Most sales professionals send their prospects and current customers business cards and brochures. There is nothing wrong with that—these items provide valuable information.

     But, while these items are necessary and useful, they are primarily centered on the sender and his company. What if you could take it a step further? What if you could provide items that promote your company but still focus on your customer?

     These two actions don’t have to be mutually exclusive and it doesn’t have to cost much. You can provide your prospect with useful data simply by passing on news articles that pertain to their business. With Internet access, this is easy and takes very little time. Many of the major search engines have “news tracker” or “virtual news clipper” functions. You simply set it up to pull articles with keywords you dictate, and it searches the daily news nationwide for articles meeting your criteria. For example, if your merchant has an Internet storefront, you can send articles about increased Web use, online shopping demographics, or results of Internet surveys. If the prospect sells sporting goods, articles about local competitions and road races may be helpful. If you’re dealing with a restaurateur, reviews of either local eateries or similar cuisine restaurants in other cities would be helpful.

The End

© Copyright 1995-2000
The Green Sheet, Inc.