Know-How Exchange : Strategy

I suggest mailer first then a phone call.
I agree with your sales force, cold calls on upper level execs rarely work (and consume massive amounts of time getting set up).
I recommend calls made by upper level management of your company to upper level management of the potential clients company. After the call from your management, it is easy to say "I will have one of my people set up the details for you". Salespeople often feel uncomfortable around upper level people because they have never observed or taken part in an upper level meeting.

Hope this helps
Frank Hurtte

The proper title of your question should be, "Getting 'sales' to 'market'." Sorry, sales people don't prospect, they close business from qualified leads.

In an agricultural analogy, they are pickers. "Out in the field" - they do not plow, or plant, or irrigate, or cultivate. they just collect the fruit, after others have done the work to create the crop.

I have over ten years experience dealing this this specific issue, because I have been a cold caller who tries to get sales folks to follow up warm leads. I'm too busy to take on other projects now, but if you want to discuss offline, get my contact info from my profile and give me a call. No charge.

Access to C-level execs is difficult from a "cold call" perspective because 1) They don't have a lot of time or patience for people who are trying to sell them stuff; 2) They have lots of gatekeepers who are paid to protect them; 3) They tend to work with their peers. It's harder the larger the corporation.

Best way is networking with them. Find someone who knows them who you can approach and get a referral. Then you call, tell the gatekeeper that you are calling at the recommendation of *****. You can ask your contact what they think of your product and how they would approach the contact you are trying to reach.

Another way is to work your way up the company chain. Start at a lower level and get an introduction to C-level.

One technique for reaching C-level is to send a clever gift - something that is nice to set on their desk but conveys a subtle message related to your product. For instance, if your product solves a paperwork problem your target has, then maybe a nice crystalline with a saying, "With Les Paper's Electronic Filing Cabinet, you will not have anything under this!"

Certainly if you are going to start with a sales letter, then heavy use of benefits, ROI, testimonials makes it stronger. Incentives for salesmen to do the job you are paying them for and probably giving them a commission for seems redundant. Align their performance pay with the behavior you desire them to take. Why reward them with pay when they aren't doing the job?

I hope this helps.

Wayde

Good answers so far, especially about the difficulties of reaching C-level prospects.

Sales people come in 3 styles: Finders, Minders & Grinders. Knowing where your people fit will help you. AND until you get a definition...in their mind...what a cold call is, you'll be shooting in the dark. I know sales people who think a cold call is contacting anyone who hasn't called them first. Just be sure.

Finders: Your best prospectors. They love the challenge of the cold call.

Minders: More of a customer service/inside sales person. They take care of anything the established customer needs and will bring in some measure of sales.

Grinders: These people will grind out every last piece of business from a customer that is possible. Following King Solomon's advise they know "a three-fold cord is not quickly broken", and the more share of wallet you have, the better your chance of maintaining business when a problem occurs.

Going back to the idea of cold calling, you probably should consider hiring someone to:
Locate prospects
Contact prospects and then have your sales people handle
Closing prospects.

Just thoughts.

Michael

Is the product something that can be sold through seminars?

High level execs will often come to a seminar to hear about something new, especially if it's held at a convenient spot, say in one of the reception/banquet rooms of an upmarket hotel in the business district.

Make the subject matter relevant. Case study how your solution (whatever it is) works in companies like theirs. Parade a CEO/CxO who has helped pilot the product who can highlight the benefits. Make them the star, not your product or people.

Provide a care package with full details to go, and follow up by telephone the following week. No hard sell, just trying to help them make their businesses more effective.

Good luck.

ChrisB