On this podcast Mesa and DSR Dave discuss step-by-step how Mesa prospects, makes cold calls, and opens new accounts.
When you are calling on prospects, Mesa says, “The key is to just walk in, have a friendly smile, introduce yourself, and just make it fun.”
“Making cold calls is sort of like learning about product details. The more you learn about a product, the price becomes less important in the conversation, and the more prospects you call on, the easier it gets!” ~Mesa Farrell
Here are some of the questions Mesa answers in detail:
- What steps do you take if you want an account you’re not selling, and they don’t know you?
- Do you go in the back door or the front door, Mesa says it depends because of the way she was first trained selling produce. Her answer was 50/50.
- Farrell says she has learned the difference between selling commodity products mostly on PRICE and selling in a consultative style like she now does at Shamrock.
- The consultative approach is more about helping each other verses who has the lowest PRICE.
- The approach is driven by the quality and the service that she’s going to offer you and partner with you, because you are in this together.
- Sometimes she acts like a Sales Rep, and sometimes she does not.
- If a prospect feels to you like they might be a great account for you and your company, and the concept is one that you think you can help and want to work with, visit them on a regular basis.
- Be a friendly face and make friends with them first. Don’t act like a salesperson, act like a friend.
- What do you say to a prospect when they tell you they are happy with their current distributor, and they really don’t need you or another distributor? You might want to start with the small stuff, one or two different categories of products that you and your company do well. In Mesa’s case, her company is great at dairy products, so she might lead with that just to start a conversation. This is where bringing samples in on each visit is helpful. Be readily accessible. Follow through.
- How many times do you go back into a prospect if you really want them?
- Do you ever give up?
- Farrell explains how she has worked on one prospect for four years now and some of the things she has done to get their attention.
Be a Resource and SELL SOMETHING!!
