. If you are new to
sales, you will fill in the above information as you make calls.
I would recommend getting some kind of CRM software that I mentioned
above to help with the record keeping and creating a Sales Funnel.
As you keep making calls, the information you collect on prospects and your
customers will provide you with a great deal of insight into developing your
sales process. This information can also be used to build a sales funnel.

12. Cold Calling
Whether you are a veteran or if you are new in sales, you will have to make
cold calls to build your customer base. Many sales people dread making cold
calls.
However, if you approach it the right way; cold calling can be a great way to
develop your selling skills and forge great relationships with your future
customers.
When you first call on an office or business, chances are that when you enter,
the first person that you will have to speak with is the gate-keeper. The gate-
keeper can have the title of Receptionist or Personal Assistant. The gate-
keeper’s job is to act as a screener for their boss. Their boss uses them to
screen or qualify people who attempt to contact them.
As a Sales Representative in New York City, I have first-hand knowledge of
how to engage them in the cold calling situation. I would always sell myself
first. When I made a cold call, I would first go into the office and speak with
the person at the front desk. I would smile at them and introduce myself. I
would say the following:

13. I would smile at them and introduce myself. I would say the following:
Hi my name is Dan. The Gatekeeper would then reply with something
along the lines of hi Dan what can I do for you.
After a bit of engagement and small talk I would tell them the company
I was with and ask him or her if they were the decision maker of the
product or service I was selling. (It is always important that you are in
front of the people who can say yes to you.) I asked this question to
validate the person’s importance. Usually the gate-keeper would reply
that they were not in charge of that. I would then ask them who was in
charge. My goal was to make the gate-keeper a friend.
Friends’ help their friends succeed. (There were times in which this
frontline person was very nasty to me and I was not able to obtain this
information on the initial call. If this occurs it is imperative that you
keep your cool if you ever want to have a chance to sell that business
your products and services.)

14.  Once in a while the decision maker will make an appearance asking
the gate-keeper about who you are or they may question you
directly.
 It is imperative that you are prepared to engage the prospect and
ready to answer any questions they ask you. (Objections) When a
decision maker made an appearance, I would engage them in a bit
of small talk; trying to make them a friend. I would introduce myself
and my products. I would ask what supplier they were using and use
that information to give a brief on the spot sales presentation. Once
I gave this presentation, I would ask for a commitment. I would ask
a closing question. Sometimes I made a sale. Many times, I had to
obtain their business card and call on them again. (It is important to
note that if you are selling a high ticket item you will have to close
the client on the next step in the process and not the sale of the
item.)
 It is important to keep a record of information that you obtain
during the call. This can be done on a log sheet or by updating your
CRM software.

15. When you start to develop your presentation, it is important to have knowledge
about your prospects business. It is imperative to know your products and
services; specifically how the prospect can benefit from them. As a sales
person, it is your responsibility to uncover what the prospects needs are. The
next thing that has to be done is to know how your company and your products
compare to the competition. Product knowledge is a must. (You should also
know what motivates the prospect to buy.) Based on who your prospect is
currently using as a supplier, you can use this information to show how you are
better than who they are currently using. Only after you have done this
research are you ready move forward.

16.  Make sure the information in your presentation is thorough and
can answer as many questions as possible. Your goal is prevent
objections and questions by prospects by covering them in your
presentation. Make sure to have testimonials from loyal
customers with you.
 (Many times prospects will ask who else you have worked with
before considering you.) Make sure to include product
specifications and an ROI analysis if the product you are selling
is a big-ticket item. You should also practice your presentation
to make sure it sounds polished.
 Get your manager and colleagues to watch your presentation and
critique it. Filming yourself and watching your presentation will
help you improve.
 Remember to not be nervous and to convey your enthusiasm
through your tone of voice and body language. Do not cross your
arms and make sure to make eye contact with your prospect.
 Make sure to speak slowly, clearly and in a loud voice.

