Keep the door open with these simple ways to reach prospects

How do we reach prospects and keep the door open?

While everyone is trying to go big, go small instead and use innovation to capture share of mind.

Imagine you are at home opening your mail and you find an unsolicited brochure about some product or other. What do you do? Chances are you drop it in the trash.

Well, the vast majority of leads to whom you send your brochures, flyers or emails to are going to do the same thing.

When you want to get access to decision makers – particularly decision makers in big companies – product emails, brochures, and catalogues simply aren’t going to cut it. You need some new tools.

Here are some ideas to help you break through the clutter:

• Success stories: Business leaders are always interested in knowing how other companies tackled the same challenges they face. Make sure your success stories focus on the business results your customers attained.

• White papers, special reports, and tips: These documents must be highly informative and not a sales pitch. If they are well written and educational, they will significantly enhance your credibility.

• Relevant articles, podcasts, and videos: Whenever you find an article you think would be of interest to your prospect, send it off with a quick note, such as: “I thought of you when I read this”.

• Seminar invitations: This is one of the best ways to get decision makers to check you out, especially if they don’t have to leave their office. Offering information-rich webinars or even formal seminars positions your company as a thought leader in your industry.

• Books: Read any good business books lately? If so, and if the book was relevant to one of your prospects, buy another copy and send it off with a personal note. It can be a small investment with a high payback.

• Pre-contact referral recommendation: A recommendation from a customer in a related industry sent on your behalf is a great way to open doors, particularly if the customer and the prospect know each other. Help the willing customer write the recommendation to minimise his or her workload.

• Postcards: This is rather novel in a 21st century world and perhaps worth a try, as everyone reads postcards. If you send one that contains tips or valuable information, your prospects likely will keep it. 



No one says you have to go big or go home. Small, innovative and thoughtful ways to reach your prospects usually pays off because everyone else is trying to go big – that leaves room for you to use these guerrilla tactics to capture share of mind.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Sue Barrett is the founder and chief executive of the innovative and forward thinking sales advisory and education firm, Barrett and the online sales education and resource platform www.salesessentials.com. Striving to develop and deliver better sales standards and strategies to help people and businesses sell better, Sue is a sales philosopher, strategist, speaker, trainer, writer, adviser and selling better activist.