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The Power of Selling

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Chapter 7 Prospecting and Qualifying: The Power to

Identify Your Customers

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Video Ride-Along

• The video Prospecting features Lisa Peskin, Sales Trainer, Business Development University

• Lisa Peskin shares her tips for identifying new customers

• According to her, cold calling is the least effective method for prospecting

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Chapter Objectives

• Explain the role of the seven steps of the selling process.

• Understand the role prospecting plays in the selling process.

• Identify resources to use when prospecting.

• Understand how to identify prospective employers.

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Figure 7.1 – Seven-Step Selling Process

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Seven Steps of Selling Process

• Prospecting: Identifying the potential buyers for a product or a service

• Qualifying: Determining whether a lead has the desire and ability to buy your product or service

• Preapproach: Preparation and research a salesperson does before making the sales call

• Approach: First few minutes of a sales call, during which the salesperson explains her purpose for coming and establishes a rapport

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Seven Steps of Selling Process

• Presentation: Part of the sales call when the salesperson offers a solution for the prospect

• Objections: Hesitations or concerns a prospect might have about the product or purchasing process

• Close/Closing: Agreeing on the terms of the sale and finalizing the transaction

• Follow-up: Salesperson assures customer satisfaction and maintains customer relationships

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Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process

• The value of a lead

– Customers who give the “just looking” response are valuable leads

– If such customers are not followed up and qualified, their business goes to a competitor

Item number: 200464104001

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Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process

• Sales funnel: An illustration of the way the sales process begins with a large pool of prospects and ends with a more focused number of buyers

• Technological tools can help identifying, qualifying and prioritizing prospects

– Examples: Collaborative communities and online resources

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Figure 7.4 - Traditional Sales Funnel

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Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process

• To decide which prospects you should invest your time in pursuing, create a profile of your ideal buyer:

– What particular qualities and characteristics will define this individual or company?

– What specific problems would this buyer have that your product could solve?

– In what ways should the buyer be compatible with you or your organization?

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Where to Find Prospects

• Top ten power prospecting list:

– Existing customers

– Referrals

– Networking and social networking

– Business directories in print

– Online databases and directories

– Newspapers, trade publications, and business journals

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Where to Find Prospects

– Trade shows and events

– Advertising and direct mail

– Cold calling

– Be a subject matter expert

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Seth Godin Interview

• The video How To Flip The Sales Funnel features Seth Godin, Best-Selling Author, Entrepreneur, and an Agent of Change

• Seth Godin talks about ‘flipping the funnel’ which means turning the funnel to a megaphone and letting your best customers act as your salespeople

• To view the video, click here

Source: SellingPower.com

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Organizing Your Prospect Information

• Choosing a system

• Gathering intelligence

• Keep it up-to-date

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Choosing a System

• Customer relationship management (CRM): The process a company uses to organize and track their current and potential customer information

– It allows you to maintain relationships in a systematic way, following up more consistently with your leads and continuing to meet the needs of your existing customers

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Choosing a System

• Contact management system (CMS): A system for tracking and organizing customer and prospect information that is less complex than CRM and doesn’t necessarily keep a record of every customer contact

– It allows you to keep current contact and company information on your prospects and to record detailed notes about your conversations with them

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Keep It Up-To-Date

• To avoid loosing (losing) your prospect to a competitor, keep your prospect information current

• Several online business directories provide customized alerts on company news, turnover of key personnel, or merging and splitting off of companies

– Examples: RSS ( Really Simple Syndication) and Google news alerts

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Qualifying Your Prospects

• Five questions to help you meet your qualifying objectives:

– Does your prospect have a need?

– Does he or she have the authority to make the buying decision?

– Does he or she have the resources to purchase the product or service?

– Does he or she have the willingness to purchase the product?

– Do you have access to the influencer or decision makers?

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Managing Your Prospect Base

• Once you have qualified your prospect, the next step is making an action plan

– Action plan: A specific plan of approach for each customer

• Begin your action plan by conducting a need analysis because your qualified prospects will have different needs

• Think about the next steps in the sales process

• Develop a timeline and plot out the steps