To know why prospecting important for effective selling. To know the characteristics of a good of qualified prospect. To know how can prospect be identified? To know how can the organization’s promotional program be used in prospecting. To know how can an effective lead qualification and management system aid a salesperson. To know how can a salesperson overcome a reluctance to prospect.
Prospecting, the importantprocess of locating potentialcustomers for a product orservice, is critical whether youare new or seasoned salesprofessional.
Prospects actually begins with locating a lead,a person or an organization that may or maynot have what it takes to be a true prospect.Some salespeople mistakenly consider everylead a prospect without first taking the timeto see whether these people really provide anopportunity to make a sale.
Does the lead have want or a need thatpurchase of my products or services cansatisfy? Does the lead have the ability to pay? Does the lead have the authority to buy? Can the lead be approach favorably? Is the lead eligible to buy?
Some leads with a need, the ability topay, and the authority to buy may stillnot qualify as prospects because theyare not accessible to the salesperson.
Eligibility is an equallyimportant factor in finding agenuine prospect.
Relevant questions to consider include,when does the prospect’s contract with ourcompetitor expire? And is a purchasedecision really pending? How do we know?Still other firms look at the long-termpotential of developing a partnership with alead?
* Prospecting sources and methods vary fordifferent types of selling.
Satisfied customers, particularly those who are truly partners with the seller, are the most effective sources for leads. To maximize the useful of satisfied customers, salespeople should follow several logical steps: They should make a list of potential references (customers who might provide leads) from among their most satisfied customers. They should decide what they would like each customer to do. Salespeople should ask the customer for the names of leads and for the specific type of help she/he can provide. Salespeople sometimes use referral events gathering designed to allow current customers to introduce prospects to the salesperson, to generate leads.
Satisfied customers not only provide leads but also are usually prospects for additional sales. Salespeople should never overlook this profitable opportunity. Sometimes customers aren’t willing to offer referrals Successful salespeople make sure that they keep in touch with their satisfied customer, to make sure they stay satisfied.
Endless-chain method , sales representatives attempt to get at least one addition lead from each person they interview. Some people object to having their names used as a means of opening the door to friends or business acquaintances. Referral lead, the name of a lead provided by either customer or a prospect and it is generally considered the most successful lead.
Networking is the utilization of personal relationship by connected and cooperating individuals for the purpose of achieving goals. In selling, networking simply means establishing connections to other people and then using those networks to generate leads, gather information, generate sales, and so on. Networking crucial in many selling situations. Successful networkers offer a number of practical suggestions: Call at least two people per day and go to least one networking event every week to increase your exposure and time with your contacts. Spend most of your initial conversation with a new contact talking about his/her business, not yours, and don’t forget to learn about the person’s non-business interests. Follow up with your new contact on a regular basis with cards, notes of congratulations about awards of promotions and articles and informations that might help her/him.
In one particularly important form of networking, the center-influence method , the salesperson cultivates a relationship with well-known, influential people in the territory who are willing to supply the names of leads. In individual sales situations the centers of influence are frequently people in important departments not directly involved in the purchase decision, such as quality control, equipment maintenance, and receiving. Centers of influence tend to those who enjoy being very socially involved in their communities. Centers of influence may never buy. How do you find centers of influence? Try asking customers and prospects whom they consider to be the most influential person in their industry or association.
Probably the fastest-growing method of generating leads is through the internet. Successful salespeople are using Web sites, e-mail, listservs, bulletin boards, forums, roundtables, and newsgroups to connect to individuals and companies that may be interested in their products/services. Firms use the Web to solicit leads in a number of ways. Firms make sure their sites are listed on the major and important search engines, the tools that individuals use to locate sites. Banner advertising consists of ads placed at the top, sides, or bottom of a web page, encouraging the viewer to visit a different Web site.
Firms increasingly take advantage of new software that helps them utilize the Web more effectively in prospecting. Firm also developing extranets, internet sites that are customized for specific target markets. Extranets are usually used to build relationships with current customers, but some companies are also using these sites to generate leads. Some salespeople have learned how to successfully utilize e-mail to generate leads, a technique called e-selling.
Firms have developed sophisticated system to generate inquiries from leads by using advertising and direct mail. The firm also places advertisements in trade publications, such as Presentations. Digital juice can also participate in postcard pack. Postcard pack is a group of postcards (usually between 15 and 50 different cards) that provide information from many firms. Anyone who inquires about Digital Juice’s products receives a cover letter, information about the advertised product, and follow-up inquiry card. Many marketing promotions are tied to toll-free number and the inquirer’s fax machine.
