Advice in approaching future clients

[davmet]

Hi all

I'm looking to expand my steel fabrication business, I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to approaching companies to try and bring in more custom. I mainly deal with local authorities and get my work through tendering which is pretty informal. I'm a fabricator myself hence the reason for my inexperience in this matter. I have no sales background so I find this pretty scary! I would be grateful if anyone can give me some useful advice on how to approach companies. I know who I want to approach however it's the how to approach that's my problem. Hopefully some of you could help I'm open to all suggestions or maybe something that has worked for you that I could try. Thanks

 

[Merchant UK]

I would imagine a casual telephone call would suffice in this matter, simply call them and introduce yourself and your company and ask them if there is any work they could let you quote for?

If you still feel you can't do that phone calling part then you could always get someone in to call for you, but you'll always have the problem of not knowing what they said for sure etc..

Having my own Welding and Fabrication business myself i would recommend direct contact yourself and get a website made with some recent work showing, thats better than any business card.

You could always Search for welding and fabrication jobs on my site www.welderfab.co.uk and contact comopanies direct that are looking for staff, they may be interested in using a 3rd part company as opposed to the expense of hiring full time employees.

Good Luck and let us know how you got on, i'll help where i can

Gerry

 

[businessfunding]

Great that you want to do this

The best way to warm up cold-calling is targeting and research

Research the business & people (I see it as really useful to have a picture of the person you are calling) so that you can personalise the call to them

Targeting so that you you have an idea of needs and wants so get the appropriate benefits

Good luck!

 

[iBusiness Forums]

Hi Davmet.

YOu said you're pretty inexperienced. I'm guessing that you don't have that of a solid or impressive portfolio yet. So why not build up a strong or compelling "resume" first?

Try a Facebook Page--it's free and popular. Make the most of this. Solidify your Page by giving massive information about your company--bolster it with interesting photos plus captions, too!

After that, get your friends to like it and share it even and when you do, always update your Page regularly with great content!

good luck

 

[Gecko001]

Davmet

If you are a small fabricator, rather than going for supplying all the steel for a project, you could try to get the secondary structural steelwork. I am referring to M&E plant platforms, mezzanine floors, balustrades, gates, railings, etc. While say the main structural steel frame say to a new supermarket is provided by a large fabricator, the secondary steelwork is often supplied by the smaller fabricators. So perhaps try some large main contractors who might be willing to give this type of work.

 

[stsoftltd]

Hey, nice topic
I like the facebook page idea... its always good to get some more popularity.
Get an impressive website to present you and your work for you. You can make a good presentation trough a video in your site. You can look for a company that does such kind of videos

 

[MBE1]

Pick up the phone as suggested, still a quick and easy method to gain work, follow up with an actual visit if possible.

 

[iBusiness Forums]

Pick up the phone as suggested, still a quick and easy method to gain work, follow up with an actual visit if possible.

Yes, this is good also. Telemarketing is not dead--at least not yet. Sometimes the manual and good-old fashioned way is still applicable and doable. Indeed, you need to really slug it out and go the extra mile.

Who knows? your prospects will even admire and thank you for it

 

[davmet]

Thank you all for your replies. My main issue is probably the introduction. I don't want to sound cheesy!!! My company has made in the region of a £1mil turnover this year & it's now time to expand, however as explained earlier I lack experience myself in approaching people, all my work has been informal until the contract has been one. It's really something that I need to do myself, I need to get out my comfort zone and start approaching! But how? :|

 

[David Griffiths]

The main issue should be that the company that you are calling is not registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a central opt out register whereby individuals can register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. It is a legal requirement that companies do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS.

 

[peggyprice]

Thank you all for your replies. My main issue is probably the introduction. I don't want to sound cheesy!!! My company has made in the region of a £1mil turnover this year & it's now time to expand, however as explained earlier I lack experience myself in approaching people, all my work has been informal until the contract has been one. It's really something that I need to do myself, I need to get out my comfort zone and start approaching! But how? :|

A couple of suggestions: one is to get yourself along to some sales training seminars (try your local chamber of commerce or business networks, there are always people offering these sorts of events, so ask around and find out which ones are worth going to and which ones are just ripping you off). A good one will give you some basic tips and hints on how to approach people and will give you a chance to practice in a safe space.

The other is to do it for yourself.
1. Put yourself in the prospect's shoes - what do they need from you? What problem can you solve for them? The conversation is all about them, remember, and how you can help them - it's not actually about you at this stage.
2. Write down the top three bullet points that would answer those questions.
3. Work yourself out a 'script' - not as in learning something word for word, but getting those three points fixed firmly in your mind so that every conversation you have you make sure you've got them across.
4. Practice! Ask people you know and trust to let you try out your cold calling skills on them - do it for real, ringing them up and starting the conversation. And if you don't think you can even do that, practice on yourself! Just saying the words out loud rather than in your head can make it feel an awful lot easier when it comes to the real thing. And when you come to do it for real you'll be much less hesitant - you'll have worked out which bits make you stumble and have found ways to smooth them out.
5. Research - be sure about who you want to talk to, when and why.
6. One tip is to get the direct line number of the person you want to speak to and call early - before the PA or receptionist gets into the office - or late, after they've gone home. Your prospect will probably answer the phone themselves, saving you the biggest problem which is getting past the gatekeepers.

