from Art Sobczak's weekly column:
This Week's Tip
Greetings!
A couple of years ago I noticed the book,
"Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling," by
Sam Richter. http://www.takethecold.com/
It wasn't a sales tips or technique book,
but rather the most comprehensive collection
of web search ideas I've ever seen for
getting information about people, companies,
and industries.
I was blown away! At the time, I was in
the process of planning my entire Smart
Calling system, including the book, of
which gathering intelligence is a major
component. I had to meet this guy,
since what he teaches needed to be
part of the toolbox of any true
Smart Caller.
We connected, and even did an Audio
Seminar together. In fact, until next
week, as an introduction to Sam and
his material, I'm offering the $49
downloadable one-hour seminar, full of
great secrets at $35 off, just $14. Go to
http://businessbyphone.com/
Sam and I will be on stage together,
offering interactive customized workshops
for companies, associations, and national
sales meetings, showing exactly how to
use his secrets to gather intelligence, and
plugging it into my Smart Calling process
to get through to buyers, engage them, and
turn them into customers. (For more info,
call me at 402-895-9399, or email me at
ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com)
Sam also is now writing a regular column
for my monthly Telephone Prospecting and
Selling Report. Here is one of his first
columns with us.
Three Google Web Search Secrets for Getting
Insider Prospect and Customer Info
By Sam Richter
In March 2010, there were 15.4 billion online
information searches conducted via popular
search engines, with more than 65% of it
done using Google. And in the business world,
it's my experience that Google has a 95%
search market share.
Yet even though Google is very easy to use,
most people only access a small portion of
what Google has to offer.
The standard call where you give the same
pitch or voice mail message to everyone
just doesn't cut it (yet it's surprising
how many people still "smile and dial").
In his book, Smart Calling, Art calls that
the Dumb Call.
It's imperative that prior to any sales
call, that you find information about your
prospect so you can customize your message.
And I'm not talking about just visiting
someone's Web site. Rather, a good search
can reveal detailed information that helps
you better personalize your entire call and
your examples to things that your prospect
or client cares about.
If you're a true Smart Caller who understands
that the intelligent use of information is
power, these three Google Web Search Secrets
can help you get the inside information on
companies, industries, and people.
1. Google Advanced Search
For most people, receiving millions of Google
search results has become a way of life.
It doesn't have to be that way
.
Think of Google as a virtual vacuum cleaner,
looking for Web pages with words that it can
vacuum up and put in the Google database.
When you type in words into the Google search
form, all it is doing is returning Web page
results where your words have appeared most often.
The trick, then, is putting better information
into Google so you can get better information
out.
How?
Use the Google Advanced Search form. You'll
find the link right next to the search button
on Google's home page.
Once in Google Advanced Search, you can enter
in words, phrases, words that are not important
to you, and more. Take a few moments and think
about exactly what you want, and use the fields
to enter the information. Click the search
button and notice how much better your results are.
2. Google Timeline Search
Type the name of a company in Google. If the
company name is more than one word, put the name
between quotation marks (e.g. "acme corporation").
On the Google results page you'll see a link
that says "Show Options." Click on the link.
This allows you to sort your Google search
results using a number of criteria.
One of the options is labeled "Timeline."
Click on is and you'll see a graphical
timeline by decade, with certain time periods
blocked out. Click on one of the blocked
out periods and you'll see articles featuring
your search results from your chosen time period.
On the left side, you can also click the
"Latest" link, which will show results
featuring your search criteria mentioned
in blogs, current news, and even instant
Twitter messages.
How can you use this information?
Imagine prior to a sales call that you
conduct this sort of search. You click on
the current month and pull up press releases
and articles. You reference this information
during your call.
For example, you might say: "I saw in your
company press release from last week that
you are..." or "I thought that article from
last month where you were quoted was..."
Even the historical information is valuable,
as it will show you how the company has
progressed over time, past partnerships,
and it even might reveal past or current
vendors.
3. Google Filetype Search
Imagine finding a competitor's sales proposal,
an association's membership list, or a high-
end research report online. It's truly
amazing what people post to the Web. From
company budgets to vendor and client lists,
companies think that the files they post
online for colleagues or clients to download
are secure, but if not properly protected,
Google can index the data and make it
available to people who know how to look.
a). Enter the information you want and/or
the company name (use quotations around
phrases).
b). Enter filetype: (filetype colon) and
then choose a filetype extension e.g.
pdf = adobe acrobat; xls = Excel spreadsheets;
ppt = PowerPoint document; doc = Word document.
For example, "paper industry" +
"membership list" filetype:xls will
search for a paper industry membership
list in Excel format. "Widget corporation"
filetype:ppt will search for a Widget
Corporation PowerPoint presentation.
"Plastics industry" + trends OR
issues filetype:pdf will locate research
reports and/or articles related to trends
or issues in the plastics industry.
If you're looking for additional search
resources, please make sure to visit my
Know More! Warm Call Center where you
can also download my Warm Call Toolbar
http://www.WarmCallCenter.com. The site
is completely free and it will help you
to stop "surfing" through Google search
results and instead start getting the
information you need, the first time,
every time.
(Sam Richter is an internationally recognized
expert on sales, marketing, and leadership.
He's author of Take the Cold Out of Cold
Calling, now in its fifth edition, and he
presents his customized Know More! keynote
and training programs to audiences around
the globe. Get his book, and contact him at
http://www.TakeTheCold.com )
______________________________
Get Art's Audio Seminar With Sam Richter
Sharing More Web Search Secrets at $35 OFF
The Regular $49 Price, Just $14!
Or you can get the actual CD AND the instant
download for just $24 after the $35 off. Plus,
we'll throw in the written transcript of the
seminar FREE. Go to
http://businessbyphone.com/
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Adversity is an experience, not a final act."
Michael LeBoeuf
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