4.03 A Pre-sales activities to facilitate sales presentations

Define the following terms: prospect, prospecting, lead, referral, endless chain, center of influence, bird dogs, cold calls  Prospect – a potential customer  Prospecting – looking for potential customers  Lead – someone interested in your product(s), synonym for “prospect” Terms to Know

 Referral- a customer referred by another  Endless chain- one customer refers another who refers another who refers another…  Center of influence - a person recommending you to your target market. Usually this person has a lot of influence over the people that you want to meet.  Bird dogs – point out the buying customers  Cold calls – contacting leads that have not expressed any interest in your products

Sources of prospects  Employer’s customer list  Customer contacts with the company ▪ Online, Walk-ins, telephone calls, written letters, etc.  Purchased customer lists Which salespeople should prospect  All sales people who must grow sales How prospecting can help salespeople  Increase contacts and sales

Describe methods of prospecting.  Endless chain: This method is most effective in development of prospects of intangibles like investments and insurance. (Referrals)  Personal Observation Method: Prospects are everywhere. (also called eyes and ears method)

Prospecting Methods continued  Cold Canvas/Calling Method: Calling in person door to door or from a list without an appointment  Direct Mail and Telephone Method Sending a direct mail flyer or phoning from a list

Prospecting Methods continued  Center of Influence Method: Asking a dominant member of a group to use or endorse your products  Bird-dog Method: ‘Bird dog’ is the nick-name given to those persons who visit houses at a definite interval. (paper delivery, UPS or FedEx delivery person) They can provide demographic information to sales people.

How to construct a prospect list  Keep track of contacts, build a database How to use a prospect list  Assign proper salesperson to make contact Importance of maintaining accurate prospect lists  Increase odds of completing a sale, decrease chances of annoying potential customers  Prospect on a regular basis to replace lost customers.

Why salespeople need to qualify their prospects  To know what products the customer is interested in buying  To identify potential products Reasons that some salespeople fail to qualify prospects  Takes time and research Criteria prospects need to meet in order to be qualified  Interest in the product, means and willingness to buy, has the authority to buy  Good credit rating How to qualify prospects prior to meeting with them  Look at previous orders, read notes on prior contacts, send information forms that the customer fills out

How to qualify a prospect’s need for a product  Research and/or ask questions How to qualify a prospect’s means and willingness to buy a product  Meet with the salesperson  Discuss timing of the sale, where are they in making a buying decision How to qualify a prospect’s authority to buy a product  Ask assumptive questions, “At what level will the decision to buy our product be made?”