Mount Olympus in Greek Mythology  was the mystical domain of the Gods who ruled Ancient Greece.  It is a near perfect analogy  to the Corporate Suite (C-Suite)  domain. The world of CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CMO (Chiefs) because it is these few senior decision-makers whom we business-to-business (b2b) sales professionals must gain repeated, ethical access to if we are to control our sales destinies inside corporations.

Repeated, ethical access requires learning a specific skill set to be invited back into their domains because we have something of value to add or a significant, unique contribution to make.  Once we earn their trust  (and, earn it we must)  we are approaching the status of a ‘Trusted Advisor’. OK, enough said about ‘Trusted Advisor’ status for now.  I am getting way ahead of myself!

Since beginning this blog in March 2008, my focus has been the tactical aspects of business-to-business  (b2b) sales prospecting. I make no apologies for my posting irregularity. I feel as strongly now about my then-promise of only posting when I have something worthwhile to contribute.

These Rules still apply especially in our congested blogging community. Like many serious peers, I resent time-intrusion techno annoyances, such as Twitter, which interrupt my concentration whether I am working or playing. Twitter, to me, is still an annoying, ringing phone I am too busy to answer!

In June 2009, I ranted about Twitter, in my “Twitter, Twatter, Does It Really Matter?” blog. The overwhelming response to my commentary was from ardent Tweeters who were in favor of hanging my cyber entrails from a pole in the Internet Town Square.  God love them! They are entitled to their opinions but so am I! While Twitter has gained in popularity, it is just too real-time for me and not a technology I choose to embrace at this time.

Technology to me is like a shovel in my tool shed. It is there when I need it. I am still amazed when I see busy executives wearing two or more PDA’s, cell phones or pagers draped on their belts.  They are like newborn infants with their umbilical cords tethered to their mommas.  It’s their choice but not mine!

OK, back to my 2010 topic focus of Exploring the Fascinating World of C-Suite Access. I have received many requests to share effective techniques for gaining repeated, ethical access to C-Suite decision-makers, so this is our 2010 starting point.  I am excited and I hope you will be too with my heavily researched content. Please feel free to post comments, at will.

1. To transition from printed mailing piece to spoken, opening dialogue.
2. The person conducting the follow up phone calls felt less like a cold-caller and more like a selling professional who is following up with a promised call, on a tasteful, relevant direct mailing! 

The most frequent question raised by attendees at my sales prospecting seminars is: how do you know this copy and this greeting card selection will work?

My answer: I do not, but I do understand Human Nature. If you do something tastefully different with a whiff of imagination and you make a relevant point, mailed recipients will most often respond in a positive fashion when you call them.

Personalized greeting card mailing campaigns eliminate the cold-calling stigma. No matter how call reluctant or green a sales person,  this process has repeatedly achieved remarkable results.

In the course of my 32 years of conducting thousands of client direct mailing campaigns, I have dropped a few real direct mail bombs! 

For one client many years ago, who was selling $500,000 ocean-front condominiums, we created a very unique mailing piece with fine silica sand to remind recipients of their beautiful new ocean-front addresses nestled on the shores of one of Florida’s most pristine beaches. The accompanying 4-color glossy mailing piece and matching copy were brilliantly creative and printed on the most expensive paper.

The recipients never received their mailings! We failed to print ‘hand-cancel’ on each envelope. The Post Office sorting machines at the mail processing center ruptured some of the interior envelopes and literally ‘ground to a halt’ when the fine silica sand jammed their sensitive gears!  It happened with a few pieces so equipment operators shut the system down before irreparable damage occurred. 

When someone else handles the entire personalized message preparation with variable name-insertion for multiple addressee mailings and mail processing is completely automated including stuffing, addressing, affixing first-class stamps, sealing the envelopes and mailing;  it is a very welcomed relief.

Pictures and cartoon drawings of animals work well on greeting card covers.  The desired response is a person opening the folded greeting card to peek  inside.  One of my most effective greeting cards pictures a cat looking down at a tiny mouse inches from its nose. “Someone not doing their job?” is the caption copy.  Inside the card copy is: “We will”!

Suppose you were trying to get the attention of Information Technology (IT) Managers at Fortune 100 corporate data centers?  This serious group of decision-makers is under constant pressure. But, they are still people who enjoy a humorous pause from their stressful daily regimen. 

Back to the cat and mouse stare-down greeting card with “Someone not doing their job?” Add a 17-word sentence, inside the card, conveying the message your company “can do the job”.  Then, a second greeting card received by this same person 5 days later with an IT Manager’s testimonial quotation serves to reinforce your ‘can do’ theme. 

