Prospect calling, or cold calling as it's commonly known, is not for the faint of heart. However, it can be less daunting with proper preparation, research and a plan. If you look deep enough, each call, even the bad ones, offers loads of information and learning opportunities. In this blog, I lay out some tips that I've picked up in my 10 years of lead development. 

As  a lead generation company, we're always discussing the importance of being found on the internet through SEO, blogging, content development, the list goes on. But in addition to being found -  you must be REMEMBERED.

Let's face it, getting found is a difficult task unless you have a big budget for marketing (which most  of us don't). So, when you do get found, you'll want to take advantage of that opportunity and draw people in with something special and unique.

How do you do that? By telling YOUR story. Stories are retained, much more so than a list of products or services.  A  story will help you stand out in the crowd of companies vying for attention. You may say, "I don't have a story," but you do.  Everyone has a story.

I regularly  interview our staff of lead development representatives who spend their days on the phone with the people on the front lines of manufacturing and this is what they hear over and over again: supply chain managers have to buy cheaper products overseas. They wish they could buy American, but the cost-reduction pressures on the US supply chain force companies to purchase manufactured goods overseas even though American manufacturing quality is still the best.  

So, it got me really thinking about how this relates to the skills gap we all keep reading about  all over the news.  Go to any publication, industry news, business insider and they all say the same thing, "The US has a major problem with skilled workers to fill the ever-growing number of jobs in manufacturing." They blame education, manufacturing automation, a global supply chain, and the politics of the time. They're all right, but my question is, "What came first: the skills gap or the government policies"

You want to increase sales, and you understand that strengthening and managing your professional relationships with customers is the key to your success. So, it's likely you're looking to adopt a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Adopting a software like this isn't as easy as flipping a switch.  It takes multiple steps and requires a detailed and organized process. At Acadia, having adopted several software applications for internal use, so we understand what goes into a change like this, and have become quite good at it.  Our advice: don't go it alone. 

 If you're involved in complex sales or considered-purchase sales, you understand the challenges associated with them: 

You’ve come to terms with the fact that you don’t have the bandwidth or capabilities to take on some of your company’s necessary marketing work.  So now what?  There are many marketing agencies that will claim to have the skills to help your company, but it's important to not just pick the first one you find. In this blog post, I'll expand on the most vital factors to keep in mind as you go through the marketing agency evaluation process.