Use White Papers as a Powerful Marketing Tool

Surveys indicate that nearly two-thirds of prospects download a white paper as part of their buying cycle, while another one-third pass the white paper to a supervisor.

This goes to show that white papers are a powerful sales and marketing tool. In fact, their effectiveness is critical to the earliest stages of the buying cycle. White papers not only generate sales leads, but also help build credibility. While white papers can be successful as lead-generators, marketers should take care to see to it that they are designed to be educational in nature and not just a disguised sales pitch.

Tackle Gate-Keepers with Courtesy

As sales professionals, it might seem that gate-keepers such as administrative and executive assistants have been trained just to screen sales calls and keep you away from connecting with your prospect in their company. And, it may seem like there's nothing you can do about it. Often, the gate-keepers hold the key to your success in terms of actually directing you to the person you want to talk to in their organization.

The key in tackling gate-keepers is not to try and dart past them. Tell them that you wish to take directions from them. Ask for help. Be genuine in your approach, and never try fake friendliness. A simple courtesy can go a long way.

Two Easy Steps to build your own sales lead list

The Internet has many sources of sales leads. Online directories such as YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com, etc. association websites, membership directories, Chamber of Commerce Lists, White Pages, MLS listings are some of the free sources that you can use to build a list of prospects.

ListGrabber is a powerful tool that helps you build targeted customer lists from freely available list sources on the Internet. You can automatically import any online list of contacts in just 2 easy steps. All you have to do is:

1. Highlight the list that you wish to grab and
2. Click the 'Grab' button on ListGrabber

ListGrabber intelligently extracts all leads from the list and enters them into a spreadsheet or any other database. You can pull thousands of leads and build your list in no time.

Excite your Prospects to Buy

Convert the benefits provided by your product or service into vivid word pictures. Dramatize the whole scenario and put your prospect in the midst of it.

For instance, if you are selling financial products, describe a life free of debt. If you are selling phones, explain a situation where your prospect can get in touch with his loved ones anytime and anywhere. Paint a picture and get your prospect's attention glued to it.