Climbing the Contact Tree

In these challenging economic times, developing new business is more important than ever. You can no longer rely on run-rate business to keep you afloat. Even your most faithful customers are feeling the pinch and delaying new purchases – or cancelling programs altogether – out of an “abundance of caution.” So, if you want to stay in business, it is time to start prospecting for new business, because – believe it or not – there are still people out there who are ready to buy what you have for sale. All you need to do is find them

According to Anthony J. Urbaniak, a prospect is a person or institution that can both benefit from buying the product or service and afford to buy it. The process of identifying good prospects is called “qualifying” the prospect.

• The person or organization must be able to benefit from the product or service; those who have no use for it are not qualified prospects.
• Also, no matter how badly a prospect may want the product or how much they can benefit from it, if they cannot afford it, they are not qualified prospects.

Once you have identified a list of good prospects, or leads, the qualifying process begins in earnest. The qualifying process can be divided into two basic stages: pre-call research that will help you begin to develop a profile of the needs, interests and capabilities of your prospect, followed by creating the best strategy for the manner in which you will conduct the initial contact with the prospect. In the end, you can’t be 100% certain the prospect is qualified until you begin to interact with your contact. The art and science of prospecting relies heavily on strategies for making this initial call.

Developing a Contact Tree

Sometimes sales reps overlook the fact that developing an effective contact list plays out in stages. The goal, of course, is to get in front of the decision maker, but in many cases that person may be shielded from calls like yours. In all likelihood, you will need to identify and cultivate relationships with a sequence of contacts within the organization that will allow you to identify and explore all the opportunities within that organization while you are working your way up to the decision maker. Start by creating a contact tree that would also include spots for:

• Informational Contacts – These are contacts who can explain to you the organizational and decision-making layout of the organization. For instance, if you are selling advertising space on a website, it would be very helpful to know who in the organization is responsible for making those buys. It would also be helpful to know the nature of the team members who surround and influence that Decision Maker, so you can make contact with them and get some quick background regarding how they view the advertising needs of the organization. Usually, Information Contacts have all or most of that information at their fingertips, and if you are personable and professional, they will be happy to provide you with all the information you need. These are also the easiest contacts to make, and can range from the frontline receptionist who answers the phone to administrative assistants of mid and upper level managers.

• Influencer Contacts – As mentioned above, Influencers are those team members who surround and support the Decision Maker you would like to reach. While they are also likely to be busy people, they may be more ready to speak with you for a few minutes than would be the Decision Maker, especially if you make it clear that you are only seeking to understand the needs of the organization and help them to understand your products and services a little better. These contacts are likely to provide you the most direct insights to help you qualify the prospect, since they will have direct, first hand knowledge of the organization’ processes, needs and goals that can help you determine if what you are offering is a fit for them. If it is, these contacts may become allies for your cause as you seek to gain a hearing with the Decision Maker, thus the designation, Influencer Contact.

• Decision Maker Contact – Of course, your main goal is to effectively interact with the Decision Maker once you get their attention. However, keep in mind that you may have to climb the entire Contact Tree in order to earn a productive conversation with the Decision Maker.

So, how do you start climbing this contact tree? This is where all the great new Sales 2.0 technology can really make things easy. Once you figure out which organizations you want to penetrate, you can go to a website like Data.com, which allows you to identify and export contact information about the key players in practically any company – sometimes for free. Also, sites like Linked In provide a process whereby you can work within your network to get people to introduce you to key contacts you want to meet in your target organizations. Once you have your contact tree clearly defined, you can start climbing that tree and uncovering the information you need to customize your proposal and win the new business that is ripe for the picking.

Quick Tip for Reaching the Decision Maker

When you are ready to reach out to the decision maker, your efforts may still be thwarted by the fact that decision makers are surrounded by gatekeepers and mired in meetings. Boost your chances of getting through to the decision maker by calling either before or after hours, or as close to these times as possible. Decision makers often come in early or stay late so they can catch up on work before their hectic schedule kicks in. Also, calling at lunch may pay off. The decision maker is less likely to be in a meeting then, and often the gatekeeper is away at lunch!

Baker Communications offers leading edge training solutions for sales makers and sales managers that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.

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