The 7 Keys to Prospecting Success
Prospecting is one of the most difficult stages of the sales process. It’s also one of the most, if not the most, important parts of selling. You can be the best closer in the world but you will not generate sufficient sales if you lack qualified prospects. Since selling is ultimately a numbers game, more qualified prospects in your pipeline will result in more opportunities to present and generate new business. Below is a 7-step approach to successful prospecting.
1. Identify Your Target Market: identify market segment(s) where potential customers have a need or problem that can be successfully met by your product offerings. You must also have a deep understanding of your target market to build trust with your potential customers.
2. Locate Your Potential Customers: create a directory of potential customers located in your marketplace. Potential sources you could utilize are the Internet, lead lists, library resources, and personal contacts.
3. Screen Your Potential Prospects: qualify your potential customers based on having the authority to make a purchase decision, a need for your product offering, and sufficient financial resources. During the first contact, you may have to fully screen prospects.
4. Develop a Prospecting Script: create a script to stay focused and persistent as you briefly demonstrate the value you can offer by providing solutions to your prospects’ problems. Also create responses for popular objections or rebuttals you expect to encounter.
5. Determine Initial Contact Medium: determine whether to use referrals, connections, and/or possibly mail to make your initial contact with prospects “warm” instead of “cold”.
6. Contact Your Potential Customers: use your script to ask your prospects for the sale or establish a meeting to conduct a presentation.
7. Develop and Execute Your Plan: create daily, weekly, and monthly prospecting aspirations and dedicate time to achieve these goals to ensure you maintain a healthy pipeline filled with qualified prospects.
By following this 7-step prospecting approach, you will develop a solid foundation to a lucrative, exciting, and rewarding sales career.