FuelNet presents a case study on how one smart growing business landed more quality leads by improving its sales prospecting techniques.

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PROBLEM: Even though Cecile Rothschild’s business, Create and Associates, was doing well and she had a steady stream of prospective clients, the work was not always the best match for her design firm. Her lack of a sales and strategic planning background, she felt, was putting her Armonk, N.Y.–based company at a disadvantage. “I’ve been successful for 15 years by word of mouth,” she says. “But especially in a bad economy, I had to look at what I could do better in terms of sales and strategy.” Rothschild recognized that she needed a plan. “When it’s word of mouth, it’s whatever comes my way,” she notes. “And some jobs may not be appropriate. I needed to learn how to think long term and how to present my company.”

SOLUTION: A friend introduced Rothschild to Jenine Lepera Izzi, owner of salesSpectrum, a New York company that provides customized sales training and consulting services. “The fact that she was teaching a sales course at NYU gave me confidence,” says Rothschild. Using salesSpectrum’s modular training program called the Right to Sell, Izzi worked with Rothschild on business development skills as well as sales techniques that work. “We analyzed step by step what needs to be done,” Rothschild says. “We put together a sales plan that has attainable goals — it really helped me think about what would be good accounts.”

Initially, Rothschild was surprised at how accessible she found the concepts: “I had no sales training or background in this area, but the training was eye-opening and not difficult to follow.” She reports that learning strategic sales planning was worth the time and effort. “Things are looking good,” she says. “I’m keeping very busy and the steps we established are helping. I’ve gained a lot of confidence. I was intimidated by the whole idea of sales training, but now I’m convinced this project is in my best interests.”

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