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Sales people use the telephone, marketing people write…but either way both have the same goal – leads.
When I talk to sales people about prospecting they immediately think “telephone”. When I talk to marketing people about lead generation they immediately think about writing something – letter, email, website etc.
But actually over time I have come to believe that the best way to generate leads is by using a “multimedia” approach. By combining the telephone with letters, email and multi-dimensional mailers (books, gifts etc.) you increase your chances of finding the “medium” that appeals to that particular executive.
During my sales career I have found that some prospects regularly answer their telephone, some never seem to answer their phone, some people respond instantly to email (and carry their Blackberry or Treo everywhere), and some people need to receive a good old-fashioned letter before they respond.
I have personally experienced several situations where sending executives something creative like a gift basket with customized contents and then following up consistently by phone finally landed a meeting with a very hard to reach CEO, CFO or CIO.
Several other sales experts have written about the need to use “multimedia” in your prospecting. You can read more from Jill Konrath, Brian Carroll and Jim Logan.
So when prospecting don’t put all your eggs in one basket…go multimedia!