17.  Delivering Your Presentation
 Your presentation should include a
demonstration of your product whenever
possible. You should coordinate with your
prospect to make sure there is a projector
available if you are going to use visual aids.
 Also if you are going to use PowerPoint or any
visual aids, make sure to use them only when
necessary to supplement your presentation.
Remember you are conducting the
presentation, not the visual aids.
 Make it a point to get prospects involved in
your presentation.
 It is about engaging your prospect. Have them
plug things in, play with the buttons etc…
 You want the prospect to develop an
attachment with your product.
 Address any questions or objections that your
prospect may have.
 Once you have done this successfully, ask for
the sale! If the prospect says no or they want
to think about it, find out why.
Image via
akeynotespeaker.com

18. Handling Objections and Stalls
In sales, everyone has to be able to overcome objections in order to be
successful. The best way to overcome objections is to prevent them.
This can be done by providing a thorough sales presentation that covers
all the information about your products and services. Also it is imperative
that you address any questions the prospect has immediately. However,
objections will come up from time to time.
Some of these objections are real buying signals and others are just
stalls to put you off. As a Salesperson, you need to be able to tell the
difference. This will come with experience and by reading situational
cues in each selling situation.
Remember the prospect is buying you. In other words, you are part of
the offering. On the following slides, I have put together a
comprehensive list of objections that I encountered and overcame as an
outside sales representative in New York City.

19.  When you call on a prospect they say we are happy with our current supplier, this can
mean one of two things. The first is that they are truly happy and the second is that
they want you to get lost. (A stall) Obviously you need to be able to tell the difference.
You should be able to tell by a prospects body language and level of attention. If it is
the first scenario, you should find out what supplier they currently use. When the
prospect tells you it is your job to demonstrate how you are better.
 (I mentioned this in a previous post. Once you feel that you have demonstrated how
you are better, ask for a commitment or a small order. By asking for a small order, you
provide the prospect an opportunity to take a chance on you with minimal risk. I have
had a lot of success with approach.
 If the scenario is the second one, the prospect will not provide you with any
information or say that they deal with a company or person for 20 years and they do
not want to change. In this case, I would still ask for the order. Should the prospect
say he is not interested again, I would thank them for their time and leave. You should
call on this prospect a few more times and then only call on them every two months.
You need to focus your time on prospects that are receptive to you and your offering.

20.  When you hear this, what the prospect is really saying is I
am interested but I am not totally convinced. You should
ask the prospect what specifically about this offer do you
want to think over?
 Your goal here is uncover the real objection. If the
prospect gives you a specific answer, you are in business.
Address the objection and ask a closing question.
 Say if I can handle xyz, is there any reason why you would
not purchase this product.
 Should the prospect say, no you covered everything, this
means that they are either stalling, not interested in your
offering or will not tell you the real issue they have with
your product.
 If this is the case, ask when they plan on making a
decision and follow-up with them in that timeframe.

21.  This can be a stall to put you off. You will need to
determine this by the prospects body language and
the level of attention you receive. When the prospect
tells you this, you should ask for a meeting with the
prospect and the person they need to consult.
 Should the prospect agree to this, you have a chance.
 If they will not agree to a meeting, it is a stall and
they are not interested in your offering.
 However, I would still call on them a few more times.
 If you have no success, call on them every two
months.

22.  Emphasize the quality of your product along with
the level of service you will provide.
 Next, you should demonstrate to the prospect
how your offering’s total cost is less than the
competitors over the life of the product.
 Testimonials from loyal customers can also help
you here.
 By taking these steps you demonstrate that your
product is valuable and increase your chances of
making the sale. (Provided this is the real
objection.)

23.  If they say the money is not the budget, ask If
I can offer delayed billing or a payment plan
would you be able to take delivery?
 If the person needs approval from another
person, ask to present your product to that
individual with your prospects endorsement.
 Should the company really want and need
your product, they will find a way to pay for
it.