And, 5 days later a third, and final greeting card, arrives with another ‘can do’ statement and an announcement to expect a phone call, soon.  This is all it takes. Three folded greeting cards inside envelopes with affixed first class stamps, direct-addressed, not a label-address on the envelopes.

Our 2006 Test Mailing response rate of 83% was no accident. Proof: multiple, 3-peat greeting card mailings to b2b decision-makers in 55 industries since 2006 with response rates of seldom less than 62%. 

In our Age of e-mail and v-mail, this is proof snail-mailings thoughtfully executed can very effectively set the stage to enable sales professionals to ethically access decision-making prospects, on the first call.

If you are inclined NOT to experiment, buy my $40 Power Prospecting® eBook. This process is well documented and includes the original 83% response mailing campaign conducted in 2006. You will also find a set of follow up phone calling scripts with all working forms and a chapter of expectations and reality performance yardsticks to guide you through the process.

Recently, a client, who was interviewing b2b sales candidates, asked me: What one question would you ask each sales candidate, and why?

My reply surprised him when I quickly answered, “Name the title of the last non-fiction book you read and why you read it?”  One’s reading habits reveal much about one’s priorities, disciplines and motivations. Success in the sales profession requires balanced doses of each.

Selling is more of an art than a science. If we reverse a few steps in the sales process we may still close the order. Do the same with a scientific experiment and the desired chemical reaction is not likely to occur. As an art, there are variations which will work to accomplish the end result of a successful sales transaction.

While understanding and learning the sales process is best achieved by doing rather than passive learning such as: reading, viewing a video or computer-based-training course; or, completing a game-based learning challenge; reading about the experiences of sales experts, in other industries, is a valuable and relevant learning tool.

Reading combined with these two disciplines: 1] Re-composing, in one’s own words and adding memory hooks to the recently-read concept and; 2] Hand-writing a short explanation of the same concept. Just the process of writing our interpretation improves our memory retention of concepts we may wish to recall and apply at a future time.

Reading to improve one’s job skills and to acquire new techniques should become a weekly habit. Product knowledge is essential and so is reading to improve one’s selling and communications skills. As an art, we can personalize a sales process which best matches our personality and vocabulary and apply it to our specific selling style.

Sadly, the attraction and lure of the Internet’s on-demand social networking participation prevents many new sales people from becoming serious printed book readers. Add to this, the mistaken presumption by many that once one leaves the hallowed halls of learning, formal learning is over. 

This mindset can retard a person’s career growth. Aside from the pure joy which accompanies an ‘aha’ learning moment, becoming a lifelong learner pays huge career-related dividends.

When a sales candidate struggles to recall the last non-fiction book they read, it’s a sign of someone who isn’t motivated to improve their skills; or, who lacks the discipline to prioritize self-improvement. Self-learning of new concepts is an essential ingredient of a sales person’s progression.

We are all too busy, but finding the time to read won’t become a priority unless we make it one. Others judge us by how well or poorly we communicate in writing; by our e-mail composition, and our speech. 

Reading extends our vocabulary and introduces us to words and phrases that color and anchor the mental images we paint when we attempt to communicate.

So, take a tip from this 31 year sales veteran and make reading a priority to become the sales professional you aspired to be when you joined our noble calling. You have so much to gain.

Besides, you may be asked this question on your next job interview: “Name the title of the last non-fiction book you read and why you read it?” Your answer may well determine the successful outcome of your job interview.

They share a common trait of not being pro-active b2b sales prospectors. It’s as though their DNA has been altered to avoid any effort to find either in-person or on-line – sales prospects: people with a qualified need plus the ability to pay for what they sell.

Where do they congregate? At ‘free networking’ luncheons, seminars or social networking mixers where they rub elbows with others, who also share their bone-shaking fear or inability to begin some form of systematic or organized sales prospecting. 

Great talkers! Big fans of indiscriminately handing out business cards or leaving them on tables strategically placed in high traffic zones with the distant hope a serious prospect will conveniently pick up their card and call them to place an order. Voila, rejectionless sales!

In these hard times of high foreclosure rates, failing businesses, Obama’s stimulus programs and tight money, this group is growing very rapidly. Because they refuse to go out and look for new business, they have an abundance of free time in their 8-5 days so they continually rehearse the process of ‘getting ready to sell’, but never really do it.