And remember, however uncomfortable you feel doing it, no-one ever actually died of embarrassment

Good luck!

 

[Leads2Sales]

Another option is to outsource the sales work to a company that specialises in B2B development. I know I do this for a living but I am only putting the idea out there.

 

[MBE1]

Outsourcing is a potential avenue, but nothing works better than the company owner selling his own business IMO, you will carry a lot more authority than just a telesales or appointment maker, your product knowledge will be superior.

All you need is to try, maybe you might make some mistakes, but you also will avoid being put in the same hole as everyone else. Think back to when someone rung yourself who impressed you, it might be the simplistic approach, honesty, helpfulness etc, but sales patter rarely comes into it.

Let us know what you decide to do. Best of luck if you try.

 

[businessfunding]

Whether you ultimately outsource or not, I strongly suggest that you have a crack at it yourself.

As per my prior post the better researched you are and the more you target the more natural it will be

Practice your opening statement until it doesn't sound like you've practised it.

Have a 3 point agenda. If its going well keep going, but remember this is a process, not a single event.

Set a simple, achievable goal - eg to talk to 3 prospects.

Have a set time and a good space to do it in

Have a follow-on process

It will make you feel sick but you will benefit (probably not on a first call) and despite what anyone says it works - end of!

 

[iBusiness Forums]

Another option is to outsource the sales work to a company that specialises in B2B development. I know I do this for a living but I am only putting the idea out there.

Yes, that's a good idea also. There's a good reason as to why outsourcing is here to stay and why it's a success. And b2b services is one area that is most widely outsourced to foreign countries.

 

[businessfunding]

. And b2b services is one area that is most widely outsourced to foreign countries.

Don't - under any circumstances - outsource direct sales offshore.

 

[Gecko001]

Thank you all for your replies. My main issue is probably the introduction. I don't want to sound cheesy!!! My company has made in the region of a £1mil turnover this year & it's now time to expand, however as explained earlier I lack experience myself in approaching people, all my work has been informal until the contract has been one. It's really something that I need to do myself, I need to get out my comfort zone and start approaching! But how? :|

Is there a new process or service that you have recently started or plan to start? If you do, you could use that as a reason for calling with prospective clients. That way any cold calling will probably be a bit more natural and easier to do.

 

[SkoshBusiness]

Hi Davmet,

We work with businesses to improve leads, sales and selling techniques so I am in favour of outsourcing as mentioned above. However, if you want to try and do it yourself, I am happy to provide you with some advice about starting out in sales. Drop me a PM if you want to know more.

 

[Lolleo]

Would be nicer if you shared it with the forum as there are others who could benefit from your knowledge and experience

Hi Davmet,

We work with businesses to improve leads, sales and selling techniques so I am in favour of outsourcing as mentioned above. However, if you want to try and do it yourself, I am happy to provide you with some advice about starting out in sales. Drop me a PM if you want to know more.

 

[SkoshBusiness]

Would be nicer if you shared it with the forum as there are others who could benefit from your knowledge and experience

I agree but its a lot to type. The reason I asked for a PM is because to make this successful I would normally find out everything I can about the OPs business, who they are targeting and how business is normally won.

In this case I would suggest making a few cold calls to some of the smaller potential customers and seeing how your message resonates. The benefit of doing this is that you find out what questions, challenges and objections are thrown at you which allows you to tailor your message or script for the next call.

When it comes to cold calling, you cannot fail. I say this because when you are rejected you should find out why. Is it cost, do they use someone else, or is there simply no need for your services. There can be lots of rejection reasons but this type of feedback is extremely valuable as you can look at your business and potentially address the reasons for rejection.

If its cost - look at your pricing, if they use a competitor - find out who, why and the good and bad about the competitor, if no interest - find out why.

Even when someone isn't interested immediately, they may well be in the future so you should try and get their email address and ask them if its ok to keep them updated.

The other thing to remember is perseverance pays!!! I saw a stat that indicated that the best and most successful sales people are those that do not give up. I have won some of my biggest deals on the 7th or 8th time of calling. Had I given up after 2 or 3 attempts I never would have won the business and may not have had another chance to gain that customer as they could've and would've gone to a competitor.

Another tip is to offer them some advice or tell them something that they didn't know. People love this and when you add value they are more inclined to do business with you.