24.  If they say the money is not the budget ask if I can offer
delayed billing or a payment plan would you be able to
take delivery. If they say they are happy with their current
supplier be sure to show how you are better than they are.
I will further explain how to handle objections in my next
post. (It is important to note that in big-ticket sales, you
will have to make multiple presentations to multiple
decision makers. If that is the case make sure you are
there to present your product, do not leave this task to the
prospect!)
 After you leave, be sure to follow-up with a hand-written
thank you note. Even if you did not make the sale, it is
important to be grateful to the prospect for their time. You
want to stay in front of the prospect because things always
change. There is always a next time!

25.  I would apologize to the prospect about the
experience.
 Tell them you are the new rep and that you
will not let anything bad happen on your
watch.
 Ask them to give you a chance.
 This will not work all of the time.

26.  Handling Holiday Stalls
 You have to attempt to get around this objection. If your offer is time sensitive or
if you can provide a break on pricing or payment through a special promotion for
example no payments for 3 months; make your customer aware of them. However,
at this time of the year, you will get customers and prospects who just don’t want
to deal with you and your offering.
 As a sales rep, it is your job to be able to tell if the customer and prospect is
telling you the truth. In other words, you need to qualify their objections. This
means following up with every customer and prospect even when things look
bleak.
 Should your customers and prospects insist that call you them after the holidays, I
would find out which holiday they mean. Next, I would pin them down to a specific
day and time to call back.
 I recommend sending your customers and prospects a holiday card with a little
note reminding them about the appointment; stating how you look forward to
speaking with them on the specific date and time.
 Once this time comes, I would hold them to their promise.
 Deliver your presentation and ask for the business.

27.  During some cold calls to dental offices, I was not able to obtain the information
that I needed to overcome prospect objections. This occurred because the person I
was speaking to was not the decision maker.
 As a result, they were reluctant to talk for fear that they would say the wrong
things or give away to much information on their bosses business. Despite their
reluctance, I would continue to talk with them, build rapport and bond.
 I would ask to speak to the decision maker but many times they were not in the
office; or the person I was speaking with would not want to disturb them for fear
of getting reamed out when I left the office.
 When this was the case, I would use the Colombo technique to get the information
that I needed. I would turn to leave the office, put my hand on the doorknob and
ask who their supplier was or when I could catch the boss.
 Usually the person I was speaking with would provide me with a lot of information
about the prospect. Even more than I expected! This is because the person that I
was speaking with put their guard down because they thought I was leaving the
office so one last question didn't seem so bad.
 During other cold calls, I was able to speak to the decision maker. I would build
rapport with them and try to obtain as much information as I could to overcome
their objections.

28.  Before I can discuss how to handle difficult customers, the situation needs to be
put in context.
 In other words, why were the customers being difficult? Were they being difficult
because you screwed up their order or service call? Are they just miserable people?
 Does the customer constantly cancel their orders?
 What kind of relationship do you have with this customer?
 How important is your customer to your bottom line or monthly quota?
 Now I know that the first thing you want to do with a nasty customer is to tell
them off and fire them.
 My answer is to resist this urge.
 You need to remain calm in order to figure out what is causing the customers
hostility. If the customer is being hostile because you and your company screwed
up, take responsibility and fix the situation. I always did this during my time in
outside sales.
 If you have a customer who constantly wastes your time having you order items
only to cancel these orders,
 I suggest having a discussion with the customer to try and settle the issue at hand.
If this goes nowhere then fire the customer! (Provided they do a small amount of
business with you.)

29.  Should you have a customer that is nasty who has a
long standing relationship with the company, with
you and is crucial to you bottom line/ making your
sales quota, I suggest that you suck it up and find a
way to keep this customer happy. You do not want to
cut your nose to spite you face.
 Handling collections can also create difficulty
between you and your customer. However, this does
not have to be the case. Customers will usually not
pay an invoice because of the following reasons: the
product you sold them did not work, they lost their
invoice, they are having cash flow problems, or the
sales rep was too lazy to follow up with the
customers.

