Every sales person wants to hit that "home run" and land a Fortune 500 company. The fact is, you have better luck of landing a mom and pop shop. There are more of us out there then the "Whales". Plus, would you rather have 1 account that you are on call, nonstop, give endless concessions to, maybe have to bring in more people in order to handle that account, and that account will be so important to your employer, they will probably eventually take it out of your hands.
Something I learned along the way is I would rather have 100 small companies over 1 large one. You lose on of those smaller companies, you see a slight dip in your check, but easily overcome it. You have 1 big one and lose it, it could put you on the street.
As a salesperson, how do you open the door at a mom and pop?
Be prepared: I get about 70 calls a day from people that know zero about me or what I do. They think I am going to give them everything they need to see if they have something to offer me. I am a busy person. It is not my job to educate you.
Listen: This is a big one. I answer my phone 100% of the time with "This is Chris". If your first words after that is " Can I talk to Chris"?, our conversation is over before it even began. Of we get to the point of us actually discussing business and I start telling you about my companies, do not over-talk me. In conversation, you take turns. If we are talking and you ask me something that I have already disclosed, like the number of trucks I have, that tells me I am just another cold call.
Patience: if you think one 2 minute call is all it is going to take, you still do not know me and you are wasting both of our times.
Empathy: I need to get that feeling that my company will be as important to you as it is for me. My insurance rep took on my company when we had 5 trucks, and a couple of trailers. He bent over backwards to take care of us. Now we have about $10 million in assets and still growing and until he retires, he will be our guy.
I would love to see the success rate of people make 20-100 cold calls a day. What is it, less then 5%? That is like the old saying of throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.
I would suggest doing 5-10 calls a day. Doing research on who you are calling. Don't expect a yes right away. This will get you more of my time on the phone. It may not be a yes today, but it certainly is not a permanent "NO".
cover your saas | assistant golf coach to the NDSU women's team
2moHave had many conversations about this, mostly when I was working in SaaS Professional Services. Do our clients want a 7/10 team who's going to be on time for a meeting every time, or a 10/10 team who you're not sure is going to be there. Easy decision at the end of the day.