SAlES representation

ANDREW ZIELINSKI, MBA SAlES representation www.accrongroup.com/fengyeacademy /

Module 6: Prospecting

Module Summary (36 Hours: 3 - 3.5 Weeks) • Defining a Target Customer Base • Determining a Target Customer Base & Building a Database • Determining a Sales Territory • Communicating in Writing with Target Customers • Communicating by Telephone with Target Customers • Meeting in Person with Target Customers • Post Mortem and Follow-Up Competency Achieved: How to develop prospects within a given sales territory Module 6: prospecting

Determining a Target Customer Base Segmentation Qualifying Leads Database Management Sourcing RFIs/RFQs Manual Files Regional Enterprise Lists Module 6: prospecting

Segmentation Definition Dividing a market into consumer groups representing common characteristics which can be used to influence end-customers’ purchasing and consumption habits Examples Sub-diving a market of businesses or institutions into smaller groups with more common elements – elementary schools, book publishers, accounting firms, etc. Sub-dividing the general population into smaller groups with common, marketable, elements: teenagers, lawyers, career women, golfers, DINKs, YUPIES, SINKs, empty nesters, etc. Module 6: prospecting

Purpose • Companies need to know something of the customers that they want to attract, before prospecting begins • B2B companies seek information such as: • Financial Overview (Gross Sales) • Markets they serve • Relationship with current suppliers • Main suppliers • Key characteristics of their clients • B2C companies seek information such as: • Customers revenue range • Purchasing and consumption habits • Where they currently shop and why • Importance of product features • Take the Shampoo Survey! Module 6: prospecting

Results • Proper prospecting reveals essential characteristics that determine how much time and effort should be prioritized to each prospect and to what end • The following type of information is very useful to the sales representative: • Likelihood of this prospect actually needing your product or service • The prospect’s actual buying power and level of authority within their organization • Capability of committing to the purchase at the time your offer is made • Is in a position to take your call or accept an in-person meeting • Qualifies for the purchase Module 6: prospecting

Qualifying Leads Identifying High Value Prospects • Within any target customer segment, there are “hot” and “cold” leads • Hot leads are in a position of interest and ready to buy in the short term • Cold leads are either not interested or not in a position to buy in the short term • Don’t spend a lot of time on cold leads Module 6: prospecting

Activity 6.2.1 Just checking… From the class web site, Modules 6 - 7, download Activity 6.2.1 Answer all questions Save as: Activity621_FirstName_LastName.docx Now, you do it

Getting Organized – Databases Keeping it Straight Keep separate your list of Prospects and your list of Clients/Customers Keep separate databases or, within the same database, ensure that you utilize a status field, of some kind, to clearly show the difference between prospects and customers Module 6: prospecting

The Classic Prospecting Model Module6: prospecting Lead File Prospecting Letter 1 Telephone Contact 1 First Visit Client File Telephone Contact 2 First Visit Client File Second Visit Client File

Important Information Needs to be Saved! • Contact : name, address, phone, email • Personal: details to remember each client • Professional (B2B): Annual sales, number employees, reference, age of lead, best times to call, etc. • Notes: what you discussed, when you last called, likes, dislikes, etc. • Follow-up: Date of next call, meeting, activity; objective of next visit, action items,etc. Module 6: prospecting

Sample Lead Sheet Module 6: prospecting

Profiling for Market Adjacencies • It’s possible to use your prospect database to determine commonalities that can be utilized to seek other, similar sub-markets and prospects Module 6: prospecting

Example - Retail Module 6: prospecting Market Analysis Consumer – Prospect Database Analysis Age: 25% - 20-29 yrs old 50% - 30-49 yrs old 25% - 50 yrs old + Payment: 75% - 30 days 20% - cash 5% - 30 -60 days Employment Background: 30% - public sector 35% - private sector 10% - Independent worker 25% - professional Marital Status: 35% - Family, 1 child 30% - Family, 2 children 25% - Single 10% - Couples, no children Purchased Products or Services: 25% - life insurance (40%) + RRSP (60%) 50% - RRSP (80%) + insurance (20%) 25% - stocks and bonds How client came to us: 30% - by reference 20% - former client 50% - prospecting Comments: Sell more insurance to 30-49 yr-olds Income (/yr): 20% - $15,000 – 25,000 25% - $25,000 – 35,000 30% - $35,000 – 50,000 15% - $50,000 – 100,000 10% - $100,000 + Postal Code: 20% - G6P 5% - J2A 25% - J8T 50% - A7B

