Web Search Increases Sales and Good Hiring
Find Business Development, Cold Calling, and Job Offering Data
Matt Michel was searching for an inside sales person. One candidate sold him and his employees on the fact that he could do the job. Then Matt decided to check the web before making an offer. Here’s what Matt found on the candidate’s My Space page:
“I’m just a regular guy who wants to act. Stage or film, either way I’m fine with it. I enjoy writing also. I have trouble with regular office jobs. The boredom can be overwhelming sometimes and it only makes me want to be acting or writing instead of sitting in a cubicle trying to sell something or dealing with a customer complaint. Now, if I could just start getting paid to act or write I’ll be a completely happy man.”
The Internet prevented Matt from making a serious hiring mistake.
Business Development Data
In addition to information on prospective employees, there is a wealth of data on companies and people who are potential customers. According to Sam Richter 80% of the 500 billion pages on the web are not categorized by Yahoo and Google. He calls these pages “The Invisible Web.” Most of this information is free. However, people have to register to get it.
Sam’s latest book, Take the Cold out of Cold Calling, describes where and how to find the 400 billion web pages that aren’t categorized by Google and Yahoo. Finding this information is critical to increased sales and business development success. Before making a sales presentation, meeting a prospective customer, or acting on a referral, invest a few minutes to discover facts about the person or people who will be in that meeting. Find out what that person or company has said publicly and bring it up during the conversation or presentation. A hypothetical question might be, “In ABC Business Magazine you commented that (Fill in the blank). Is that still the case?” The answer to this question will start a conversation that will probably lead to a sale.
Cold Calling
Mr. Richter uses this information for sales cold calls. Imagine leaving a message for a prospective customer, “Mr. Jones, in DEF Business magazine you mentioned that your greatest need was to increase sales. My company has increased sales by over 20% per year for many companies like yours. I’d like 15 minutes of your valuable time to see if our products can work for you too.” A return phone call is likely.
Prospective customers will be impressed that someone took the time to find out his opinions, pains, or needs. This opens the conversation and gets a prospect’s attention better than any slick, canned power point presentation. Sam has used this technique for the past 25 years to build sales and increase profits for the companies he has worked with.
Check the Internet. Free information is there that can be used to make good sales, business, and hiring decisions.
