My way of Cold-reach-outs

This post is in continuation my previous post here.

 

1.       Identify the company: Figure out the vertical/domain/technology. Based on this shortlist I use the database to get the names of company

2.       Identify the person: I use Linked-in premium to figure out the persons who meet my criteria for reach out.

3.       Identify the contact ID: Here is where Steps 3 & 4  of previous post come handy. And as mentioned earlier these days I prefer step 5 (refer previous post) which gives results in a jiffy

4.       Reach out on Mail: Use the email campaign execution tool to write to them

5.       Follow-ups: Follow-ups are necessary and not an options. The mode of follow-up depends on the industry/target audience. Sometimes it is emails and in other cases it is telephonic. Here’s where Skype credits come handy.

6.       Schedule a Intro call: Ask for a mutually convenient date/time for an intro call and schedule a conference event using Goto Meeting

7.       Maintain History: From my experience I realized sales happen to you over a period of time. You might forget the prospects but they remember you and reach out. At that time, past recorded history from CRM tools come handy.

Happy Selling!!

My list of Digital Tools for Selling

As every other list, each individual has his own preferences. This is my list of tools which help in aiding sales.

1.       Database: List of companies which use the technology or which are in domain you are targeting. I hate databases like Hoover’s, D&B, Zoom Info, which charge a bomb but still vague. For me Builtwith is the best. True, it just gives the name of the company and not the person details. But the later is for the other tools to figure out. Sometimes specific domain data lists like IRCE for ecommerce, tech crunch for funded start-ups are better.

2.     Linked-in Premium: Yes the free will take you somewhere. But with time breathing on your neck and a big target, you know you need to chase decisively and big. So cannot manage with limited search options, limited in-mails and limited transparency into network

3.     Email Permutator: This is a freely available email permutation provider. You can download one here.

4.      Rapportive: Firstly this helps me understand the person: where is he from, his time zone, what’s his education background, what his work profile. Second I also use this to check which randomly generated email id is the right email ID. (More in point 4)

5.       Salesloft: This is the newest addition to my list. This can combine and execute the job of 3 & 4 and give results in a jiffy.

6.      Email Campaign execution tools: A lot of tools are available, but I prefer lead squared. Lead squared gives a beautiful way of checking the prospect effectiveness by way of a weighted score.

7.       Track Clicks: I have been using lead-squared to track the click rates. Again these clicks are tracked and added to score of prospect effectiveness.

8.       CRM: At small numbers, leads can be managed on excel. But this will become cumbersome within a week. I like using Zoho CRM.

9.       Skype Credits: If I am calling outside my geography, calling sometimes might be expensive. Here Skype credits come handy

10.   Conference Bridge: I am comfortable using Go ToMeeting. But I believe webex or any other conference event organizer is fine. If I am on budget I use a combo of Skype and Join.me

Happy Selling!!