30.  If the product you sold them does not work, fix the issue
immediately. If the customer lost their invoice, provide
them with another copy and follow up. If the customer is
having cash flow problems work out a payment plan.
 If you are the sales rep follow up.
 If you’re the sales manager, lean on the rep. Remember to
be respectful to the customer. It is important to keep in
mind that you want to sell this customer items in the
future; not just collect a debt. (I discuss getting customers
to pay on time in a previous post.)
 Many difficult customers can be managed with great
customer service and follow through. However, some
cannot be dealt with and need to be fired. Firing
customers should be a last resort.

31.  Now you are asking how to deal with these people? Well the first thing
that I would suggest is to avoid them like the plague if possible.
 What do you do if you need their business? Too often people like this
hold the purse strings to that big commission, a promotion and make
the difference between a big income and a very small one. Think of Don
Drapers new boss Lou the Creative Director from Mad Men. He is a true
sociopath.
 How do you deal with such people? To deal with such people, you need
to make a judgment call it see if it is worth it for you. If you decide that
it is, you need to turn off your emotions and protect your health, put
your head down and do what they want. You can justify this as a
temporary situation or as a means to an end.
 Visualize yourself getting what you want as a result of servicing this
sociopath. If you could do this, you could effectively deal with these
sociopaths.
 Give them what they want so you could get what you want. This is not
easy to do.

32.  Everyone has that customer that is a late payer, nasty and/or a
time waster that they wished they could fire. In previous posts, I
have discussed how to deal with difficult
customers, sociopaths and how to get customers to pay on time.
However, there are some customers that need to be fired. The
question is how to determine which customers to fire. As Dr.
Tony Alessandra puts it, the good, the bad and the ugly. He goes
on to describe how companies rank their customers and fire the
bottom level of customers. You want to keep the good, try to
convert the bad into the good group and fire the ugly.
 But how do you determine which customers need to be fired?
During my time in outside sales, I was faced with this very
dilemma. I had the slow payer, the nasty customer, the customer
who always ordered something and returned it. To properly
assess which customers to give the ax to, you need to determine
how much business they provide you with and how much of your
time they take up.

33.  As a Sales Rep, or Business owner, time is money. You
want to spend most of your time with your good clients,
try to improve the relationship with the bad customers and
fire the worst customers or the ugly ones.
 Once you have this list, you want to get to work on firing
the worst customers by removing discounts and giving
priority to your better customers.
 I always asked my good customers if they had colleagues
who might need my services.
 However, I would wait until I have them delivered value
with my products and services before asking for referrals.
 By focusing on the best customers, improving your
relationship with the bad customers and firing the worst or
ugly customers; your sales will increase dramatically. My
numbers improved a lot when I used this method.
 How has firing your worst customers increased your sales?

34.  When we deal with customers, it is important to get them to pay their
invoices in a timely manner. What a timely manner means is dependent on
your company’s payment policy.
 Are these customers C.O.D or are they net 30, net 60, net 90 or longer?
 This payment structure is based on the length of the sales cycle.
 What can we do to make sure that customers pay their invoices on time?
 Develop and nurture the relationship with your customer.
 Do the following:
 1 When you complete the sale, put all details in writing. Agree on a method
of payment with your customer.
 2 Follow through with the implementation of the sale and check in with your
customer to make sure they a happy with their purchase.
 3 If the customer voices concerns or has an issue with your product, address
it immediately.
 4 Make sure that you honor the warranty and be willing to look up the
invoice for the customer if they do not have this.
 If you do these four things, your customers will pay 95 %percent of the time.
 I did these things but the customer will not pay?
 In a large organization, the accounts receivable manager will handle the
customer by sending past due notices and charging penalties.
 However if you work for a small company as I did, this will be entirely on
your shoulders.