I liken this delusional group to ‘lifeboat occupants’ who because there are so many of them in such a confined space, their lifeboat has sprung a leak and it is gradually sinking into a Sea of Despair and Quiet Desperation.

Is there any hope for them? Only, if they are forced to confront reality. Not a willing choice, since it may be forced upon them by employees, loved ones or the power company who just turned off their electricity on a 30 degree night. This new reality leads to 3 choices:

1.     Another career because getting new prospects is a fact of life in sales.

2.     Discovery of a less threatening new process of getting new prospects.

3.     Repeated application and fine-tuning this new process until it works.

You may recall, in my November 13th posting, I talked about how the 30 Chapters in my Central Florida BNI Region comprised my formal network. Also, how BNI-sponsored referral training has been instrumental in insulating us from this Recession. BNI teaches us the process of how to conduct Dance Cards. A Dance Card is a face-time interview between two BNI members. First, members of the same chapter and later, members of other chapters. 

Scheduling Dance Cards every week inside and outside my chapter has resulted in what I refer to as my informal Super GIVERS Network. Basically, it’s my Central Florida Regional Network. These are BNI Members who are serious about exchanging referrals which convert into paying customers and even, advocates who become second and third tiered referral sources inside our 4 county region.

Right now, there are 26 business professionals in my informal BNI Super GIVERS Network and it continues to grow. In return for their vigilance, I constantly listen and look for referrals which will convert to paying customers for them in West Orange and South Lake Counties. Unselfish reciprocity is our battle cry.

It sounds like a lot of paper shuffling. It’s not. In fact, all of the 1 page Dance Card INFO Profiles of these Super GIVERS are kept in my red binder in my car, tab-divided by service category. For example, I have several Super GIVERS who are in the Payroll-Processing tab section. I avoid confusion by sub-dividing their expertise. One specializes in fast-food restaurants and take-out services while another is a construction industry expert.

I don’t deal with generalists - those who claim to know it all – or, who want the whole pie. Why not? Well, I’m living-proof clients prefer to hire specialists. I don’t train b2b sales professionals how to present, close the sale or how to conduct customer service after the sale. I am well-versed and experienced in these skills. I just choose NOT to be a generalist sales trainer. My expertise is giving them the tools to painlessly and systematically gain repeated, ethical access to those who sign the checks for what they sell.

Actually, NOT giving these b2b sales professionals the tools but teaching them how & when to use these tools to gain repeated, ethical access. The difference between access and ethical access is important. With ‘ethical access’ one is always invited back by the prospective client. There are no gimmicks used to end-run the gatekeeper or to attempt to fool the decision-maker. Also, by choosing NOT to, I’m doing what I love to do which is to train and rub elbows with the World’s Greatest Sales Prospectors.

This isn’t work, it’s fun! I’m not a golfer, bowler or bass fisherman. One day each month I enjoy surf-fishing in the Atlantic Ocean with my retired friends whom I refuse to join as another retiree. I plan to work as long as I can help others master the art and science of Power Prospecting.

Back to my informal Super GIVERS network! These are sales professionals who passed my test. The ‘test’ is whether they share serious referrals – unselfishly – or whether, it’s the you give me 1 referral and then I’ll give you 1 childish mindset. Once I sense I’m sitting in the presence of a Super GIVER, I will open my address book and share all my worthy contacts with my new-found Super GIVER associate. Sometimes, it’s as many as 20 or as few as 5 contacts. It depends on what I understand to be an ideal contact for that person. During the Dance Card (BNI lingo) we sit down and understand each other’s best prospect trigger phrases or cues. For example, on my 1 Page Dance Card INFO sheet, there is this question: What trigger phrases should I listen for?  These are cues, which when overheard, would indicate I’m in the presence of a good prospect for you.  

My 3 trigger phrases are: “I just can’t seem to get in front of decision-makers” or,  “How do you get past voice mail jail and get decision-makers to return your voice mail messages?” or, “My commission check is on a diet during this Recession.”  When one of my Super GIVERS hears one of these statements, he/she is trained to reply, “I know someone who may be able to help you. He specializes in helping b2b sales professionals earn the income they deserve. If I ask Gordie Allen to call you, will you accept his call?”  An affirmative answer results in a business card exchange and a confirming preferred call time. That’s all I need for a lead. A recommendation  or a referral is better but this door-opening lead works for me.

BNI provides members a lengthy 3 page questionnaire to conduct a very thorough Dance Card. I prefer my 1 page Dance Card INFO Sheet since it provides me an accurate snapshot, something I can quickly review while gridlocked in traffic. I like having all the relevant Super GIVERS info captured on 1 single sided page.

