David Mamet’s play “Glengarry Glen Ross” recently won the Tony Award for the best revival on Broadway. Alan Alda sparkled in a sharp-elbowed cast. Some may remember the movie version of this play with Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon.
“Glengarry Glen Ross” is all about selling. “Always be closing” may be its last commandment of selling, but the get-go is: Find the leads. Finding the leads is sales commandment No. 1. Even though it’s an old-fashioned “boiler shop” operation for Mamet’s deal-thirsty pack, the heart of dreams is “when the leads come in.”
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The catch of the day may arrive through the same old nets down at the docks. Not so for your prospects. If you aren’t casting your nets in cyberspace, you’re asking for slim pickings. The real winners know how to fuse old-time networking essentials with warp-speed data input:
Today, databases define leads with precision. It’s easy to shrug that fact off and fly by the seat of one’s pants. Chances are your competitor doesn’t. Sales today are data-driven more than ever before. Your team doesn’t just need to know the data. They need to have a common understanding of how to use it.
Latch on to industry trade journals on the Net. There’s not just a mountain of detailed, immediate data there. It’s an entire Alps! Are you reading what your customers are reading on a daily basis? Do you track the trends in your customers’ industries and monitor their buying sentiment?
Thirty years ago, a team of 20 sales analysts couldn’t deliver what you can do alone by patient and focused Internet surfing. Take the time to organize how you use the Internet. The payoff will be awesome.
Companies are transforming themselves overnight. Two decades ago, people thought medication meant corner drugstore. Trying to keep step with Wal-Mart, Kroger is now a major force in the pharmacy market. This is turning up the heat on traditional drugstore chains like Walgreen’s.
More and more, a pharmacy is just a department in a store.
Remember this reminder? “It’s 10 p.m., do you know where your kids are?” Well, it’s high noon. Do you know who your customers are now? They may well be a whole new breed from the last time you checked.
As with companies, people are changing places, too. They used to call it job-hopping. It’s more like job-jogging today.
When General Motors recently decided to shed 17 percent of its work force (25,000 people), you know the downsizing days aren’t done.
Are you selling business to business? You need two lists at least: Firms that buy your product and people who do. Are you in touch with where those people are today?
Also, more than ever before, get to know the No. 2 person in the purchasing department. If the top dog walks or is nudged out the door, who do you think you’ll be cutting deals with?
And, speaking of dogs: Selling insurance? Your next best prospect may be named Fido.
Premiums for pet insurance today total $120 million. In the last 17 years, pet ownership has grown from 56 percent of households to 66 percent. Some experts expect the pet insurance market to grow to $500 million in the next three years! Old products can often have very new prospects.
Companies are changing. Customers are changing. Are you changing too? Continuing education is the only way you’ll be sure to.
The best measure of leads is “ROT” – Return on Time, as I put it. Figure out which calls pay off. But, remember to measure time in the smartest ways.
In the words of Glengarry: “Don’t sell a guy one car. Sell him five cars over 15 years.” If you aren’t landing long-term sales, why not?
So, how do you blend age-old networking with new-age technology? First, your laptop can update you about likelihoods and trends, but the Rotary lunch and the Little League doubleheader deliver real leads. Second, put a positive spin on the data. That’s something your computer can never do. Use your gut to maximize sales today. Third, never forget that the Internet delivers fabulous data. But, it can never close a deal. That’s what you have to do.
Mackay’s Moral: Don’t fish for leads through the Net. You’ll miss the boat and today’s catch, too.
Harvey Mackay is author of The New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope.” He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
