The Conference Coach™

I have worked my way through college by specializing in lead research.  After my experiences in researching for teleconferencing companies, I have discovered some secrets to identify the ‘Ideal Customer Profile.’  Much of what I have learned is how to use the web to identify how closely the company fits with the ideal profile and who the right contact is for the sales organization.

Use Blueprinters to Look for Leads
Blueprinters are the engine that drives our company to expand and grow in clientele.  It is the job of the blueprinter to uncover as much information as humanly possible on potential clients and relay that information to the sales team. With that information, the sales team is better equipped to sell our products and services to those clients.

Identify the Ideal Customer Profile
In order to identify the Ideal Customer Profile, it is important to first know to what type of business your company caters.  In our business, size matters.   A very small company with 1-10 employees operating in a local area will most likely not be interested in using our conferencing services. On the other side of the spectrum, a company that might have 4,000 or more employees, operates globally, and has a large revenue stream will likely use conferencing, but it will be harder to get the right information.

Determine your ideal target market.  Copper Conferencing, caters primarily to small and medium-sized companies.  A good example of a company Copper would profile is one with 100 to 500 employees with offices in multiple states.  Your ideal customer profile may be for a specific industry or may contain a specific job title.

Determine the Details
Start with the basics.  To produce a good list for the sales organization, starting with the basics is essential.  When the prospect is passed on to sales, the sales person knows who the company is, how big it is and the primary contact information.  Beyond that look for other information that more closely matches a company to the ideal customer profile.  If the company doesn’t fit your idea customer profile, move on.

A potential prospect on the list is not considered completed until all of the information required for the ideal customer profile is obtained.

Use the Internet Wisely
The Internet is great source of information on potential clients. From the Internet alone, one can gather 95% of the information needed to complete an ideal customer profile.  If necessary, the blueprinter can make a phone call.

The Client’s Website
Most, if not all potential clients have a website. The website will also most likely contain the address and phone number of their headquarters or other offices.  Look in the “Contact Us” section or somewhere on the home page of the website. Most client websites also contain an “About Us” section. From this section of the webpage, company size, industry, annual revenue, additional names and possibly even the emails of the company officers may be discovered. However, as many companies are wary of giving out email addresses, chances of coming across one so easily vary greatly by size of company and industry.

Google
Google is another great way of finding vital information, especially when looking for email addresses. If an email address cannot be found on the client’s website, chances are good the information has leaked out onto the World Wide Web from another employee of the company. There is a very simple process for Google-researching an email:

• In the Google search window, type in *@companywebsite.com and do a search If an employee of that same company has leaked their email out onto the World Wide Web for any reason, it will show up in one of the Google search results! The key to finding it is to scan the search results for the bolded email. Chances are that you will not find the EXACT email of the person you are looking for, but from whatever result you uncover, you can discern the correct format of the email (Ex; jdoe@website.com or johndoe@website.com)

Cold Calling
If all of the information you need is not available on the web, a phone call into the company directly must be made to attempt to uncover the information.

• Cold Calling Tips – When calling into a company, it is important to know that a secretary or operator will not simply give you any information you ask for, but there are ways to break down their barriers!

1. It is always important to be Calm, Polite and Respectful, even if the same is not returned to you! Remember that by calling to a company directly you are representing yours.
2. Do not call the same company more than once a day. If you do not get your desired results the first time, you can try again the next day. If you try back on the same day, chances are they will remember you and hang up.
3. Use a script. Role playing is fun and is a great way to obtain desired information.  For example: “Hello, my name is David and I am a college student doing a report for my business class. I was wondering if I could talk to your CFO and ask him some questions regarding his job
4. When trying to find the name of an officer or other contact, using the name of someone else in the company will often wield the best results.

The most important tip for any blueprinter using any methods at their disposal is to have patience! Uncovering all of the information is a process but one that is well-rewarded if the job is done correctly.

About Conference Coach Ross
Ross Bradfield is a member of the lead research team for Copper Conferencing. Ross joined Copper Conferencing in August 2008. Ross is responsible for providing the Copper sales force with information regarding potential future customers as well as customer service representation. Ross has over 5 years of lead research experience and has worked as a lead researcher for Raindance Communications, an office manager for Hackett Crossing Executive Suites and has extensive experience in customer service through years of service in the restaurant industry.

Ross is currently attending Georgia Perimeter College in Dunwoody, Georgia, in pursuit of an English Degree. Ross is a highly active, athletic individual and enjoys working out, as well as providing personal training for any gym enthusiast.