Leads: How to generate leads – tons of leads!

This is a small lesson taken from the ISSFA Premium Surface Sales Seminar. To learn more about it, go to www.issfa.org and click on education.

 

 

The BIG SECRET that separates good sales people from the not so good salespeople is that the good ones simply know where and how to find pre-qualified potential customers. They generate and close leads while the others sit and wait for something to happen.

 

Here are sources of prospects for solid surface salespeople you can begin to work, immediately. They are not arranged in any order of importance. Begin by selecting a source that you are comfortable with, and work it until it becomes Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

 

These are prospects, HOT PROSPECTS, who are going to buy from someone – it may as well be you.

 

Walk-ins	People come to you: q   because their contractor told them to q they want to know what you do and how you do it q   advertising drove them in Have you ever thought of your sales presentation when they arrive? Have you taught it to others in your business?
Building Contractors	They need countertops, vanities and surfaces fabricated and supplied on a recurring basis.
Your Sphere of Influence	Friends, coworkers, family members, total strangers, anyone you meet is either a potential buyer or your “message carrier”. Have a process for telling everyone you know what you do. Tell them what you do and ask if they are interested.  Do your friends and associates know what you do?
Focused Wondering Around	Go to construction sites and introduce yourself. Don’t be shy. If you can’t do it face-to-face, do it at night when no one is working. Take the name of the contractor/home owner and send them a letter of introduction, inviting them to come to your business.
Dodge Reports	This is a no-brainer. Dodge (an dozens of other services like them) gives you a list of contractors and subs who are building in your market place. They give you everything you need to know. Go on line – no travel is required: http://www.fwdodge.com/ and learn about Dodge Reports. They should be a very important part of your lead generation system.
The County Court House	New construction and remodeling begins at the Court House. Every job needs a permit and every permit pulled needs what you have. Go on line – usually no travel is required.
Direct Mail Electronic Mail FAX Broadcasting	Where can you find the highest concentration of highly motivated buyers? VIA Mailing Lists (It is the mailing list …….!) For about $0.10 a lead you can get the name, address, telephone, fax and email addresses of every contractor, remodeler, contractor, designer, property manager, specifier, architect, etc. in your marketing area.  Direct Mail allows you to tell every demographic in your marketplace what you do, and you never have to leave your desk.
Associations &Trade Groups	Get a listing of all the trade associations, professional groups and trade organizations in your area where your buyers are likely to show up. Examples are: PHCC, NARI, NHBA, NKBA, ASID, IIDA, AIA, and your Chamber of Commerce.  Get involved with the membership committee, as it will give you a pleasant reason to call on every member. Just showing up at meetings and events will put you in front of many qualified buyers. All you need to do is show up, shake hands and tell people what you do. This is the sales equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel.
People Events	Tell people what you do and who you do it to. Make what you do special and they will beat a path to your door. Make what you do spectacular and they will call for a private appointment or stand in line forever to see you.  Open houses, grand openings, show homes, home & garden shows, hosting events in your showroom, are examples of how to get people coming to, and talking about, YOU.
Phonebooks	There are a ton of well organized leads in every phonebook in the country. This is a business develop bonanza. Just go to the section of your interest and contact the potential buyer. You can go to electronic phone books on the internet, without leaving your desk.
Ask Customers For Referrals	Let your existing client base lead you to people like them. Birds of a feather flock together.  People who are building and remodeling tend to seek out others doing the same. Tell you clients you are building your base and need their help. Satisfied customers tend to want to connect you with their friends and acquaintances.  Why wouldn’t they?

 

Leads do not come to you on a regular basis. You have to go out and earn them, one at a time. The worst business strategy is working only from referrals. To grow and prosper you have to reach out and touch someone – a lot of some ones, on a consistent basis. 

 

The Best Way To Work A Lead Is To Implement MTV.

MTV is your most simplified and direct method to create sales. Once you have the “data” (that is: name, address, phone, fax, etc.) do these three things.

 

+  Mail:

Send the prospect a letter of introduction and a brochure (or something equally impressive) to back it up. National statistics suggest that 2 to 5% of QUALIFIED recipients will react positively without you doing anything else.  If you send out 100 offers you could rightly expect 2 to 5 returns on your activities.

 

Do the math:

The average job you sell is:	$ __________________	Example: $8000.00
Times the average number of returns:	x __________________	x       3.5
	====================	=========
Equals your return on investment of:	$ __________________	$28,000.00

 

The example shows how lucrative sending out direct mail can be.  You could expect a higher rate of return than the national average shown here because your demographics are much more targeted, niched and pre-qualified. They need your products and services. If done correctly you could expect an 5% to 8% return from your direct marketing campaigns.

