Know-How Exchange : Other

basis,

Simon, Telemoxie and Jbtron gives great advice expecially the act software to keep in contact. A good sales person has to follow up, follow through, keep in contact and keep customer profiles. I have spent over seven years in sales and there are some great things right here on KHE. Put the word Sales in the search box at the top right of the screen and go for it. You can also read some previous suggestions that I've made to others about sales just by clicking on the following.

www.369da.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=2093

www.369da.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=2042

But Jbtron gives good advice and I would try that website and the above advice. "Be Creative and Make It Happen". I know you can. Is there anything I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE

A handoff from "inside sales" to a salesperson or technical person has to be done carefully. If someone has spent time building rapport, we certainly don't want to have the prosect feel they were left at the altar. In some cases, a conference call to make an introduction might be a good step. In my business, I manage that "hand-off" process every day.

When do you hand a lead over to the next level? There is no simple answer, lots will depend on the type of customer, type of project, even the current workload of the sales and technical staff. Generally speaking, over time, prospects qualify themselves. If they are asking general questions (where are you located, what work have you done, can you show me samples) then they have have a mild degree of interest.

On the other hand, if the prospect starts asking very specific questions (do have have experience in this industry, have you worked with version 3.7 of software such and such, how would you handle this problem, do you work on a retainer) then I say something like, "You know, I think I know the answer - but I want to be sure you get the best answer. Would you like to talk with..." - and see what they say. They will either say, "No, not really, I was just curious". Or they will say, "Yes" - and be a bit more qualified.

My approach is to be sure the prospects have the information they need. If they need a brochure for the files, I can handle that just fine. If they need detailed info or a quote, that's when I refer prospects to my clients.

By the way, here's a pretty good article reccomending a dedicated ongoing program to avoid the "revenue rollercoaster":
//www.369da.com/3/doerr2.asp

And regarding your 2nd option, regarding building relationships with other agencies and complementary companies: this is a great idea, but it doesn't happen just by snapping your fingers, or by writing a line item in your strategic plan. One needs to build a list, make some calls, send some emails, follow up, set some appointments... and you can outsource this project as well, while you focus on serving your clients and billable work.