Have you noticed how difficult it can be to secure first-time client meetings in today’s challenging sales environment? If you work in sales, you may find it nearly impossible to break through the noise and secure those important initial meetings. So what’s working? What isn’t? And how can you adapt for success? We asked Kate Butler, Sales Performance Leader at People Soar, to share some effective strategies to land those first-time client meetings.
Why Is Landing a Meeting More Challenging Than Ever?
Salespeople are finding it increasingly difficult to get responses from potential clients. Traditional methods like emails, voicemails, and social media messages are often met with silence.
Kate Butler captures the frustration many salespeople feel: “There doesn’t seem to be anything that’s disruptive.” This situation can indeed be confusing. While AI can improve content quality, it’s not disruptive enough to make a significant impact on securing meetings.
So, what is the issue? One reason is the sheer number of attempts required to make a connection.
As Kate explained, “60% of customers say no four times before they say yes,” and it takes an average of 18 calls to make a connection. Yet, nearly half of salespeople give up after just one follow-up attempt. But persistence is key – 78% of buyers have taken meetings from cold calls despite the initial resistance.
The Power of Stacked Communication
So, if traditional methods aren’t working, what strategies can help salespeople secure those first-time meetings?
One effective sales strategy that Kate emphasized is stacked communication. This involves using a variety of communication methods to reach out to prospects. Each method has its vulnerabilities, so using multiple approaches increases the chances of breaking through.
Methods to Include in Stacked Communication:
- Phone Calls: Essential for getting objections and establishing a direct connection.
- Video Messages: Personalizes the outreach and helps the prospect see you as a real person.
- Social Media Interactions: Reinforces your presence and message.
- Voicemails: Leave meaningful messages that reference follow-up emails.
- Emails: Focus on value propositions and ROI.
- Light-hearted Content: Avoids fatigue and keeps the prospect engaged.
- Face-to-Face Encounters: Attend events where prospects might be present.
- Text Messages: An additional touchpoint to stay on their radar.
How Buyer Personas Make a Difference
To tailor your communication effectively, it’s important to focus on specific buyer personas. Instead of spreading efforts thin across various roles, Kate recommends concentrating on a few key personas. This helps create meaningful and relevant content for each group.
How To Create Buyer Personas:
- Identify profiles of potential buyers and their specific needs.
- Use tools like ZoomInfo to gather names and target these profiles.
- Personalize communication based on the buyer persona rather than deeply individual traits.
Make Personalization Work for You
Personalizing your outreach is essential – but it doesn’t have to be deeply individual. Tying personalization to buyer personas can be just as effective. By focusing on the common needs and challenges of a specific role or industry, you can create highly relevant messages that resonate with your audience.
Tips for Personalization:
- Reference industry-specific success stories.
- Highlight the impact of your services on similar clients.
- Use simple tools like ChatGPT to generate relevant business problems and tailor messages.
How to Use CRM For Sales Effectively
Managing large volumes of contacts and activities is challenging without a good CRM system. Kate stresses the importance of using CRM tools to organize tasks and maintain discipline in follow-ups. She states, “Start to look at the CRM as a dopamine machine.” Completing tasks can be highly motivating.
CRM Best Practices:
- Organize contacts by buyer persona.
- Schedule and track follow-ups for consistency.
- Use tasks and reminders to maintain a disciplined outreach strategy.
Effective Video Messaging
Video messaging can create a personal connection and increase the chances of engagement. Kate recommends using tools like Vidyard to track video engagement. This allows salespeople to tailor follow-up communication based on whether the recipient watched the video.
Best Practices for Video Messaging:
- Address the recipient by name and discuss specific pain points.
- Keep the video short and engaging.
- Track engagement to guide follow-up strategies.
Overcoming Sales Process Challenges
Salespeople often struggle in the initial phases of the sales process due to barriers like voicemails, caller ID, and AI emails. Kate emphasizes that it’s important for sales leaders to support their teams in these phases to help secure meetings.
How To Support Sales Teams:
- Provide guidance and tools for the plan and engage phases.
- Encourage the use of targeted lists by buyer persona.
- Focus on hiring salespeople with drive and leveraging their strengths in relationship-building.
Recommended Sales Strategies Books and Resources
To further develop effective sales strategies, Kate recommended several books:
- “It’s the Manager” by Gallup: Focuses on managing from strengths.
- “Dopamine Nation”: Explores the motivational aspects of tasks.
- “Atomic Habits”: Provides insights on building effective habits.
- “Gap Selling”: A great resource for cold calling techniques and prospecting.
- “Fanatical Prospecting”: Offers practical tips for cold outreach best practices.
Use These Effective Sales Strategies and Start Securing Those First-Time Meetings
Securing first-time client meetings in today’s market requires persistence, personalization, and a strategic approach. By using sales sequencing and stacked communication, focusing on buyer persona development, and utilizing CRM for sales effectively, salespeople can break through the noise and secure those vital meetings.
As Kate Butler highlights, “The way you are going to win is by putting this plan in place, figuring out how dopamine works, figuring out how habits work, getting some really sexy value props from your clients, and just keep marching.”
Implement these strategies, stay consistent, and watch your success rate soar.
TechServe Members can watch this webinar for more details: Best Practices to get First-Time Client Meetings
