The Christmas and New Year Season is just around the corner. For most businesses, things slow down and people prepare to take time off and travel, perhaps do some home renovation or just relax. People have more time on their hands.

Now is the PERFECT time to meet people who are otherwise too busy through the year. Here are 10 types of lead generating meetings you can have before the Christmas break:

    1.   Meet with customers to review the year gone by and the opportunities ahead
    2.   Meet with people who were clients at a previous company, but moved on to new companies
    3.   Meet with key influencers in your target companies who can refer you to key decision makers
    4.   Meet with past colleagues who can make that all important introduction in the future or share valuable information
    5.   Meet with sales people from other vendors, who sell into your target market(s) so as to trade information
    6.   Meet with LinkedIn connections who might be able to offer valuable information or introductions
    7.   Meet with people with whom you exchanged business cards at a networking function, seminar or trade show earlier this year
    8.   Meet with clients who have become inactive over the last six to twelve months
    9.   Meet with people who are new in your client organisation and could be potential customers
    10.    Meet with replacements for previous key contacts in companies, before they form strong alliances with competitors.

Pick up that phone and book those appointments. Speed up when others slow down this Christmas and get ready to enjoy big results on the other side of your well deserved break!

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Making the first sale to a customer is just the beginning of your business relationship with them. This three-step series shows you how to use this ‘platform’ to grow sales (after that first sale) with medium and large sized companies. In Step 1 we spoke about how to better understand the ways your customer buys. Here is step 2 of 3.

Step 2 - Assess Incremental Revenue Opportunities

Assessing the Incremental Revenue Opportunities (IRO) in your existing relationships is a critical, on-going process and must be prioritised. If you map how much revenue you are currently generating in a 12-month period, for an individual product or service offering against each target business unit, you will see opportunities for incremental revenue.

In 2006, I met with the Manager for Automobile Associations in NSW for a major account. Our sales from this account had been on the decline and we were looking at ways to turn the tide within this relationship. We soon built a strong relationship and when we asked, we were told about other areas in the Company that might have a need but where we were not the supplier of choice. Our sponsor agreed, at our request, to hold a lunch-and-learn session about our product range, in their board room. He also sent out invitations by email out to the relevant people.

On the day, we had 26 people from various departments in the Company, visit the lunch-and-learn session, meet with the key members of our Account Management team and discuss their needs. A number of them said, “We didn’t know that you could do that!” Within three months from that event, as a result of good opportunity management, relationship building and follow up, we grew the account revenues by 40%.

While the method of engagement to assess IRO will vary, the process of gaining this knowledge is key to future growth of your business relationship.

In Step 3 of this series, we will look at how to approach internal prospects through relationships and referrals.

Have an opinion, question or story? Please click the Comments link below and share it. We would love to hear from you!