This is a rough guide on the sort of process you should be undergoing in your sales process.

One – Research

Selling something is really more about your prospect then it is about you. Spend some time researching your target online. Find a specific reason why you are contacting them and why your services might be useful to them. Showing them you’ve actually bothered will go a long way when you talk to them. Try and find out who is the right person to speak to. If you are B2C often getting personal details can be tricky, but it is still key to find out where your client base and the best places to reach them both on and offline.

Two- Gatekeepers/Verification

Once you’ve found you target you need to reach out to them. I would suggest that if for instance you are contacting someone in a business then try phoning up, asking who is responsible for X (Could be different to your research!) and asking if you could take an email. I find when I ask for an email rather than asking to speak to them people generally respond to this. With B2C it might be a case that you have to get them to interact with you, this could be through a competition or social media.

Three- Initial Contact

The key to any initial contact is to keep the focus on the client, keep it short and to give them an out. Tell them why you are contacting using the research from before. Tell them a little about yourself. Ask them if this is something they need and if not ask them to tell you so you don’t waste any more time prospecting them. Attach a flyer that will go into more detail so they can read it at their leisure.

Four – Follow Up

Call whomever you’ve emailed, make sure they got your email and see if it’s of interest. Don’t be pushy, don’t try and force your entire sales pitch down their throat. See if it’s of interest, if it’s not of interest now, could it be in the future? Do they have any questions. In some cases this will be all you need to do. If this is B2C then a call might be too much, perhaps another email.

The key thing is that when YOU are relaxed a prospect is relaxed. Desperation or pushiness if a turn off for any client.