Prospecting Slides

Prospecting

Finding qualified prospects for your products or services is a necessary first step in the sales process. You need to have someone to sell to before you make a sale. But, making certain that there is a good possibility that they will buy is what makes them "qualified prospects."

An often used method in prospecting is finding out where your competitors are selling to. These are potentially your customers if you are able to convince them to switch to your brand.

Another method is desk research. Decades ago, flipping the yellow pages or phone book/trade directories is the norm. Now all you need is Google the information you want online. For example, if your products and services are used by ship or rig builders, type in “ship or rig builders” in Google search, and you will have a list of all prospective clients.

How about networking? Getting friends and business associates to refer you to a potential customer is common in many countries, like China and Indonesia.

Once you've identified prospects, you will want to learn all you can before you approach them. How is their company set up? Do they have a purchasing department? Or do every purchase goes through the technical department for evaluation before the purchasing department is involved? Is the boss or director personally involved in all purchasing matters?

Contacting each prospect takes a lot of time and energy so look at each potential prospect carefully to:

·         determine your sales approach and plan your sales calls

·         determine which products and services best suit particular prospects

·         uncover reasons why you should not pursue some prospects, saving you valuable time and resources

In my next post, I will elaborate on the Initial Sale Contact, the second step of the Sales Process.

The Sales Process Slides

The Sales Process

Most business owners would like to focus all their energy on daily business operations and serving existing client demands. It's critical to your success, however, to focus on gaining new business from current and potential customers in order to grow and sustain your company.

The selling process has six key steps. Virtually every sales interaction will follow these steps, whether it lasts several minutes or several months:

1. Prospecting
2. Initial Contact
3. Sales Presentation
4. Handling Objections
5. Closing the Sale
6. Follow-Up and Service after the Sale

As you develop a sales process that is right for you and your business, here are some other pointers to keep in mind:

·         Continuously improve your sales skills, learn from others and stay open to new ideas.

·         Be sincere about your desire to help the prospect. Working together to find technical solutions and solving their problem is your primary objective. Making the sale should be your secondary objective. This attitude will come through in every encounter and will help you build long-term relationships.

·         Contribute more than just your product. Provide industry news updates, trends, solutions of their competitors, creative ideas, and business advice as part of the service you offer.

·         Be direct with your communication. Beating around the bush only frustrates people. Answer all questions. Never patronize.

·         Enclose your business card with every letter and note.

·         Thank people who refer prospects to you. If the referral results in business, send a small, business-related thank-you gift also. For any huge business success, treat these people to lunch.

·         Never lie. Don't badmouth the competition or say negative things about their clients. Don't gossip.

·         Don't overbook yourself so much that you don't have time to listen and be available to your customer for their questions and comments.

In my next post, I will elaborate on the six key steps of the Sales Process.

Productivity is Everyone's Responsibility

Myths of Sales Prospecting

What Your Sales Mentor Never Told You

Sales prospecting is a key activity for most sales driven small businesses. Take the time to revisit your assumptions about sales prospecting...the results will surprise you.

For years, I dreaded the prospecting part of sales. The constant rejection was excruciating until I learned the myths toward sales prospecting.

The 5 Myths of Sales Prospecting

Myth #1: Prospecting is sales.

This is the number one mistake made by small business owners and sales reps. Prospecting is a separate function from sales. Just as marketing is distinct from sales but closely linked.

Prospecting is simply discarding all the unqualified leads and retaining the "gold". The job of prospecting is to find qualified leads that may buy your product. Only after this process is complete, should the selling begin.

Myth #2: Prospecting is a numbers game.

The old school of prospecting for business relies on contacting large numbers of cold contacts. However, quality supersedes quantity. You must find prospects that have a propensity and possible motive to buy your product or services.

I know of a large financial powerhouse, who provided sales reps with contact lists for mortgage and investments. The only problem was most prospects lived in a low income area and were highly unlikely to buy any financial product.

Myth #3: Scripts are for kids.

Many sales people insist on prospecting without any script. Scripting provides the framework of a successful prospecting campaign. It allows you to test what key benefits and qualifying questions work. The script must be personalized by the individual so the presentation does not sound "canned".

Myth #4: Prospecting takes time.

Prospecting takes only a few minutes to determine if the lead wants your benefits and can afford your company's product or service. Don't waste time on people unmotivated or unable to buy. Remember to focus on the "gold".

Myth #5: Close them on the appointment.

Far too many sales reps focus on setting the appointment. "Would Friday morning or afternoon, be better for you?" Next week only 20% of appointments show. What went wrong?

Prospects will sometimes find it easier to agree to an appointment rather than saying they are not interested. If a prospect is remotely interested, then offer a much subtler approach...send them an information package. This allows you to build interest and turn the lead from warm to hot.

Sales prospecting done right can have a huge impact on your sales revenue. It doesn't take an armor suit and great courage to deal with the fear of rejection during prospecting. Just keep an open mind to challenge the old school of sales and the myths of prospecting.

Top Five Traits You Gotta Have to Sell

Stellar sellers and entrepreneurs share great commonality, including personality traits. An entrepreneur will excel because he has such enthusiasm for his service, and his ebullience is embraced by prospects accustomed to the same-old, same-old hackneyed pitches. A great closer will possess an aura of competence and zeal that makes him top of the board each month.

To understand the valuable qualities in selling, we asked what characteristics allow a salesperson to transcend the trite.

1. Creativity. Having an appreciation for the non-obvious solution is a must if a sales pro is going to outpace the pack. While an average salesperson depends on business cards and leave-behinds, a true rainmaker brings a "unique vision to his work that makes him stand out”.

2. Passion. Genuine love for a product gets salespeople through the inevitable dark times, and it makes their offers all the more irresistible to their clients. Passion, like creativity, cannot be faked, so it has great weight with customers.

We rank passion as the number-one characteristic a salesperson needs. You must believe in what you sell. This belief is communicated to the prospect invisibly.

3. Integrity. Why are used-car salesmen so poorly regarded? Because the perception is that they lack integrity and that they'll say anything to get the sale. We think integrity tops the list of qualities salespeople need. "We're building a relationship, and it's imperative that the customer trusts the salesperson."

Feeling good about a purchase is a hallmark of buying from a salesperson with integrity. "Trust brings [customers] back, and that's a key factor to the success of any salesperson,". The importance of selling with integrity has been heightened by the recent poor ethical and financial performance of huge corporations. "Customers still buy the salesperson."

4. Tenacity. Shelving feelings of rejection to keep plugging away is another essential requirement for sales success. "It takes personal courage to get up every morning and say 'I am going to be the best,”. It also requires a certain steely quality to persist in the wake of one dismissal after the next. "Sales requires someone who can always see possibilities, even in difficult situations."

5. Commitment. The sales cycle for any big deal can typically take months, even years. Keeping an eye on the prize, while continuing to sell to other prospects simultaneously, takes commitment. "Selling is never easy,". "You must have a burning desire." Success is the result of a person's "willingness and intent to make things happen."

On the flip side, certain traits will surely doom any salesperson to the also-ran heap: lack of integrity, for instance. Integrity means the person will always attempt to do the right thing for the company and the customers.

We also guard against not being prepared when trying to make a sale. "You can't just pick up the phone and call a prospect because your contact manager says it's time."

And, of course, there's the ultimate vice: dishonesty. "You ruin the chance of repeat or referral business."