Saturday, August 25, 2012

Networking and Sales: Securing Leads From Existing Customers

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Though maintaining an existing relationship is often one of the more important considerations for people who are in sales jobs, there are ways that they can use their clients to generate more business and help them find new leads.

Relationships are everything in sales, and a representative needs to be taught the correct way to extract information from their existing clients that could potentially help to lead to new business opportunities.

A sales management team needs to sit down with employees and explain exactly what goes into networking with existing clients, as this is often an area that can be rife with potential to ruin an already developed relationship. At the same time, representatives need to see each buyer as a way to find new business.

A sales management team should teach their employees to use their relationships with clients as a leveraging point for obtaining leads and referrals for new business in a manner that is both respectful and slightly timid. Because of the implications of this move, a manager needs to hammer home the fact that reps need to tread lightly in these situations.

Having a reference from a fellow professional is one of the easier ways to bypass the formalities that exist between salespeople and customers, as reps can be let in the back door and placed right in front of a buyer.

If the buyer is able to give a reference to another company within the same vertical or sector, the rep could have an easy in to another firm that will generate significant revenue for the sales operation.

By creating a partnership with a trustworthy individual in a given market, a representative may be able to cement their place among salespeople in the industry as one of the go-to people.

There are also relationships that exist between salespeople in different industries, and these individuals may both have leads that will help the other person's business.

Mutually beneficial relationships are usually rare in sales, but when they do exist, both parties can see dramatic increases in the viability of their leads. Bridging the client-representative gap is one of the biggest challenges facing salespeople, and any help to get around this obstacle is welcomed.

Reps need to be taught how to find people who are serious about these types of relationships and are relatively exclusive in their area. This way they can establish and provide complementary services or products in a mutually beneficial way. A high level of trust is required, but that core synergy is going to be one of the strongest referral opportunities that you're going to get and reps should learn to not pass up these chances.

No matter how much a representative may trust another person, there needs to be demonstrated value on the part of both participants, or someone may begin to take advantage of the situation. Asking for a referral should only be done by an individual that has earned the right to ask another industry rep, as the relationship is based on both people bringing something substantial to the table.

Reps also have to be wary as to the type of business that they are given a referral to, as there are companies that operate in different manners based on the industry they are in or the size of their operation.

If the referral is to a small business, the owner could be extremely busy and will be upset with receiving a sales call that they aren't expecting. This type of correspondence could erase any chance of securing their business, regardless of the referral.?

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Source: http://www.resolutionsystemsinc.com/sales-management/networking-and-sales-securing-leads-from-existing-customers/

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