Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All Chapter 6-3 Chapter Main Topics 6-4 The Tree of Business Life: Prospecting The Sales Process Has 10 Steps Steps Before the Sales Presentation Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling Where to Find Prospects Planning a Prospecting Strategy Chapter Main Topics 6-5 Prospecting Methods Prospecting Guidelines The Referral Cycle Call Reluctance Costs You Money! Obtaining the Sales Interview Wireless E-mail Helps You Keep in Contact and Prospect Chapter The Tree of Business Life: Prospecting True Et h ic al ce rvi Se T T T T T TT T T T T Builds I People buy from those they know Relationships T Guided by The Golden Rule, Rule remember: C and trust Prospecting is not easy unless you focus on helping, not selling People who trust you give referrals Referrals take the burden of prospecting off the salesperson Referrals are earned through integrity, trust, and character Exhibit 6-1: The Selling Process Has 10 Important Steps The sales process is a sequential series of actions Prospecting Pre-approach/planning Approach Presentation Trial close Determine objections Meet objections Trial close Close 10 Follow-up Exhibit 6-2: Before the Sales Presentation Steps Before the Sales Presentation Prospecting Appointment Planning Rule of thumb: 40% preparation 20% presentation 40% follow-up Prospecting–The Lifeblood of Selling Prospecting – identifies potential customer Lead – name of a person or organization (also referred to as a suspect) Prospect – qualified person or organization The Prospect Pool Leads – know very little or nothing about Referrals – learned from referrer Orphans – company records Your customers – most important prospects The Referral Cycle Provides guidelines for when a salesperson should ask for referrals Obtaining referrals is a continuous process without beginning or end The parallel referral sale: Sell the product to person Obtain prospect name(s) from person Exhibit 6-8: The Referral Cycle: When to Ask for Referrals The Referral Cycle cont… The secret is to ask correctly during referral cycle The preapproach contact phase Mention personal contact The presentation Build rapport (high-context cultures), explain agenda Product delivery contact phase Service and follow-up contact phase – customer service Ongoing opportunities to maintain contact with customer Don’t mistreat the referral Be professional Follow through on what you have told referral Don’t Mistreat the Referral Mistreatment can have a ripple effect The mistreated referral tells your customer – you may lose both! Remember to follow the Golden Rule Treat the Referral Like a Customer Once you have sold the referral, and gotten more referrals, ask this new customer to contact the referring customer on her experience with the salesperson Now you have two customers giving referrals This can create an endless chain of referrals quickly filling your prospect pool with only customers and referrals Now, no more cold calling! Call Reluctance Costs You Money! Call reluctance refers to not wanting to contact a prospect or customer For many salespeople, owning up to call reluctance is the most difficult part of combating it About 40% suffer at some point Call Reluctance: How to Conquer the Fear Obtaining the Sales Interview The key factor in selling process is obtaining a sales interview Appointment making: Telephone appointment Personally making the appointment The Telephone Appointment Plan and write down what you want to say Clearly identify yourself and your company State the purpose of your call and outline how prospect may benefit from the interview Prepare brief sales message – stressing benefits over features and only enough info to stimulate interest Do not take no for and answer – be persistent Ask for an interview so you can further explain benefits Phrase your appointment request as a question Personally Making the Appointment Believe in yourself Develop friends in the prospect’s firm Call at the right time on the right person Do not waste time waiting Wireless E-mail Helps You Keep in Contact and Prospect No one needs constant contact with the home office, customers, and prospects more desperately than a sales representative Summary of Major Selling Issues The sales process involves a series of actions beginning with prospecting for customers: Find prospects to contact Obtain appointments Plan the entire sales presentation Summary of Major Selling Issues, cont… Popular prospecting methods: Cold canvas Endless chain methods Public exhibitions and demonstrations Locating centers of influence Direct mailouts Telephone and observation Salesperson must develop ways of getting to see the prospect End of Chapter McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All Chapter ...Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All Chapter 6- 3 Chapter Main Topics 6- 4 The Tree of Business Life: Prospecting... not selling People who trust you give referrals Referrals take the burden of prospecting off the salesperson Referrals are earned through integrity, trust, and character Exhibit 6- 1: The Selling. .. Sales Presentation Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling Where to Find Prospects Planning a Prospecting Strategy Chapter Main Topics 6- 5 Prospecting Methods Prospecting Guidelines The