35.  In any case, you as the sales representative should call and/or visit the customer.
When you follow-up with the customer, you should speak to the customer to try to
work out a solution to the get the invoice paid. Remember before you go in with
guns blazing that you want to keep this customer doing business with you. It is
important to be polite and never raise your voice or swear.
 Should the customer get nasty and state that they are not going to pay, you
should state the following: It is my job to get the company off your back. I am the
last nice guy they plan to send. Take care. After you deliver this line, head for the
door.
 This is a tip that I learned from Jim Cathcart and it works every time! I have used
this as an outside sales representative and the customer would say hold on what
do you mean? I would answer well after me, my manager has to get involved and
he charged fees and refers this to collection and credit agencies. If my manager
has to get involved it will get ugly.
 You are nice people and I would hate to see that happen. So what could we do
about this?
 Many would pay that day or within a week. In many instances, I was also able to
keep customer doing business with the company.
 You should not be afraid to ask customers for money that you are entitled to. Your
landlord and suppliers demands payment for services rendered and so should you!

36. As a result of my efforts implementing the strategies
my receivables (open invoices) were the lowest in the
company! This allowed me to earn more commissions,
make more sales and develop great relationships with
my customers. You can too!

37.  Once you have made a sale to a customer, it is important to follow-up with a
customer. As a Sales person it is important to deliver on the promises you make to
customers.
 This means checking in with the customer throughout the implementation of your
product or service and staying in touch with the customer after the sale. In this
post, I am going to discuss how to earn referrals and testimonials.
 During my time as an outside sales representative in New York City, making sales
was the highlight of my day. Once I made a sale, I was itching to ask for a referral
or a testimonial.
 In other words, I wanted to ask the customer the question Do you know of anyone
who could benefit from my product and services?
 However, once I made the sale my inner voice told me not to ask for a referral.
Now many people would want to ask because they feel that the customer bought
their products or services and this shows a sign of trust.
 But what did the customer really buy? Yes the customer bought you and your
products but the main thing that they bought was your promise to deliver value
through your offering.
 How can you ask someone to put their credibility on the line when you and your
solution are unproven? Yet many people do.

38.  Asking for a referral right after the sale is a mistake because you have not
delivered on your promise and you will seem ungrateful. The customer will
think that you are not interested in building a relationship and that you just
want to make a commission. Remember your job as a Sales person is to
build relationships with customers and to make sales by demonstrating your
products value to the customer. Once the sale is complete, it is your job to
deliver on the promises that you make to your customer.
 Now you are thinking well this is great but when do I ask for a referral? How
do I ask for a referral?
 I would ask the customer for a referral when you know the customer is
happy with the implementation of your product or service. In other words,
ask when you have delivered on your promise.

39.  If you offer more than one product or service try to cross sell or up
sell the customer first. See if the customer will use more of your
products or services or if the customer purchases more expensive
offerings from you. Once the customer purchases more items from
you, the customer is demonstrating that they like and trust you. This
is the time to ask for a referral. I usually waited until this point to
ask for a referral.
 I would ask the customer for a referral by first thanking them for the
business that they have provided and trusted me with. Then I would
ask if they knew of anyone like themselves that would benefit from
my offering. My experience has taught me that the customers were
always willing to offer themselves as a reference. Customers who
offered me a referral would let me use their names with other clients
or pass my name along to their peers.

40.  Testimonials are like referrals. Testimonials can come in a variety
of forms. There is a testimonial letter and a testimonial video.
The testimonial letter is when a customer writes a letter stating
that you did a wonderful job for them and endorses you.
 The digital version of this letter is the recommendation feature
on LinkedIn. The testimonial video is when a client speaks of
your performance in a short video segment.
 When asking for a testimonial, offer the customer the option to
choose the option they feel comfortable with. Also be sure to tell
them what specific aspect of your service you want them to focus
on.
 Once you receive a referral and/or testimonial, make sure to
thank your customer.
 Should you get new business through a referral, provide great
service otherwise your customer will not give you anymore! Keep
your customer informed on the status of the relationship with
the referral.
 This is how to earn a referral and testimonial in a nutshell

41. Image via salesforce.com
 According to
salesforce.com 84 % of
prospects respond to a
Sales Rep when they
are recommended by
someone they know.