 

( Telephone

After you have mailed out your introductory package, call the prospect in seven days, if they don’t call you first. Do not sell; simply inquire if they got your package. Tell them why you are calling (to get a chance to serve them) and ask them to come to you or set up a time for you to go to them.

 

Note: this is different than calling during mealtime and asking them to buy tickets to the Shriner’s sponsored circus. It is one professional calling another professional (or person in need) for the purposes of making an introduction.

 

N Visit

Your mail and telephone campaign will generate a visit. Either the prospect will come to you over the phone or in person, or you will visit them again to create interest and investigate the possibility of forming a supplier/buyer relationship.

 

MTV is your most simplified and direct method to create sales. If you do nothing else, use the system to say thank you to everyone whom you meet. When someone comes to your operation or calls for a quote send them a thank you card. Shortly after the job is completed call and ask how they like the installation and your business execution. This simple act will generate immediate referrals and more qualified leads.

 

A Lead Model:

 

Recently, a fabricator challenged me to develop leads for his sales force to work. He said that his sales force of one had exhausted all leads in the area. They were in Montana. Who buys solid surface counter tops in Montana? Where are the qualified buyers, in Montana? Like where are the people in Montana?

 

In less than 20 minutes, we pulled up these sites and grabbed onto meaningful lead generating information.

 

Examples of six lead generating places to find qualified leads without leaving your chair:

q      Plumbers trade association & membership lists

http://montana.uscity.net/Plumbing/Contractors/

 

q      Contractors trade association membership lists

http://www.nahb.org/local_association_search_results.aspx?sectionID=92&state=MT

 

q      Remodelers

http://www.nari.org/level2/homeowners/findaprofessionalsimple.cfm

 

q      Replace & Repair – Handyman Services Are Springing Up Like Weeds!

www.mrhandyman.com  or  www.housedoctors.com

 

q      Design/Build Professionals

http://www.redlodge.com/services/home.asp

 

q      Kitchen & Bath Professions

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=kitchen%2Fbath++montana&btnG=Search

or  www.NKBA.ORG

 

So, okay, enough already…. You are getting the idea how simple and successful finding qualified leads on the internet is. Do you get it? I found more leads than a salesperson can contact and follow up in month, in twenty minutes, from Las Vegas. Imagine what you can do if you punch in your state or locality and your demographic target(s).  You would generate literally hundreds of leads in a very short amount of time.  Plus, you know your market place and customer niches so your return on searching would be much greater than mine.

 

Here are twenty-five other key lead categories for solid surface fabrication leads and customers:

1. Architects
2. Designers
3. Civil Engineering Firms
4. School Maintenance On-Sites
5. Apartment Maintenance On-Sites
6. Property Managers
7. Property Maintenance Companies
8. State & County Offices – direct purchases
9. State & County Purchasing Agents
10. Federal Government Facilities: Local, Regional And National
11. Federal Government Purchasing Agents On Line
12. Housing Redevelopment Offices
13. VIP Procurement Offices (colleges, military bases, relocation of execs.)
14. Unidentified Remodelers
15. Government Housing Maintenance On-Sites
16. Trade Magazine Subscription Lists
17. Dodge Reports - http://www.fwdodge.com/
18. County Court House Records & Permits
19. Institutional Design Offices (banks, huge businesses, leasing offices, etc.)
20. Recreation Vehicle Manufacturers and local repair businesses
21. Restaurant & fast food Associations (repair and replacement)
22. Boat makers and restoration efforts
23. Home Centers/Lumber Yards/Building Supply Centers
24. Furniture Manufacturers and repair stores
25. Industry Buyer Groups (such as: Bath/Kitchen Buyer Group)
26. BONUS: go to Google and Yahoo and enter keywords such as procurement offices, buying coops, buying groups and see what comes up!

By:

Robert R. Oxley, Executive Director
of the
International Solid Surface Fabricators Association
975 American Pacific Dr., Suite 102, Henderson, NV 89014
Office: 1-877-GO-ISSFA or 702-567-8150     Cell: 702-604-1130   
E-mail: oxley@issfa.org      Website: www.issfa.org

 

 

The Fabricator’s Sales Lead Worksheet

 

 

Name three niches you plan to harvest.

 

1. __________________________________________________________

 

2. __________________________________________________________

 

3. __________________________________________________________

 

How will you get the names, addresses, phone, fax and email data for these markets?

 

 

 

 

How will you approach these niches?

 

 

 

 

What do you need to begin your campaign?

 

 

 

 

When will you start?

 

 

 

What are your goals?

a) How many contacts will you make each week? _______________ 

 

b) How many positive results do you expect to get from a)? _______

 

 c) How many b)’s will become customers? ____________________