Developing and Qualifying a Prospect Base

1. Developing and Qualifying aProspect Base Concepts and Practices

2. Prospect, Prospecting, and Prospect Base Defined • Prospect: a potential customer that meets the qualification criteria established by your company • Prospecting: identifying potential customers • Prospect base: is made up of current customers and potential customers

3. Importance of Prospecting • Every salesperson must cope with customer attrition • Customers move, firms go out of business, sales lost to competition • Average company may lose 15 to 20% of customer base every year

4. Girard’s Ferris Wheel—Supply 9.1 FIGURE

5. Girard’s Ferris Wheel—Loss 9.1 FIGURE CONTINUED

6. Prospecting Requires Planning • Increase number of people who board the Ferris wheel • Improve the quality of prospects • Shorten sales cycle by determining which prospects are “qualified” • Prospecting plans must be monitored continuously for effectiveness

7. Referrals • Prospect recommended: by current satisfied customer or one familiar with product or service • Endless chain: ask contact who else could benefit from product • Referral organizations: facilitate networking • Friends, family members, centers of influence: a person may not make decision but has influence on those who do . . . opinion leaders

8. Hancock’sLead Generation

9. Business Network International Visit the world’s largest referral organization www.bni.com

10. Directories • Hundreds of business and industrial directories available • Many major trade associations publish directories • Be sure to use current copy or edition as prospects shift firms; track people and companies

11. Thomas Register

12. Trade Shows/Publications • Trade shows and conventions: your company may have a booth at key trade shows/expositions • Trade publications: each industry has trade publications that sales professionals need to read • Join trade associations: many salespersons join trade associations to gain access to potential buyers

13. Telemarketing • Telemarketing: the practice of marketing goods and services through telephone contact • To identify buyers and generate contact lists for sales staff • To qualify prospects • To verify sales leadsgenerated by other methods • To conduct follow-ups

14. Direct Response and Sales Letters • Direct response advertising: often features inquiry cards or information requests via mail or telephone • Sales letters: send sales letters to decision makers, then follow up

15. Website • Websites provide cost-effective way for sales professionals to: • Project personal image • Provide additional information • Generate leads from visitors to site • Present product information • Establish e-mail lists

16. Computerized Databases • In-house databases: your firm may already have a comprehensive database; sometimes referred to as the “house list” with details on customers, purchase patterns, and so forth • List sources: wide range of precise lists available from variety of sources • See www.infoUSA.com

17. Computerized Databases • Purchasing databases or lists can be costly; price usually set on cost-per-thousand names • Not all relevant databases are equal; some “pull” better than others • Pull is the percentage of the list resulting in qualified prospects or actual sales

18. Cold Calling • Simply calling prospects without referrals • New salespeople rely on these as they haven’t built referral base • Must be strategically planned • Prelude to in-person appointment • A way to introduce yourself and your company to a prospect

19. Networking • Making and profiting from personal connections • Networking guidelines • Meet as many people as you can • Tell them what you do • Do not do business while networking • Offer business card • Edit contacts and conduct follow-ups

20. Three Types of Networks 9.2 FIGURE

21. Educational Seminars • Provide opportunity to showcase product without pressuring to buy • Require extensive preparation • Start value-added process • Can attend or present at industry sponsored seminars or offer your own

22. Non-Sales Employees • Non-sales personnel can be valued source of leads • Prospecting not necessarilyexclusive task of sales force • Non-sales personnel oftenneed training and incentives

23. Combination Approaches • Salespersons generally rely on combination of prospecting methods • Some methods have higher yield than others • Important to use CRM technology to help maximize efficiency

24. Qualifying Prospects Key time-saving criteria: • Does the prospect need my product? • Can prospect make the buying decision? • Can prospect pay for the purchase? • Will anyone close the sale?

25. Organizing Prospect Information • Prospect as an individual • Prospect as a business representative

26. Prospect Information Harvey Mackay suggests 66-question customer profile. See it at: mackay.com

27. Prospecting and Sales Forecasting Plans Important to balance time and organize contacts: • Prepare a list of prospects • Forecast potential sales volume for each new account, by product • Carefully plan the sales route to minimize time and cost