How to Attract Better Prospects

What are the best ways and the best practices for attracting better prospects for your business? 40% of sales leaders claim that their top challenge to reaching their goals is to generate enough qualified leads through prospecting. A qualified lead is basically any company or individual who could become your potential customer based on certain criteria and the information they have provided. Note that there are no standard criteria for all types of businesses. You can develop your own criteria based on a number of factors. Sales teams want to focus on qualified leads in order to increase the success… Continue Reading

10 Ways to Make a Bad First Impression During Business Outreach

For people who are uncomfortable with direct sales contact, conducting business outreach might be a compelling alternative to cold-calling; however, when adopting business outreach strategies, it's crucial to take into account the impact a “strategy” may have on your brand. As an introvert, I've spent the majority of my entrepreneurial life mastering the techniques of inbound marketing. But avoiding business outreach forever isn't sustainable — especially in the early days where SEO is practically non-existent and your social-media followers primarily represent your "friends and family" circle. Research led by ValueSelling Associates, Inc reports that 48% of sales professionals are afraid… Continue Reading

5 Powerful Sales Prospecting Strategies for SMEs

I remember landing my first consulting clients by sales prospecting through the following channels: Referral LinkedIn Cold outreach The first one came from a friend providing consulting in a different field. He did reach out to me and asked if I was interested - so that worked out pretty well (a warm reference plus a vetted client). #2 was through LinkedIn. I signed up in 2007, joined a few groups, added the folks in my circle. I met some local peers who were building a community of a sort - similar to what “LinkedIn Local” is nowadays. #3 was a… Continue Reading

9 Misconceptions By Clients Looking For a Web Platform

The sales process for web development businesses may be confusing. There are endless misconceptions we've seen during sales calls and presales meetings, some more common than others. What Makes Web Development Confusing? Unlike buying a physical product or a service that brings an obvious impact on a physical item (like your home or a car), gauging work quality or time frames is nearly impossible. I've discussed the challenges of estimates several times and this is the leading reason why 95% of our business now is formed by WordPress retainers. Fixed-fee estimates are hardly successful. Tons of unknowns are revealed in… Continue Reading