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Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling Chapter 7 Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Chapter 7 7-3

Main Topics 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 7 7-4

Main Topics Prospecting Methods Prospecting Guidelines The Referral Cycle Call Reluctance Costs You Money! Obtaining the Sales Interview Wireless Helps You Keep in Contact and Prospect Chapter 7 7-5

7-6 The Tree of Business Life: Prospecting The Golden Rule Guided by The Golden Rule, remember:  People buy from those they know 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 I T C Ethical Service Builds T r u e Relationships T TT TTTT TTTT

7-7 Exhibit 7-1: The Selling Process Has 10 Important Steps 10. Follow-up 10. Follow-up 9. Close 9. Close 8. Trial close 8. Trial close 7. Meet objections 7. Meet objections 6. Determine objections 6. Determine objections 5. Trial close 5. Trial close 4. Presentation 4. Presentation 3. Approach 3. Approach 2. Preapproach/planning 2. Preapproach/planning 1. Prospecting 1. Prospecting The sales process is a sequential series of actions

7-8 Some Prospect, Some Do Not  Many salespeople prospect, both those selling business-to-business and those selling to consumers  Examples are:  Financial services as life insurance  Real estate  Food Service

7-9 Chapter 1 - Exhibit 1.5   The complexity and difficulty of these seven sales job categories increase as they move left to right.  Prospecting Increases as one moves from Order Taker to Order Getter 

7-10 Some Prospect, Some Do Not, cont…  Many organizations do not prospect  Examples are large consumer goods firms as General Mills* and Colgate* * products and associated images used for illustrative purposes only

7-11 Compensation for the Salesperson that Do Not Prospect is Often:  Based upon mostly salary with a small bonus and expenses such as car and office supplies paid  If you do not sell you still get paid, but not for very long

7-12 Which Prospector Has the Most Challenging Sales Career?  This is the “order-getter” who:  Finds a lead  Converts the lead into a prospect  Sells one day, and  Sells in the future too  WOW! That is a challenge

7-13 Prospecting–The Lifeblood of Selling  Qualified prospect is MAD  Does the prospect have:  Money to buy?  Authority to buy?  Desire to buy?

7-14 Exhibit 7-2: Steps Required Before the Sales Presentation

7-15 Steps Before the Sales Presentation  Prospecting > appointment > planning  Rule of thumb  40% preparation  20% presentation  40% follow-up

7-16 What is Prospecting?  A Prospect is:  A qualified person or organization that has the potential to buy your good or service  Prospecting is:  The life blood of sales because it identifies potential customers  Why Prospect?  To increase sales  To replace customers that will be lost over time

7-17 Prospecting–The Lifeblood of Selling  Prospect – qualified person  Prospecting – Identifies potential customer  Lead – only know name

7-18 Where to Find Prospects  Sources may be varied or few  Persons selling different services and goods might not use the same sources

7-19 Planning a Prospecting Strategy  Prospecting requires a strategy  A skill that can be constantly improved

7-20 Exhibit 7-4: Prospecting Methods that Work!

7-21 Prospecting Methods  E-prospecting on the Web –  Researching specific:  Individuals  Organizations  Cold canvassing –  based on the law of averages –  i.e. 1 out of 10 will buy (door-to-door or telemarketing)  Endless chain – customer referral process  Referral – a referral is a person or organization recommended to you by someone who feels that this person or organization could benefit from you or your product  Orphaned customers –  Left behind by sales people who left the company  Sales lead clubs –  Group of non-competing people who meet regularly to share leads and prospecting tips (Chamber of commerce, industry associations, etc.)

7-22 Prospecting Methods, cont…  Prospect lists –  What does you ideal prospect look like?  Which economic bracket are they in?  What kinds of organizations do they belong to?  What characteristics do most of my existing customers share?  Etc.  Become an expert – get published  Public exhibitions and demonstrations  Center of influence –  clergy, elected officials,  Direct mail  Telephone and telemarketing – (See next slides)  Observation (ex. Real estate, lawn service)  Networking – positioning not exposure  The goal of cultivating your network is to fill a niche in the mind of each of your contacts so when one of those contacts needs you product or service, you are the only possible resource they choose.

7-23 Exhibit 7-5: The Processing System Within a Telemarketing Center

7-24 Exhibit 7-6: Reports From a Telemarketing Center to Other Marketing Groups Within the Firm

7-25 Prospecting Guidelines  Three criteria are: 1.Customize to each prospect 2.Concentrate on high potential customers first 1.Fish where the fish are 3.Call back on no-buys  Always keep knocking on prospect’s and customer’s door to help them

7-26 Referrals Are Used in Most  Prospecting Methods

7-27 The Prospect Pool  Leads –  people & organizations you know nothing or little about  Referrals –  people or organizations you frequently know very little about other than what you learned from a referral  Orphans –  company records are your only source of information about this customer  Your customers –  the most important prospects for future sales

7-28 Exhibit 7-7: Components of the Prospect Pool

7-29 The Referral Cycle  Obtaining referrals is a continuous process without beginning or end  Referral cycle – when and how to ask for referrals  The parallel referral sale occurs when both of the following happen during the sales process:  Sell the product to person  Obtain prospect name(s) from person

7-30 The Referral Cycle, cont…  The secret is to ask correctly during referral cycle  The preapproach contact phase  The presentation  Product delivery contact phase  Service and follow-up contact phase: Customer service

7-31 Exhibit 7-8: The Referral Cycle: When to Ask for Referrals

7-32 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

7-33 The 12 Faces of Call Reluctance   Think you might suffer from call reluctance?   See if you fit 1 of the 12 classic types identified by researchers George Dudley and Shannon Goodson (they are listed in order from most common to least common)

7-34 The 12 Faces of Call Reluctance, cont.. 1. Yielder - Fears intruding on others or being pushy 2. Overpreparer - Overanalyzes, underacts 3. Emotionally unemancipated - Fears loss of family approval, resists mixing business and family 4. Separationist - Fears loss of friends, resists prospecting among personal friends 5. Hyper-pro - Obsessed with image, fears being humiliated 6. Role rejecter - Ashamed to be in sales

Socially self-conscious - Fears intruding on others or being pushy. Intimidated by upmarket customers. 8. Doomsayer - Worries, won’t take risks 9. Telephobic - Fears using the telephone for prospecting or selling 10. Stage fright - Fears group presentations 11. Referral aversions - Fears disturbing business or client relationships 12. Oppositional reflex - Rebuffs attempts to be coached The 12 Faces of Call Reluctance, cont…

7-36 The 12 Faces of Call Reluctance: How to Conquer the Fear

7-37 Obtaining the Sales Interview  Key factor in selling process is obtaining a sales interview  The benefits of appointment making  Telephone appointment  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

7-38 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

7-39 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  Face and overcome the 12 Faces of Call reluctance