When Acadia was first starting, it was based on a remote employee model. I was not only a professional but a mother, wife, friend, and neighbor. Using my experience, I built Acadia realizing that at-home professionals, specifically women with children, had the potential to be a really valuable resource. Working remotely was mutually beneficial for both the employees and Acadia. While this model became very successful, collaboration was always a challenge. “I will never forget the day that Google Docs became available," I said, "it was a game changer for the way we could share information and collaborate.” New technologies have allowed for a greater level of communication, making it easier to grow and utilize talents from around the country. 

We all have been bombarded with information about millennials in the workplace. A great deal of it revolving around the their expectations and behaviors. Unfortunately, I do believe they are getting a bad rap. Here at Acadia, we have been actively hiring millennials as  interns for the past 5 years. I'm not saying that what we read or hear is incorrect, but more often than not, it is laced with opinions and perceptions which are not wholly accurate. Most of the time, these opinions come from, let's say, more seasoned individuals. I'm guilty as well. As business owners, we better figure out the formula. Why? Because these young professionals are the fastest growing sector of the work force and 50% of buying and sourcing decisions are being made by them. 

Although no single rule governs which questions are most effective for generating leads, your approach could make or break the success of your outbound campaign. It's not simply a matter of divining the right questions, but investing in a process that works.  In order to produce the results you're hoping for, you should:

• Be clear on your objective
• Know your prospects
• Develop a rapport that establishes trust
• Showcase your solution
• Build an ongoing relationship (i.e., another call or contact point)

Let's look at each individually.

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.