By Gary Walker, EVP of Channel Sales & Operations, CustomerCentric Selling® – The Sales Training Company
Here is an important statistic to remember: 92 percent of C-level executives never respond to email blasts or cold calls, but 84 percent will engage with a salesperson when referred by a coworker, customer or peer.
The frightening thing is that despite these findings, the salespeople who actually do prospect (those that don’t simply wait for marketing-generated leads or the phone to ring) continue to rely on cold calling and email blasts as their primary methods of prospecting and new business development.
One of my clients goes so far as to say that her salespeople hide behind email blasts and call it ‘prospecting’; it’s fast, easy, and the rejection is not personal. Some people may point to the 8 percent of C-level executives that do engage and say, “See, it works.” However, in light of the above statistic, where do you think you should be spending your valuable prospecting time?
The fact is this: salespeople need to use multiple methods in parallel to constantly build and maintain their pipeline to optimum strength.
If you need some help figuring out what to use and how to use them, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for some sales prospecting training. We can help.
