In this recession, Sales Professionals who once found it easy to attract new customers are finding that the only way to keep their pipelines full is to reach out and touch someone through cold calling. This week we answer a question from a listener who finds himself in this very situation. But first here is a word from our sponsor:

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We received this question from Jackson, a commercial Real Estate broker from Grand Junction, Colorado. He writes, “I’ve been a commercial real estate broker in town for 2 years.  The first year and a half were very busy, and now since the energy industry has slowed down and in some cases left,  I have more vacant office spaces than I’ve ever experienced.  I haven’t had to cold call at all until now.  Do you have any suggestions for building a cold call list?  I’ve been calling businesses out of the phonebook and made a game of counting no’s as mentioned in your book 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession.  There must be a better way to narrow down the list.”

How to Start Cold Calling

Jackson, the problem you face is one that many salespeople--who once found it easy to attract customers--are running into during this recession. All of a sudden the phone stopped ringing and they’ve either got to start making outbound calls or starve to death. And since eating is a pretty big motivator, like you, they’ve picked up the phone book and started dialing for dollars. But cold calling from the phone book is a tough way to make a living. It is made even tougher considering how many businesses no longer rely on printed phone books to get their name in front of customers.

Right now our listeners who work in industries that have always relied on a large amount of cold calling are one step ahead of me. They know that there are better ways to generate leads. Many have spent years adding leads to their database. Because of that, their job is made easier; instead of looking for leads to call, they simply open their CRM program, run a filter, and start setting appointments.

You, on the other hand are not so fortunate, and-- because you are starting from scratch-- there are a few things you’ll want to do to make your job easier.

Define Your Ideal Prospect

First define your ideal prospect. (We discussed this in our last episode.) I have no doubt that you have a pretty good idea of which businesses you should be calling for commercial real estate needs. So stop and take a few minutes to put what you know down on paper. If I were you, I would categorize the prospects this way:

• A prospects: Ideal prospects,
• B prospects: Prospects that are good but not great, and
• C prospects: Prospects that-- for the most part-- are a waste of your time.

The information you include about these prospects should include the type of business, industry, size of the business (including the number of employees), and other characteristics that you look for in ideal prospects.

Find Lead Sources and Do Research

Once you have figured that out, the next step is to find lead sources and do some research. There is no magic to this. It takes hard work. The key is finding resources that will make it easier for you to sort through data based on the criteria you have defined for ideal prospects. My first recommendation is to visit your local chamber of commerce. They should have a list of most of the businesses in your area. That list will likely allow you to sort by industry type and number of employees. While there, ask for information on new businesses that may be coming to town and those that potentially will be expanding. You’ll be surprised at how much information is available at the chamber. I also recommend getting on the Internet and searching for press releases, news, and other information related to your local area and the businesses you want to call on. You’ll often be able to turn up valuable data that will get you moving in the right direction.

Get Access to Reference USA

Next, I recommend going to your local library and getting access to Reference USA. That tool will give you free access to an amazing amount of data that you can easily search and sort by the ideal prospect criteria you developed. This is an indispensible resource for building your lead database. You can find more info at ReferenceUSA.com.

Consider a Fee-Based Resource

Finally, consider using a fee-based resource to uncover leads. These resources will also be searchable and sortable by the criteria you define. The costs vary, but generally the information is worth the money and you will save tons of time. Some of these resources include: Jigsaw, Sales Genie, Hoovers, Manta, and Zoom Info. There are many more as well and I suggest doing some searches on the Internet to see what you turn up.

In my new audio book, 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession I discuss how important it is for Sales Professionals to once again master the basic fundamentals of selling. Cold calling is one of those fundamental building blocks that many salespeople are rediscovering during this economic crisis.

The most important thing you can do is to commit to a daily prospecting and cold calling routine. Not once a week or a couple of times a week – every day. Daily prospecting is critical to your success. Be sure to block time on your schedule for cold calling and keep that appointment with yourself. When you do your pipeline will grow, you will gain momentum, and even in this tough economic environment you will thrive and eventually Outsell The Recession

If you want to learn what it takes to thrive during this economic crisis be sure to get my new audio book, 7 Rules For Outselling The Recession. You can download Sales Guy's 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession on iTunes, Amazon or Audible.com.

Don’t forget to try  Go To Meeting FREE for 30 days . visit www.GoToMeeting.com/podcast for your free trial.

This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy. Send your sales questions to me at salesguy@quickanddirtytips.com. And this week be sure to go to www.SalesGravy.com and get your free subscription to Sales Gravy eMagazine where you will get weekly tips and advice from many of today’s top sales experts and authors. And be sure to check out all of our amazing Podcasts right here on QuickandDirtyTips.com.