Specialty Fabrics Review April 2022 - 53

choose to visit the mall and walk in
and buy something. There is rarely
any research done or efforts made
to generate new customers beyond
traditional advertising.
Growing your revenue begins with a
focused approach to doing the research.
Research is broken down into
three parts:
* What you don't have
(new account acquisition)
* What you already have
(current customers)
* Mastering new technologies
and tools to connect with both.
If salespeople are not constantly
doing research, chances are high they
are falling short on their goals (and
losing customers).
New account acquisition. The
first question I ask salespeople when
visiting a business is " show me your
pipeline or list of prospects. " I am
simply asking to see a list they have
compiled of potential new customers
that they are going after. It could be in
a customer relationship management
(CRM) program, on an Excel
spreadsheet, or handwritten on an
old-school yellow legal notepad.
It is staggering how many
salespeople don't have a prospect list
that they are actively pursuing. It is
even worse when sales leaders do not
make this crucial activity a priority
for their business. If salespeople do not
have a current prospect list that they
are attacking daily, then what are they
doing to generate new revenue for the
business? Immediate red flag.
Building a robust pipeline of
prospects is an ongoing collaborative
effort between management and
the sales team. Prospect lists are
generated by researching new business
opportunities, vertical untapped
industries, competitors' accounts,
referrals from existing customers and
other market intel. The list is always
evolving. An approved " hot list " of
prospects should be targeted each week
for discussion and follow-up. New
account wins are always celebrated.
Existing accounts. Your current
customers are yours to lose. Never forget
that. If you don't take care of them, they
will find someone else. Salespeople
regularly proclaim about " how busy
they are, " but then act surprised
when they lose a large account to a
competitor. It is imperative they have
an organized plan to maintain these key
customer relationships with multiple
people at each top account.
Historically the top 20 percent
of customers make up more than
80 percent of the revenues for the
business (80/20 principle in sales).
All salespeople should have a plan to
connect with their top 50-75 accounts
each quarter with a non-sales-related
interaction. Annual business reviews
should also be scheduled to do formal
account reviews to discuss how both
businesses can continue to grow
together. Year-over-year growth in
existing accounts should be the norm
and not the exception.
Master social selling. Few things
have evolved faster than how we
communicate. An effective sales team
must be present and active across all
relevant social media platforms. The
key is to be engaged by following,
liking and commenting on both
customers' and prospects' accounts.
Take advantage of the tools available
on LinkedIn and other platforms to
generate contact and prospect lists.
An increasing number of customers
use social media messaging apps
as one of their primary forms of
communication. Showing your
continued interest in their social media
activity will strengthen connections
both on and offline.
www.SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 53
You will become
acutely aware of where
you need to lean in
as a leader with each
sales representative.
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Specialty Fabrics Review April 2022

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