Sourcing Leads Data Banks Dun & Bradstreet Canadian Trade Index Compusearch Limited Neilsen Industry Canada (www.ic.gc.ca) Répertoire des entreprises du Québec (www.icriq.com) Module 6: prospecting

More Data Banks Statistics Canada Manufacturing Census Canadian Census Household Expenditures Various satistics on all sectors of the Canadian economy Institut de la statistique du Québec Quebec Census City Hall List of new homeowners Module 6: prospecting

More Data Banks (Continued) Bureau du registraire List of new businesses established in a municipality Centre de la recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ) Census of Quebec manufacturers University Librairies Municipal, provincial, federal electoral lists Module 6: prospecting

Summary on Data Banks • All these data sources provide general and specific information on companies, social environment, economics, ploitical circumstances, etc. • There are also annual publications that can be of help, Here are a few examples: • Telephone books • Professional and Commercial catalogs • Local newspapers • Chambers of commerce directories Module 6: prospecting

Conventions and Tradeshows • Focused on specific purposes or themes, these events bring together target customers with common interests – this first level of filtering is already done for you! • See what the competition is up to • You are there to collect business cards, scan lanyards and qualify everyone you meet with their interests, ability to affect a sale, and probability of closing in the short term Specialized Media and Government Organizations • Lists of subscribers are for sale through industry magazines • Partner with government organizations spearheading economic development programs Module 6: prospecting

Requests for Information and for Quotes Definitions Request for Information (RFI) – A customer-driven request for information on your product or service. Customer requests from you, without prior solicitation from you, information and, likely, a presentation of your product or service Request for Quote (RFQ) – A customer-driven request for pricing of your product or service. Often happens in the context of a bidding process between competitors Module 6: prospecting

The Tendering Process • In the case of government, the tendering process is public and vendors get access to the lists of tenders once they are approved • If you are targeting government or para-public institutions, you will likely need to go through a vendor review and approval process. This can can several months • With large private-sector companies, they will first consult with their “trusted-advisor” short list of suppliers and may (or may not) request information outside that group • SMBs are often unaware of many competitive suppliers and can benefit from visibility campaigns that suppliers conduct. They rarely proceed with formal tendering and vendor-approval processes. This makes their decision-making processes much simpler and quicker. They also tend to have much lower budgets Module 6: prospecting

The Tendering Process (Continued) • So, the first step is to get on the approved list of vendors and obtain access to the tendering lists • Second, filter through these lists to find the calls for tender that apply to your product/service • Third, formulate and submit responses • Fourth, if and when you get a response, follow through as promptly and accurately as possible with whatever requests are indicated in the response • In the private sector, it is every contending supplier’s goal to get into a company’s circle of trusted advisors. There is not set way to do this except for increasing the visibility of your company, your image as an industry expert, and sell a lot of product Module 6: prospecting

Reference Sites • Service électronique d’appels d’offres (www.seao.ca) has all the calls for tender of the Quebec government • Merx (www.merx.com) contains the public calls for tender across Canada Module 6: prospecting

Summary and Regional Enterprise Lists Learning by Doing • Best way to understanding the information sources listed in this section is to work with them • Building a prospect list is one of the most important skills that a beginning sales representative should develop • Specific steps in searching, qualifying, and cataloguing this information is vital for growing any business and assuring organized and profitable follow-ups Module 6: prospecting

Summary and Regional Enterprise Lists Steps • Build a list of target companies in your target territory recording the following information: • Some classification code • Name of company • Full address, phone, email • Domains of activity • Number of full and pat-time employess • Name of purchaser • Any other pertinent information • As your database is built up, more data points will be recorded and you will be able to correlate various data points to spots trends and sub-groups of prospects with common, marketable elements Module 6: prospecting

SAlES representation