1. Chapter 7
Prospecting
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

2. Prospecting The development of new customers – leads – prospects
– suspects
– leads
– prospects
– qualified leads
– customers
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

3. Prospecting cont. Qualifying leads – authority – need
– money
– authority
– need
Qualifying leads – other criteria
– accessibility
– eligibility
– likelihood of purchase
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

4. Obtaining leads Referrals – from network contacts
– from existing customers
– from network contacts
– from industry associations
– from friends and associates
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

5. Obtaining leads cont. Referrals – previous customers – smokestacking
– endless chain
– previous customers
– smokestacking
– networking
– trade directories
– canvassing
– promotional activities
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

6. Prospecting Promotional activities – advertising – trade shows
– conferences and seminars
– Internet
– foreign trade consulates
– industry associations
– government trade initiatives
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

7. Prospecting cont. Developing a prospecting plan
– computerised prospecting systems
– prospecting plan calculations
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

8. Prospecting cont. Making sales appointments – See the right person.
– Choose the right time.
– Develop good telephone technique – establish rapport with the front reception; project yourself into their space environment.
Important: Remember to introduce who you are and which company you represent – even if they are not the person you want to speak with.
– When leaving your number for call return with a receptionist or message bank, remember to speak slowly and clearly, so that the message taker can pass on the information accurately and without need to repeat. It would be a shame to lose contact as a result of a one-digit mistake.
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

9. Prospecting cont. Making sales appointments
– Make the right opening statement
Create the interest and motivation to gain an interview. The
telephone is usually not the right medium to attempt to fully describe
the benefits of your product.
– The call-back decision
The decision to call back is a difficult one to answer for all cases.
One of the more useful justifications for calling back can be a clearly
answerable and intelligent question that has been integrated into the
initial contact. The question needs to be meaningful enough to
warrant a genuine follow-up enquiry.
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

10. Prospecting cont. Overcoming the fear of prospecting
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

11. Prospecting cont. Positive approach
– Identify genuine feelings of reluctance
Write down feelings or excuses that you might have for prospecting
reluctance.
– The numbers game
– Understand that not all individual targets will lead to success. The
idea that at least some of them will is the important concept.
– Objectivity
– It is easy to feel personal rejection when receiving a “No” response
from your sales call. This should be rationalised as a rejection of the
offer, not of you as a person. This may be for a number of reasons
not related to you or your presentation.
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

12. Prospecting cont. Reasons for rejection  rationalisation
There are a number of reasons why a prospect might reject your sales offer. These may be revealed to you explicitly or, more commonly, masked by artificial objections. Genuine reasons include:
– Company related
The company you represent may not have the corporate image or
industry reputation that the client seeks. They may even have an
approved supplier list or supply agreement in place with another firm that
would complicate trade.
– Competition related
The target firm may have been approached by a number of your
competitors recently and the rejection is due to overkill in the
industry.
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent

13. Prospecting cont. Reasons for rejection – rationalisation
– Internally related
Their company may not currently be in its purchasing phase for your product.
Strong relations may already exist with their current supplier.
The company cannot afford to purchase from you.
The person that you spoke to was not the one with the
money/authority/need for the product.
Personal prejudices may prevent them from trading fairly
with you.
Copyright  2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Selling: Managing Customer Relationships 3e by Peter Rix
Slides prepared by Mark Vincent