Dance Cards need to be updated. At least monthly, so I’ll call my informal Super GIVER network partners to discover what’s new? What new services, products or testimonials or ‘specials’ they have added to make their offering that much more customer-attractive. The BIG BENEfit of organizing and building an informal referral network of Super GIVERS is they never stop giving as long as everyone reciprocates. Sustaining and growing the informal network is easy once you build momentum and referral partners get referrals which convert into paying customers.  

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, I’m waiting to convert one more referral into a paying customer which would make this my best November sales-topper in 30 years! Next week, I’ll give you my November Report Card: the ROI and Why my Super GIVERS Gain Network is worth the nurturing and effort. Also, in December, you will learn about another group which is becoming a hugely productive source of more board-room level referrals for me.

FYI, if you’d like a copy of my Super GIVERS Dance Card INFO Sheet, to start your own informal Super GIVERS Network, do this: e-mail me at: eurekaman43@hotmail.com and in the Subject line, enter Send Super GIVERS INFO Sheet. This will be my early Holiday Gift to you. Stay well, prosper and make it a memorable Thanksgiving!

Today, my 30 years of experience has better equipped me to rise above the Chicken Little fray of, “The Sky is Falling…..the Sky is Falling” mindsets of an alarming number of small business owners.

Did I see THIS Recession coming? Yes, but I just wasn’t prepared for the Government to be so unprepared to respond so poorly to manage and slow down this deepening crisis. Nor, did I anticipate how quickly the R-word would become our grim reality. Like many self-employed small business owners I have been sticking to my knitting; meeting my daily challenges; and letting the BIG Picture take care of itself.

Well, the BIG Picture has front-and-centered and gotten my attention! In my face, on the nightly news and also in my pocket. Suddenly, sales training budgets with several of my oldest b2b clients have gone on crash diets!

Did I have a Backup Plan? Yes. Today, I will begin the process of sharing with you the nuts-and-bolts of my Plan. I’ll tell you how and why to structure your own Recession-Proof source of new business referrals. 

I have a formal business contact network and my own Super-Givers network inside this group. One of the lead organizations in my formal network is BNI (Business Network International), the World’s foremost Business Referral Networking Organization. Founded in 1985, in Southern California by Dr. Ivan Misner, an organizational management consultant, BNI has grown to become the ’800 pound Gorilla’ in the face-to-face world of business networking. With over 5,000 chapters in over 40 counties, BNI is growing exponentially at about 100 chapters monthly.

I can’t say enough good things about BNI, especially now as we ride out what looks like a lengthy Recession. The 30 local Chapters in the Central Florida BNI Region have become my “Islands of Prosperity in a Sea of Recession”.  These 30 chapters have 600+ member companies whose reps meet weekly to document and share serious b2b and b2c referrals in the spirit of BNI’s Givers-Gain Philosophy.

Besides providing a catalyst in the form of robust, well-managed chapters with non-competing member companies, BNI provides several monthly members-only, informative referral marketing 2 hour training workshops. Member Success Programs, MSPs in BNI’s lingo, enables chapter members to continually sharpen their referral marketing skills. These are top notch, info-packed sessions well worth the nominal $15. fee.

While my company, Leads-Plus, Inc., is a member of BNI’s Referral Masters Chapter in Winter Garden, FL, my BNI membership entitles me to visit any of the 29 other Central Florida chapters so I can actively exchange referrals and network to my heart’s content. These 30 chapters are my formal network.   I attend my weekly Referral Masters Chapter meeting plus, one of the other 29 Chapter meetings. 

Dr. Misner has authored and co-authored several best-selling books on the subject of referral marketing and networking. According to the mainstream press, he is  “The Father of Modern Networking”, a richly deserved title since he is still trotting the Globe spreading the BNI Gospel to thousands of business professionals, monthly. 

Even if you aren’t a BNI member you can subscribe to SuccessNET, his monthly e-newsletter. It’s filled with timely tips for mastering the referral  marketing process. Go to www.bni.com to learn more about this great organization; to locate a nearby chapter and to subscribe to SuccessNET.

ROI Realities. My most recent 6 visits, in the past 30 days, to other local BNI Chapters resulted in 17 referrals, 6 of which have already converted into $4,600 in new b2b client sales prospecting training contracts and sales of my September-released eBook titled, How to Get Face-Time with People Who Buy What You Sell. To download a FREE Preview Minibook, CLICK on The Purchase eBook Now button in the right or top margin.

