Sales Business Development Plan For Getting Appointments By Phone

Here’s is a sales business development plan for building a base of qualified sales prospects you can develop into becoming your customers. This strategy is simple, straightforward and easy to implement. But it works.
What’s the first goal of sales business development by phone?  Effective sales qualification by phone begins with simple information gathering.

That means finding out if the person you are contacting is a qualified sales prospect. [singlepic id=61 w=220 h=140 float=left] Your cold calling goal: find the folks interested in your offer.

These are the qualified sales prospects. How to do it? Ask for a show of hands. There, that’s the goal of your introductory cold call — (1) finding the right sales prospects;   (2) separating them from the crowd; then (3) qualifying their interest level in what you can do for them.
NOTE:  See below: How Do I Qualify Prospects? From there your follow-up calls take over. These calls create trust, build your credibility and forward the sales process.

Also, sales business development by phone  is a form of direct marketing. And building a highly targeted database is the key to any successful direct [singlepic id=74 w=220 h=140 float=right]marketing campaign. Therefore, view each call as a means for fine tuning your database. It’s a work in progress that never ends!

For Effective Sales Business Development By Phone Do I Need A Script?

 Always use a script. It keeps you focused and in control of the call. Make your introduction short, simple, to the point — something you can deliver in twenty seconds…without being rushed.

How do I qualify Prospects?

Conclude your introduction with a simple “yes” or “”no” question.  How your prospect answers will indicate if they are[singlepic id=64 w=190 h=110 float=right] a qualified prospect…or a prospect you want to drop.
Remember that crowded room example? Your question is asking for a show of hands. Some folks will raise their hands, some will not.  Your appointments develop from the folks who raise their hands.
How do I know my Script is working?
A: That’s easy — delivering your “pitch” without interruptions from your prospect is a sign that your script is working  — keeping you and your prospect focused on your delivery.
OK to read my Script…or memorize it?
Reading is fine. The secret is making your delivery appear unrehearsed.
Follow Winston Churchill. His speeches are among the greatest in the English language. He toiled endless hours over their every detail.
Yet when delivering them he appeared completely at ease…  almost casual in his presentation.  Hence, his quip that “The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.”

Unsettling News For Old Way Sales Business Development 

This article in FORBES may unsettle your sales qualification strategy.
Reading it may force you to rethink how you go about getting and keeping customers.

Prospecting In The Age Of The Customer[singlepic id=102 w=300 h=220 float=right]

Called 7 NEW RULES FOR PROSPECTING IN THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER it tells of the shift in the marketplace of business to business sales.
Buyers no longer need you the seller in front of them to make intelligent buying decisions.
Your importance  to a buyer is vastly diminished if you follow old way sales business development.
Forget prospecting for appointments.
The digital age has pushed appointment setting off the high ground it held for so many years.
Appointment setting is now a loser’s game.
Sure, face-to-face appointments matter…but their significance in the sales cycle has faded.
The importance of this dynamic for anyone in B2B sales and marketing cannot be understated.
Bottom Line: If you are prospecting for appointments  you are playing a loser’s game.[singlepic id=106 w=220 h=140 float=right]
Get over it. Or get yourself another job — but not in sales.
With that in mind my page on prospecting for new clients also may be worth a look.

Improve Your Sales Business Development By Phone

Get updates on ways sales business development by phone can help your business grow —especially in this economy. Also, go here for DMA 2012 response rate reports for lead generation marketing media. Plus this Advertising Age update on B2B phone marketing.

Also, if you do nothing else today click and read this:

7 New Rules for Prospecting In The Age of The Customer