42. Image via
andreapalten.com
 Using Marketing to
generate leads
 Digital
Marketing/Content
Marketing/Social Media
Marketing 360

43.  There are various various ways to obtain leads. Now that you
have collected all these leads, what do you do with them? In this
post, I will discuss how to qualify and close the leads you get.
 Prior to calling on the leads you need to do the following:
 1 Read the business cards looking for notes you jotted down
about where you met the contact and something about them. (A
phrase or keyword)
 2 Enter this information into your CRM software.
 3 Do this for all the leads you receive.
 Next you need to plan a form of action. You need to decide your
method of contact. Are you going to call the people on the
phone, email to follow-up, market to them through direct mail
or make a cold call in person disclosing that the prospect
contacted you about your product and services? The method that
you choose will depend on the kinds of product you sell and the
size of your business/territory.

44.  I am going to focus on the email follow-up and the in person cold calls.
 Following-up via email
 You should write the following:
 Dear Mr. Smith:
 Hi it’s Dan Galante. I hope you are doing well.
 We met at XYZ. You saw a demo of product xyz. /We discussed__________.
 I would like to speak with to know your thoughts. If you are interested or have
any questions email me at Dan@dangalante.com or call 1-555-555-5555.
 Thank you for your time and consideration.
 Sincerely,
 Dan
 Dan Galante
 This letter asks for feedback from the prospect without being too pushy.
 Based on the reception you get from this letter, you can qualify the prospect as
a Cold, Warm or Hot lead. This activity needs to be logged in your CRM
software. This letter could be followed-up with a phone call or an in person
cold call.


45.  Making an in person cold call
 I spoke about how to make a cold call in an earlier post.
 To do this successfully you would need to the following:
 1 Make friends with the Gate-keeper.
 2 Ask to speak with the decision maker.
 Being that you are following-up on a lead; you already know the decision maker
and can ask for them by name. When the gate-keeper asks why you are here to
see the decision maker you should say that they contacted you about your
product.
 If you get to speak the decision maker; build rapport and be ready to deliver
your sales presentation. Make sure to ask for the sale. Also be sure to qualify their
objections.
 If the decision maker is not around; try to get an appointment.
 Whether or not you make the sale, make sure to log this activity in your CRM
software.
 It is important to follow-up on all your sales activities and to keep records!
 This is how to qualify and convert leads to sales.

46.  Learning how to sell is not an easy process.
 It requires dedication and hard work.
 Follow the steps I have laid out and you will
have a great start. Be sure to work with your
manager and adapt these techniques to your
specific industry and products.
 Thank you for taking this journey with me!

47. Subscribe to my Blog
 Sales, Marketing and Social Media Today
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Visit my Website
http://dangalante.com/

48.  Dan is passionate about using Marketing to help
businesses drive sales. He has worked on various
marketing assignments that include a Start Up,
Political Campaign & a Digital Marketing Conference.
 Prior to Teaching, Dan served customers as an
Outside Sales & Marketing Representative in the
Dental industry.
 In this role, he taught and trained Dentists on the
company’s products and services using a consultative
selling approach.
 He also supported the company’s marketing efforts
at industry trade shows & in the field through lead
generation of Digital Technology along with large
Dental Equipment.
 He writes and publish a business blog on the topics
of Sales, Marketing & Social Media entitled Sales,
Marketing & Social Media Today.
 Dan is seeking a full time marketing role in New York
City. He is interested in roles in Direct, Digital,
Content & Social Media Marketing. If your company is
hiring for roles in these areas, contact him directly
via a free LinkedIn Message or email him
at Dan@DanGalante.com to set up interviews.