Next week, I’ll tell you about my Super-Givers network inside the 30 BNI Chapters in my Central FL Region and how to avoid participating in the Recession by weaving your own Recession-Proof Business Safety Net! 

I’m constantly getting e-mails and voice-mails from consulting associates telling me about the wonderful ‘exposure’ they received speaking for free at local trade association chapter or business networking luncheons. It’s their shameless way of coaxing me to do the same. Most often, I politely refuse and just keep prospecting and working my referrals. Exposure, without meaningful sales contacts, is counter-productive!

I could fill every waking hour in my appointment planner with free speaking or networking engagements but I don’t for several reasons. First, I have to pay my bills. Second, when I’m not on the phone or my laptop connecting to new sales prospects, following up on strategic referrals, or servicing clients; I’m not ringing up sales. Negative cashflow is a commission sales person’s worst nightmare. There are too few prime time prospecting hours in my day even though my day begins at 4:00 am.

So, today, I’m going to share with you my 4 test questions for deciding whether to be distracted or to pass on an ‘opportunity’. Distractions are always cloaked as ‘opportunities’. I still do an occasional free luncheon speech, and I selectively attend b2b networking luncheons but ONLY if they pass my test.

When I am invited to attend an event or to speak at an event, I always ask the meeting planner 4 questions:

• What is the exact purpose of the meeting or event?
• Were I attending as a guest, what would it cost me?
• Name some of last month’s attendees by company and their job titles?
• How many people attended your meeting last [week, month or quarter]? 

What is the exact purpose of the meeting or event? I avoid meetings or events positioned as ‘the networking event of the year’. It’s pure hype. Anyone who has to pitch their event so blatantly is seeking to seat  ‘breathers’,  not professionals. Not for me! Also, I’m not into networking luncheons open to ‘entrepreneurs’. ‘Entrepreneur’ is a code-word for b2c MLM sales agent who seem to be popping up, like attorneys at  traffic accidents. Since I only train b2b sales professionals and I only accept money, not beads and blankets (trade-outs) for my services, I avoid b2c MLM groupie events.

Were I attending as a guest, what would it cost me? I avoid free events. The food is usually marginal and the company isn’t much better. Moochers who are regulars at free events don’t spend money. I guess that’s why the moochers usually show up en mass. My interest begins at $35 per person. People who call themselves professionals realize they will not sit in the company of peers for free. They ‘get’ it and so do I.

Name some of last month’s attendees by company and their job titles? The answer to this question is the deciding factor for me. While b2b company names are important, I’m more interested in the job title of the typical attendee. Why? My best prospect-types by job title are: sales managers, regional sales managers, new business development directors and marketing directors. These are the people who sign contracts to hire me to re-tool their b2b sales teams and they make quantity purchases of my eBooks. So, an opportunity to rub elbows or to speak to a group of 40-60 of these job titles is worth my time. 

How many people attended your meeting last [week, month or quarter]?  For some reason, meeting planners have a tendency to add 10 to their last attendance count. Maybe, 10 more attendees is a lucky number! So, if I hear 25-30, I presume, it’s usually 15-20 which is too small for me to net any worthwhile contacts. When I attend functions, I’m seeking a critical mass of 40 – 60 attendees. This is true whether I’m the speaker or just an attendee because I will always meet 3-5 serious b2b decision-making prospects for my services. 

How do you find out about these business event luncheons? Of course, most daily newspaper have a business section with weekly event listings. Also, GOOGLE ”local business event luncheons by City, ST”. But what about business event luncheons of decision-makers, by their job titles, for what you sell?

Read Chapter 1 of my new How to Get Face-Time with People Who Buy What You Sell ebook (also called the PowerProspecting eBook) and you will learn how and where to get FREE Lists of these decision-makers, by their job-titles, for contacts in your local, regional or national sales territories. To preview my eBook for FREE, CLICK on Purchase The eBook Now, in the right sidebar. CLICK on Home Page. CLICK on View FREE Minibook. Remember, you have a 1 Year Money-Back Guarantee to tailor and test my Power Prospecting Formula to painlessly and systematically get qualified prospect appointments for your b2b products and services. 

Starting next week and every week, thereafter I’ll deliver shorter blogs beginning with Part 1 of How to Prosper in Tough Times.  Have a happy and carefree Halloween and remember to vote next Tuesday.

How do you, the sales professional, determine whether the person on the other end of the phone is being truthful?  Your questions and how you ask them will reveal whether you are speaking with a liar or a potential buyer. Asking these questions on the phone will eliminate wasted face-time sales calls.

