Lead Gen Tips from Yogi Berra

Updated: January 01, 2012

"All pitchers are liars or crybabies:" Don't pitch, have a conversation. If you pitch, you aren't conveying sincerity ... you aren't having a conversation. Bring value.

"If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer:" Believe me, this has value. Don't provide sales drivel in a conversation. If you don't know, tell a prospect you don't know. What better reason to keep the conversation alive than "actually, I may not be the perfect person to answer that. Can I line up a conversation between you and Mr. Sales Guy?"

"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much:" How true is this? Just stop selling and listen to your prospects. Ask open ended questions -- leading questions. Get them to keep talking and pay attention to where they are going. The more they talk, the less you can get in trouble.

"If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else:" What is your goal of your lead gen activity? Are you appointment setting? Are you trying to gather intelligence? Are you trying to do qualified lead gen? Know the purpose of every email, every dial, every conversation, and then stick to your purpose. If you are setting meetings, make that your goal.