How to generate leads as a Young Salesman?

First of all I would like to clarify that I do not have the answer to this question in the slightest and am very open to the greater LinkedIn community to comment and give suggestions. However, that being said, I would like to give me 2 cent comment on what has worked for me and what I believe doesn't. How does a young salesman compete with the likes of salesman that have been in the market for 15-30 years and have a contact base to call up on. What do you do when you have no contact base to call up on? How do you compete with the older sales people in the organisation to get in front of the right people at the right time?

Keep in mind that I am particularly referring to the B2B space as the B2C space is a different animal completely.

Networking - specifically in person events/conferences/seminars

I go to my fair share of events and conferences and after reading "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferazzi I have a better idea of how I should prepare for the event, how to approach people as well as who I should approach. However, I have a few issues regarding this approach.

The first and by far the biggest, is the entrance fee a lot of these events command to enter especially the ones that I would truly like to go to and yes I immediately hear the words of Tony Robbins, and the like, coming down on me telling me to make the investment. However, R 20-40k is something which I see as completely ridiculous. In my mind, I would rather re-invest that type of money into my business, develop a solution, hire someone or throw it all into digital advertising. At least then I can reach a larger client base with detailed metrics to work out my ROI.

Secondly, from my experience, the people that you meet at these events, more often than not, are not there to network themselves but rather make a name for themselves for speaking at a particular conference or expo. Besides that, I know that I am not the only one that is wanting to reach out to them and make a lasting impression to the point that they remember me when I call or e-mail them an hour later. There are other enthusiastic fans wanting to catch a 5-10 minute conversation with this industry or thought leader. I am by all means not complaining and I do understand that this is sometimes required, however, I refer back to my title, is this the best way to generate leads...

Cold Calling from a given list

I would love to see the data from an organisations whose cold calling strategy is still working. In my experience, limited as it might be, cold calling does not work - at least in the B2B space. Yes, I have read books and articles explaining that you need to be prepared and hit the right buttons quickly, however, I know how I currently react to cold calls and its not positive. Further, I don't see a C-level gent or lady reacting positively to a sales rep trying to create business value with a 30 second call. However, the one good thing that I have taken from cold calling is the ability to re-act with agility as well as handle rejection. I currently see it as a time waster for generating leads but a creator of value for a new sales person that is wanting to handle rejection and remain optimistic. So, in my view, this is not a good option, however, I again request from the LinkedIn community to give me opinions.

Inbound Marketing

As someone that got introduced to the internet in my formative years, I see this as the best method in generating leads. Getting in the face of potential clientele through various online social platforms is a requirement nowadays in order to stay competitive. However, as per the title of this article, this doesn't assist the individual but rather the organisation to have a digital marketing strategy for inbound marketing. My only remark is that the individual needs to pro-actively work together with the marketing team to ensure that the message is consistent across the organisation. It is imperative that the sales and marketing team work hand in hand with one another as the sales team understand customers'requirements in relation to the product and the marketing team understand how to package and beautify it. However, I consider it very poor marketing practice for the marketing team to hand the sales team leads that are at least not slightly qualified.

LinkedIn - invites/network/direct messages

This is personally my favourite as it has consistently worked for me in the past. Through a combination of carefully worded invite requests, group chats and inMail messages I have managed to generate valuable leads where I feel my organisation and subsequent partners can offer true value.

Referral Network

My understanding of a referral network is a combination of family, friends and acquaintances that can assist in connecting you to other individuals that might have a need for solutions or products that you offer. Jeffrey Gitomer explains in his book "Little Red book of selling," that this network can be created by being part of social clubs, sports clubs, charity organisation, etc. In other words, any organisation that's focus is not business. Within these organisation you will form relationships that are not built on business needs but rather on shared interests. These relationships build upon each other allowing you to create leads that are more organic and word of mouth - the best type of lead generator. My business partner is advocate for this type of lead generation. Through a combination of gym, golf and car clubs he has managed to consistently generate valuable leads. Additionally, we at Braeven have tried to embrace this type of lead generation tactic through creating an associate partner network. A group of individuals that are other independant contractors or consultants that have their eyes and ears within other organisations and can financially benefit from creating qualified leads through simply paying more attention when attending meetings with their clients and understanding their sore points outside of their contracted responsibility.

Conclusion

Networking and lead generation are one in the same thing. The greater your network be it social or face-to-face your ability to generate leads as an individual will greatly increase as you expand your network base.

Again, I implore all readers to leave their comments and thoughts on strategies that have worked for them in the past.