Professional Pollsters and Marketing Researchers who use the phone know the answer and so should you. They ask shielded questions. Actually, the same question, worded differently and asked once, twice or three times during the same phone interview.

I’m a great believer in having my 5-6 Qualifying Questions documented on a form I refer to as a CPQ (Call Planner Questionnaire). In fact, the CPQ is the lynchpin accountability tool  I encourage sales managers and small business owners to use to make certain their sales team members are turning in legitimate expense reports at week end.

You may recall from past blogs my statement, “You are making a Social NOT a SALES CALL if you do not have 1 completed CPQ for each face-time decision-maker appointment.” None of us in sales were hired to make social calls.  We aren’t paid for visits – ONLY CLOSED SALES! There should be 1 CPQ for each completed face-time sales appointment. This is RULE Number 2 of my Power Prospecting Formula.

One of the ‘key’ questions asked early on during the Qualifying Phone Follow up Calling Sequence should answer the important question:

1. Who, in addition to you [Mr/Mrs/Ms. Prospect Name] is involved in the decision to [buy, choose one vendor over another or change suppliers]?
2. Another variation of this is: [Mr/Mrs/Ms. Prospect Name], how many copies of [my report, executive summary, review and analysis, or, my survey] would you like me to bring to our meeting?
3. Still, another variation is:  [Mr/Mrs/Ms. Prospect Name], would you describe for me the decision-to-buy-process at your company?

 Answering these questions strikes at the very heart of my Power Prospecting Formula. In 1967, when I began my formal sales career with NCR selling computers to the hoteliers on Miami Beach, I often discovered decisions to purchase equipment were made at the holding company HQ office, seldom at the local hotel property. My sales proposals were accompanied by the local managers’ purchase request and mailed to a distant decision-making office, far removed from Miami Beach.

Today, more than ever before, determining who signs the checks locally is critically important.

Many times, when I have conducted my Qualifying Phone Follow up Calling Sequence, I have discovered I’m speaking with an ego-centric ‘decision-maker’ who replies, “I make the decision!” Then, when I ask a variation of the same question later on during the same phone interview, their answer conflicts with their first reply.

Ah ha, a liar versus a buyer!

As a rule, I will not keep an appointment with a prospect to fails my shielded questions test. How can I believe anything else that person will tell me at our face-time appointment?

Am I being too sensitive? Am I placing an X on the door of a potential prospect? No! In fact, those few times when I have kept the face-time appointment with a liar, I have wasted my time on non-prospects. I don’t have the time or patience to meet with people who don’t respect me. When someone lies to me, they don’t respect me!

This shielded questions technique works especially well for commercial and industrial telemarketing sales. In 1987, I developed a CPQ scenario for an industrial sales software vendor. Elaborate product information kits were mailed, in advance, to all inquiries. Yet, fewer than 8% of these elaborate product information kits resulted in sales.

Two CPQ Questionnaires were designed and tested. The first CPQ narrow-focused an inquirer’s: urgency, decision-making-process, including who in the company by name and position was seated on the Software Evaluation Committee and whether the committee had a ‘funded budget’  to thoroughly research, conduct field trips to vendor installation sites prior to creating a short list of the three most capable solution providers. The ‘funded budget’ shielded questions and answers separated the curious from the serious.

The second CPQ Questionnaire was used after the prospect received the basic information kit which was one quarter the length of the original elaborate product information kit. The telemarketers asked the prospects specific questions about the software architecture and platform. Questions which could only be answered if the prospect thoroughly read the basic information kit. Both CPQ’s included multiple shielded questions.

Almost 8 months to the day the dual CPQ Questionnaires were implemented, conversions to sales were averaging 19-24%.

I’d be shocked if most of you aren’t using a CPQ type document, either printed or screen-displayed. However, if you aren’t using shielded questions, make some changes; add a few and you are sure to improve your conversion to serious, not curious decision-making prospects.

In Chapter 7 of the September edition of my How to Get Face-Time with People Who Buy What You Sell ebook (also called the PowerProspecting eBook) I detail how to design the ideal CPQ. Also,  how to skillfully use my best secret weapon: The Columbo to forever eliminate wasted face-time sales appointments! CLICK on Purchase eBook Now. CLICK on Home Page. CLICK on View FREE Minibook. Remember, you have a 1 Year Money-Back Guarantee to test my Formula.

So, what works for you and your sales team? How do you filter liars and buyers?