Qualifying sales prospects more important post COVID-19; how to prepare

Published on June 8, 2020 in Vending Times

As locations start to reopen for business following the COVID-19 quarantines, now’s a good time to strategize your sales calls.  

Companies that do their homework about their prospective customers before calling them usually have better results, but in an environment where businesses are in a reopening mode, customer research is especially important. 

Businesses that employ people need refreshment services, but they might have other priorities at the present time. In addition, they might not know how many employees they will be rehiring. How can you best “break the ice”? 

It’s all about the “warm” call over the “cold call”: research your prospects. Research will allow you to have a better understanding of the company you’re calling on, which will lead to a successful conversation with your prospect. 

This information will let you personalize your pitch to create a unique connection and build rapport with each prospect. Not only will you grab the prospect’s attention by “due diligence” demonstrated, but they will be more likely to listen to what you have to say. Perhaps even more important, research (i.e., qualifying) will offer insight into whether a prospect remains pursuable. 

Online research 

There is plenty of publicly available information online. Researching a company on LinkedIn is one effective way to acquire valuable information. For example, the company page typically showcases their services and industry-related articles, as well as a list of their awards and achievements. 

Get creative with finding your state’s list of “best places to work” — a great target market for new breakroom services — for companies that value their work culture and employee experience. 

Browse the company website to explore their mission statement, published blog content, or a staff list. This staff list may identify the decision-maker’s name and title, which will help in determining who the right contact is.  

Try to find relevant information to help you paint a picture of their current breakroom situation. You can use Google Earth to look at their building and parking lot to confirm or deny estimates on staff size.  

Based on industry, identify typical shifts and hours of operation. The industry will also give insight into whether you lead in with a coffee service, vending, micro market or pantry service track on a phone call or email. 

Trucking companies and janitorial services may not have on-site staff to warrant installation of vending machines. Accounting firms and marketing agencies of almost any size are better suited for a coffee service program versus vending services. 

And in some situations, depending on the locale of nearby food establishments, micro markets may or may not be a popular answer. These nuances will help you segment and target how you approach these prospects. 

Research through engagement 

Not every not piece of information is going to be readily available on your prospect’s website or online. Your company’s CRM or prospect spreadsheet should contain a record of previous phone or email interactions. 

To qualify a target, search through your notes for qualification data points, such as onsite staff size, whether they buy the services you are selling, satisfaction of the variety in their vending machines or coffee program, etc. 

No prior notes? Start building them by making some phone calls. This can effectively further help you set up a personalized talk track, which will lead to a warmer call. 

Tips for setting up your call 

Tip 1: Time is precious. Allow yourself time to research information that will be most crucial for the call. You may find yourself losing track of time during this process, so try to avoid spending too much time on one company. 

Just like the Law of Diminishing Returns, there will come a point where you’ve exhausted all research tactics and no new information is being found. To maintain a solid level of productivity and efficiency, limit your research to a set interval of time — typically a few minutes per company, especially if you’re working from a large list. Spend more time on the top 20% of your targets. 

Tip 2: Ask or confirm. While contacting your prospect, ask or confirm the key points necessary to qualify a target, starting with the gatekeeper. Note that not everything online is accurate, so you will have to validate the information you found. 

For the information you don’t have yet, create a talk track that will allow you to acquire those details. It’s better to disqualify them early on than to waste hours prospecting incorrect targets. 

Tip 3: Listing out information. Once you gather your data for the company, organize your findings. Outlining your information in easy to follow bullet points will help your conversation flow smoothly. Highlight keywords that may jog the prospect’s memory on previous interactions. Mark the information that has been confirmed. Since you most likely have many different prospects, adding this research to your CRM is a good way to stay organized. 

At the very least, work from an excel spreadsheet, with a notes column and “last result/next step” column to add your data to. 

In this new age of sales, research is king. The more you know about a prospect and their company, the easier it is to create an engaging call that will, in time, lead to success. 

A well-timed call coupled with valuable information to show you’re well-researched will yield more opportunities, stronger relationships, more sales appointments, and finally, more sales. 

Amanda Puppo is the owner of 19-year-old NJ-based MarketReach Inc., which specializes in setting qualified sales meetings for breakroom providers.