Many companies display or demonstrate their products at trade shows, conventions, fairs, and merchandise markets. Sales representatives are present to demonstrate products to visitors, many whom salespeople have not called on before. Its salespeople report that selling year-round is easier due to the impression the company makes on prospects at the show. Trade shows are short (usually less than a week), temporary exhibitions of products by manufacturers and resellers. Even firms that do not use resellers may have salespeople involved in trade shows. At many trade shows all attendees are customers.
Merchandise markets are places where suppliers have sales officers and buyers from resellers visit to purchase merchandise. The sellers are the manufacturers or distributors, and they sell only to resellers, not to the public. Sellers may lease showroom space permanently or during market weeks. Sellers who lease space permanently usually bring in buyers during off-market periods or when no markets are being held. Buyers visit many vendors during markets, selecting the products they will carry for the next season. In some industries, almost all sales to resellers occur during market. Successful people practice adaptive selling when interacting with prospects who stop by their booths or markets. The seller provides the lead with helpful information and gathering information that will be used later in further qualifying the lead and preparing for a sales call.
Today many firms use seminars to generate leads and to provide information to prospective customers. Some keys things to keep in mind when planning a seminar: Make sure your seminar appeals to specialized market and invite good prospects, especially those prospects who might not be willing to see you one on one. The subject should be something your attendees have strong interest in, while your speaker must be considered an authority on the topic. Try to go as high quality as possible (remember, you’re building an image) and consider serving food. Finally, you should take an active role before, during, and after the seminar.
Individual sales representatives can develop prospect lists from sources such as public records, telephone directories, chamber of commerce directories, newspaper, trade publications, club membership lists, and professional or trade membership lists. Secondary sources of information from public libraries also can be useful. It is often useful to know the standard industrial classification (SIC) code of for an industry when researching for leads because many publications are indexed by SIC codes. Salespeople can purchase a number of prospecting directories and lead generating publications..
Salespeople should keep in mind that purchased lists can have several drawbacks. The list may not be current. They may contain some inaccurate information regardless of the guarantee of accuracy. People who are on list may be targeted by many firms and thus be less open to hearing from yet another salesperson. Finally, because lists are easy to obtain and use, some salespeople tend to rely on them exclusively when other methods of prospecting might result in better leads. Most lists are simply names and telephone numbers. However, prospecting system can be much more elaborate. In international selling situations, procuring list can be much more difficult.
In using the cold canvass method or cold calls (by call weusually mean a personal visit not a telemarketing call) , asales representative tries to generate leads for new businessby calling on totally unfamiliar organization.
Some salespeople use spotters, also called bird dogs. These individuals will, for afee provide leads for the salesperson. The sales rep sometimes pay the fee simplyfor the name of the lead but more often pays only if the lead ends up buyingproduct or service. Spotters are usually in a position to find out when someone isready to make a purchase decision.
Telemarketing is a systematic in continuous programof communicating with costumers and prospects viatelephone. Telemarketing is not limited to consumer sales.
Many sales people find leads through personal observations. Forexample, by reading trade journals carefully, salespeople can learn thenames of the most important leaders .Non sales employees within the sales person firm can also provideleads. Some companies strongly encourage this practiceLeads can be found in many other places as well. Salespeople fornoncompeting but related products can often provide leads as canmembers of trade associations.
Salespeople need to develop a process for qualifying leads, oftencalled a lead qualification system. Many firms view prospecting as afunneling process in. which a large number of leads are funneled intoprospects and some, finally, into costumers. To help salespeople usetheir time wisely, firms will often engage in prequalification of leadsbefore turning them over to the field sales force. Sometimes theprequalification process is a prequalified list.Sales people must not only qualify leads but also carefully analyze therelative value of each lead. This part of the process is called a leadmanagement system.
People often stereotype salespeople as bold, adventurous, and somewhatabrasive. This view that salespeople are fearless is more fiction than fact.Salespeople often struggle with a reluctance to prospect that persists nomatter how well they been trained and how much they believe in theproducts they sell.
Locating prospective customers is the first step in the salesprocess. New prospects are needed to replace old customers lost for avariety of reasons and to replace contacts lost in existing customersbecause of plant relocations, turnover, merger, downsizing, and otherfactors. Not all sales leads qualify as good prospect. A qualifiedprospect has a need that can be satisfied by the salesperson, and iseligible to buy. Many methods can be used to locate prospect. The best sourceis a satisfied customer. Salespeople can also use the endless-chainmethod, networking , list and derectories, cold canvassing, and spotters.Companies provide leads to salespeople through promotional activitiessuch as internet, inquiries from advertising and direct mail,telemarketing, trade shows, merchandise markets and seminars. Effective prospecting requires a strong plan that hinges ondeveloping a lead qualfication and management system and overcomingreluctance to prospect.