Not so long ago, prospecting and lead generation seemed much easier than it is now: go to some

trade shows, send out some direct mailers or e-mail blasts, do some telephone prospecting, and

convert the resulting hot leads into sales.

Well, it wasn’t quite that easy, but it sometimes seems that way in comparison to today’s tough

selling environment.

How tough is it today? It was reported that 52% of sales reps in the US did not achieve

their sales quota in 2011 (CSO Insights, 2012).

What are some of the factors making prospecting more difficult?

Many buyers’ budgets have shrunk. Sellers’ competition has increased. New technology such as

e-mail filters that automatically put e-mails from unknown senders in the “junk folder”, and an

increased reliance on voicemail to screen calls have made it much more difficult for a

salesperson to get through to a possible prospect for even a brief introductory phone call.

Some tele-prospecting firms have reported that it typically takes an average of 10

attempted calls just to get a decision-maker on the telephone to schedule an initial

meeting.

At a typical firm with 100-500 employees an average of seven decision-makers is involved in

most major (>$25,000) purchasing decisions today.

If there are seven decision-makers, and it takes an average of 10 call-attempts to get a

meeting, this means that a salesperson must make an average of 70 call-attempts with the

various decision makers– just to schedule an initial meeting with them.

It has been estimated that 700 attempted calls over many months may be needed to

complete just one sale.

Most quota-carrying salespeople simply do not have the time to spend on these non-selling

activities.

What’s the solution?

Begin adopting a Sales 2.0 model for prospecting and lead generation. The essence of Sales 2.0

is to offload the non-selling aspects of a salesperson’s job to a highly-trained, but less costly,

sales development representative; and utilize enabling technologies such as social media and the

Web to make it easier for sales and sales development to work most productively.

First, get your salespeople some sales development assistance, either internal or external, to help

them spend their valuable sales time more productively.

Second, make sure your sales development resources know how to use social media marketing to

get through all of the barriers like automated switchboards, voicemail call-screening with

voicemail, and e-mail filters.

When used correctly, social media marketing has been shown to help reduce the number

of call-attempts needed to complete a sale from 700 to as few as 10, and shorten the sales

cycle considerably, from months to weeks.

Adopting a Sales 2.0 model for prospecting and lead generation can help you

• Increase your sales revenues

• Accelerate your sales cycle

• Convert more leads to sales

• Reduce selling costs

• Increase sales productivity

• Free up your salespeople to do more selling

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NOTE: Partner Pro Services can support your salespeople with a highly effective customized

Sales 2.0 strategy, sales development resources, and a lead generation plan to help you increase

the effectiveness of your sales process, shorten the length of your sales cycle, and increase your

sales revenues.

Please contact us for a no-cost, no-obligation discussion.