How many cold calls did you make last week? How many are you planning to make this week? With new technology and social media sites, the answer should be relatively low. The way inside sales teams prospect has gone in a completely new direction. Salespeople no longer rely on the cold call as a way to generate business opportunities. Instead, they are turning to the web.

     It used to be that salespeople would be on the phones all day making hundreds of calls just to generate one lead. Now, numerous leads are appearing with just the click of a mouse. There are a couple ways that reps can harness the new tools that are out there. The first is Google News Alerts. Simply type in a keyword or business that you would like to get keep track of and click-there are thousands of articles that give you news and information about potential clients. Read these links to learn more about them. Then when you try to get in contact with them, you will be more prepared. The second site that you can use is LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to type in the name of a company that you are looking to do business with. It will pull up employees that work there, and you can scroll through and see who you have a connection with (a connection is a mutual friend or colleague). When you have a connection with someone, the idea of prospecting becomes much easier.

     When it comes to prospecting, it is important that you are talking to the right customers, and you are not wasting your time trying to get in contact with someone who does not need your product or service. Remember, if people do not need what you are selling then they are not going to buy. So, created a tailored sales training program that helps your inside sales team transition from the old ways of prospecting to the new.