GPI 375 – To increase sales contacts, ask all managers to ask their employees where they used to work.

To increase your firm’s chances to add new customers to its database, most will agree it always helps to have a contact in place prior to the sales call. That contact may be a person that someone on your staff already knows. Your advantage might be simply that your target customer could be a company where one of your employees used to work and still maintains good relationships. Your sales opportunity may stem from friendships at the targeted company where one of your employees knows people who work there. The problem with all of these situations is that nothing happens unless you ask and poll your employees to help.  Try a few of these ideas.  You have opportunities lying within your staff members now.

Ideas to increase your odds of gaining new sales contacts:

• Ask your employees to help increase your sales contacts: Ask them to provide the names of the last two or three companies where they worked.  If they quit unexpectedly, left on bad terms or were terminated, tell them they are welcome to omit those specific experiences.
• Review the database of companies generated from this list and look for good potential customers or clients.
• Ask those employees who left those targeted firms about any good, potential, contacts they had and whether they are able to request a response for your firm’s assigned sales person.
• Remember that initial contacts are only temporary and just provide the first inroad into the company. This should be all that is needed if you succeed in providing great service or excellent goods.

Make sure to tell your employees their assistance provided help in landing a new account.  Tell them thanks and give them your appreciation.  Your employees want to help sell the company.  You have to tell them how they can do it.