Imagine this situation: a VP of Sales says “go to every trade show and collect every business card. You now own these accounts”. That same VP then forbids any traveling.

At the same time, the high tech company you just joined is trying to double its quarterly revenue by doubling the number of sales reps it employs—every quarter!

I call that kind of pressure ‘creative tension’. You may have more choice
words for it.

It was in this environment that I made 10,000 contacts in a 12-month period, more than in any of the fifteen years I spent selling technology for IBM, Nortel and Ericsson,

Here’s how I did it.

My first 4 weeks were spent in Silicon Valley learning the technology and understanding the marketplace. After surviving a stolen wallet (Kim Campbell at the Canadian consulate helped me get back across the border), I returned home to begin growing my sales funnel.

That funnel started with the ‘dog-pile’, an assortment of rejected accounts scattered across a multitude of spreadsheets.

For obvious reasons, the aroma of the ‘dog-pile’ was not pleasant, but I needed to contact them all; keep in mind, I wasn’t traveling and I owned a quarterly revenue quota.

Every morning I would spend 3-plus hours scouring the ‘dog-pile’, surfing the prospect’s website and then initiating contact. It was tough work, there was a reason these prospects were in the ‘dog-pile’. Sometimes when I came upon a prospect with potential for quarterly revenue I learned that it was owned by an incumbent sales rep and the prospect should have not been in the ‘dog-pile’ after all. Urgh!!

Painstakingly, my funnel began to grow. I fought the ‘tension’ by submitting proof of meetings with prospects at trade shows (23 meetings was my high, special thanks to MBA business case analysis). Soon I had a positive track record and became a frequent flyer; enabling me to obtain business cards at trade shows.

Although my funnel never exceeded 1,000 prospects and despite a stolen laptop (from a trade show of course), I used a communication strategy that I perfected at Nortel and Ericsson to make 10,000 contacts between May 2000 and April 2001. I’ll talk more about that strategy in a future article.

Breaking down the 10,000
My contacts were built from at least 7,000 phone calls. The balance came through brochure mailings and email.

The brochure mailings were the easiest. After a trade show I would organize ‘stuffing parties’ where all the software developers and technical team received a free lunch for inserting 10 or so feature sheets into a 9” x 12” envelope.

While they ate (please take note of the double meaning of the word ‘stuffing’), I hand-addressed the envelopes and deposited them into the mailing room. It is easy to make 100-plus of these in an afternoon.

Individualized emails were best done on airplanes, or while waiting in an airport. Often I would re-send an email from my SENT basket while changing the first name and adding customized text. Although it was a repetitive task, use of short-cut keys (remnants of my software engineering degree) and a great memory helped differentiate these messages from mass distribution e-newsletters and spam.

Phone calls, from both my cell and office extension, required an ‘in-the-office-presence’. I didn’t call-after hours and I always left voicemail messages. Fortunately I had more accounts in California then Ontario so I had an extra 3 hours per day to connect with people. You would be surprised how many contacts you can make in California at 8pm EST.

The more things change…
Today, 10,000 contacts can be made with the click of a mouse. But keep in mind these two age-old tenets of a successful sales person:

Know as much as you should about the prospect (at that given point in time).
Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up

In short, individualized contacts, that you are proud to make, will help you achieve and surpass your sales quota.

My next entry will introduce PRM: Prospect Relationship Management.

Gerry Gabon
President
Revenue Confidence
www.revenueconfidence.com