FACT: I made a choice and instead of posting to this blog, I chose to add clients and get busy and very profitable, again. Thanks to BO (Barack Obama) my business dramatically improved.

Tactical sales consultants, like me, prosper in hard times. Why? There are several reasons. First, when low hanging fruit falls off the tree and rots on the ground, prospective b2b clients have to re-invent their sales prospecting process or face the grim reality of downsizing or worse yet, shutting their doors. New customers just stopped falling into their doors. Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly, the phones stopped ringing and the sales lead pool dried up. Nothing they tried seemed to work. Coupons, Special Sale Direct Mailing Campaigns, Deep Discount Incentives just did not improve their sales or fatten their margins.

Fewer and fewer sales leads trickled in. At first, many small business owners thought it was a temporary bump in the Economic Road. You know, new Political Party and President in power. In September 2010, we all learned the truth. The System was broken not just seriously flawed.

We came dangerously close to a repeat of the 1929 Great Depression. The Stock Market took a kamikaze-like dive and dominos began to fall in alarming unison from Wall Street to Main Street. Wall Street’s big names started bleeding red ink and pink-slipping thousands of employees.  Countrywide Mortgage collapsed and homes stopped selling. Foreclosures became the norm and abandoned homes with unkempt yards dot our neighborhood landscape.

Even in my small neighborhood For Rent, signs are common. First, it was the retail lumberyard just 2 miles from home at the corner of Tubbs Street and State Road 50. The chain link gate was locked shut at noon when I drove by on my way to pickup my mail. Their lumber bins and parking spaces were empty and just like that, 32 employees joined the growing mass of America’s Unemployed. Next, it was the corner gas station with its locked gas pumps and next to it, the motorcycle dealership was “under new ownership”.

Business owners I had not heard from in years were suddenly inviting me to lunch. You know, to pick my brain for the price of a burger!  I am not a lunch bunch guy. Not then and not now.

Next time I post, I will begin to tell you what I have learned about “Sales Prospecting at Warp Speed” and how you can make the most of the new technologies to prosper again.

Should one post to their blog, weekly; or, only when one has something relevant and important to say? This is the dilemma posed by Blogging Heroes, a recently published book which features bloggers who have achieved significant readership and results. Since I’m a stickler for making the most of my waking hours, I’m inclined to post when I have a specific, timely message which is relevant to the focus of this blog. Thus, I hope you will appreciate my intelligent choice!

My focus for this and succeeding nearterm blog postings will be building and maximizing referral relationships. Continuing where I left off in my November 26th posting, my focus will be leveraging and maximizing networking peer groups.

One of my foremost, developing networking peer groups is the TEC Group. I have chosen to have Ray Watson, a guest blogger and a TEC Chair in Central Florida, explain the advantages of TEC Membership. In Ray’s own words:

Peer group organizations for Presidents and CEO’s have proven to be a tremendous vehicle to develop better leaders making better decisions that create effective results.  Studies have shown that companies involved in peer groups outperform their competition by a factor of 2 or 3 times.  The reasons are simple.  CEO’s  that join peer groups realize they do not have all the answers and involving 10-15 other CEO’s from non-competing companies in the decision making process results in better decisions.  I’m sure you will agree: 15 people are smarter than 1.

In good times, participation in a peer group is a positive thing.  However, in the challenging times we are facing, peer groups are even more beneficial, if not critical.  When times are good, bad decisions can be overcome.  In challenging times, bad decisions or the failure to take advantage of an opportunity may result in the demise of the company.  Many companies are operating on a thin edge and the difference between successes or failures may be just be the difference between making one right or wrong decision.

How can a peer group help?

1.      Improved decision making:  Many CEO’s wrestle with issues which cannot be discussed with staff, friends, or other business people and may be operating in a vacuum.  A peer group provides a talented experienced and supportive team where any and all issues may be discussed in a totally confidential environment.

2.      Increased accountability:  As a CEO, you ensure those who work with you are held accountable.  But who holds you accountable in a supportive and helpful way?  Each peer group and group chairman maintains a strong emphasis on follow-through and implementation of actions committed to by the members.

3.      Personal and Professional Growth: Peer groups participate in workshops and seminars by bringing talented people to the group to work on major business and personal development topics.

4.      Isolation:  Most CEO’s experience a sense of isolation.  In these challenging times, that feeling may be amplified due to the exerted financial pressures.  A peer group provides a support team where members can discuss the undiscussable, helping reduce the stress associated with that level of responsibility.

5.      Change:  Change, in our information age, is coming at us at light speed.  Recent events have accelerated the speed of change.  Most CEO’s are caught up in the tactical battles of day to day management.  They hardly have the time to step away from the business and work “on the business” and think strategically.  Change may overtake the business rather than the business adapting to and taking advantage of change.  A peer group provides a forum for the CEO to recognize how change is affecting his or her business and stay current with the effect of change.

One of the premier and oldest peer group organizations is TEC (The Executive Committee).  There are over 14,000 members internationally and TEC has been helping CEO’s outperform their competition for over 50 years.

I’m not a TEC Member. As a sales prospecting consultant, I offer my services to TEC Member Companies in Central Florida. Recently, I gained access to one TEC Member Group by conducting a free 90 minute presentation about b2b sales prospecting; or in my lingo, POWER Prospecting®, a formula which empowers b2b sales professionals to consistently and painlessly gain ethical access to decision-makers.

While TEC policy strictly prohibits presenters from pitching their services, it does encourage presenters to share their cutting edge business practices with examples of how TEC Members can implement these processes and formulas into their business environment.

TEC Chairs, like Ray Watson, are strict gatekeepers. Ray and I have known each other since the 1980s, when he was President of Inacomp Computer Centers, an $80 million/year computer dealership which was one of my major clients. We have built a trusting relationship which now enables me to share my formula and 26 years of tactical sales prospecting experience with members of his TEC Group.

Already, several TEC Members who attended my November 2007 presentation have hired me to make my magic work inside their organizations; plus, I have also received several well-qualified referrals from those attendees into non-TEC organizations.

To qualify for TEC Membership, companies must have revenues of $1-5 million/year or $6-100 million/year. Those with the former annual revenues may qualify for The President’s Forum and larger organization CEOs may qualify for TEC (The Executive Committee). I say, may qualify, because TEC Membership Chairs follow strict guidelines during individual interviews to ensure membership candidates fit well with others in their small 8-15 member peer groups.

To learn more about TEC and to locate TEC Groups near you, go to www.vistage.com. I can’t say enough good things about this wonderful organization and the services it provides its 14,000 members worldwide. Plus, it is becoming a robust source of new business and networking referrals for my company. Talk about a Win-Win Networking Opportunity!

While the 30 BNI Chapters in my Central Florida Region provide me exposure to 700+ companies who typically generate less than $5 million/year, TEC Group companies cover the higher end of the spectrum. Nurturing these two peer networking groups in this challenging 2009 economy is my “Bail Out Plan”! Whats yours?   

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! 

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?