Today's article is by Sam Richter. He's a featured speaker at my FREE Sales Productivity Summit on March 17th at 12 - 2 pm ET.
He'll be talking about how to quickly get the scoop on your prospects with free online resources. Register now.
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Know More! Sales Intelligence
According to a recent study by CSO Insights, Sales Intelligence is one of the most effective tools for improving a salesperson's and a company's sales effectiveness.
When a salesperson understands the prospect - the company, the industry focus, the issues the prospect is facing, and even details about the individual with whom the salesperson is meeting - the salesperson is able to customize the presentation and conduct a meaningful sales call.
In fact, the study showed that companies that made Sales Intelligence easily accessible were two times more effective than companies that “winged it.”
Yet, according to the study, fewer than 10% of companies provide their sales reps the training and resources necessary to conduct Sales Intelligence. Why? Three reasons:
- Many companies still sell the same way they did five, 10, or even 50 years ago. Here's a list of prospects, start smiling and dialing.
- Most companies think that salespeople know how to find their own information. Everyone knows how to use Google, right?
- And finally, almost all companies have sent their salespeople to sales training courses or bought them sales success books-they teach this stuff, right?
Unfortunately, the old ways of doing things don't work anymore. Buyers are too busy, and they don't have time to waste with uninformed salespeople.
Yes, most salespeople do know how to use Google, but only at a base level, typically to find a company's Web site. When was the last time a company posted on their home page in a big yellow star burst: “Click Here to find out all our key business issues.”
And the problem with most sales training courses and books is that they teach the theory of information importance, but they don't teach HOW to find it.
For example, here's a Google search tip you probably didn't know.
When you enter the name of a person in Google and you're likely to get thousands of results. However, use the following technique and you're likely to find good information on the person you're going to call.In the Google search form, enter the person's name, but put it within quotation marks.
Then add terms and phrases like “annual report,” “press release” etc., with each phrase separated by an OR in all upper case. When you put words within quotation marks, you're telling Google that those words must be treated as a single phrase, in that exact order.
When you use OR in all upper case, you're telling Google that either one or both of the words/phrases you entered must appear somewhere in the results.
For example, the Google search query (“Jill Konrath” + book OR training) will locate information about Jill and her books and training courses.
A Google search on (“Sam Richter” + “annual report” + donate OR volunteer OR sponsor OR donation) will locate results where I'm shared this tip with others, but more important, you'll find annual reports where I'm listed as having donated time or money.
A simple tip-yes. However, it's one that will cut down your searching time, and you'll get better, more relevant results.
I look forward to participating in Jill's upcoming webinar series, and sharing more tips like the one above. I'm looking forward to helping you Know More!
Sam Richter is the founder of the #1 rated Know More! sales training program. This is just one of the more than 80 people, company, and industry information search tips and resources you'll find in his top-selling and award-winning sales book, Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling.
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