1. 7-1 Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling Chapter 7 Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2. 7-2 Chapter 7

3. 7-3 The Concept of Prospecting A salesperson without prospects is out of business A salesperson without prospects can no more close a sale than a surgeon without a patient can operate Prospects are everywhere - develop ways to find them “I’d rather be a master prospector than be a wizard of speech and have no one to tell my story to.”- Paul J. Meyer

4. 7-4 Qualifying the Prospect Moving from a “lead”, to a qualified prospect Lead - is just a name Prospect - researched for money, and authority, and desire. Qualified prospect - evaluated prospect along with personal information

5. 7-5 Cultivate prospects who pass the MAD test : oney uthority esire

6. 7-6 Methods of Prospecting Why we lose customers Customer’s company goes out of business Competitor takes your customer Customer moves or dies Merger or downsizing Customer-salesperson relationship deteriorates Referrals Have person make the initial contact for you Learn how to ask for a referral! Why people don’t give referrals Referrals tend to be horizontal

7. 7-7 Centers of Influence  Believes in you and what you are selling  Is influential with a significant number of people  Is willing to give you names on a regular basis  The names given to you are at least partially qualified prospects Group Prospecting  Follow up with interested prospects  Trade shows, speaking engagements Methods of Prospecting

8. 7-8 Planned Cold Calling  At least one out of seven will be receptive  Treat cold calls as a supplement. Don’t neglect other techniques  Preplan cold calls  Limit waiting - 15 minutes is a good gauge!  Remain enthusiastic Methods of Prospecting

9. 7-9 Direct mail or fax  Prospects do read well-targeted direct mail  Mailing is only as good as the list  Sources of lists to consider: –Membership rosters –City directories –Yellow pages –White pages –Religious groups –Past customers  Create your own newsletter Methods of Prospecting

10. 7-10 Observation - prospects are everywhere  Always be looking  Read the newspaper and selected magazines  Trade journals

11. 7-11 Joining Civic Groups  Carefully select the groups you join  Work for positive visibility  Set contact goals for each organization meeting  Maintain an information file on the contacts made in each organization  Use “remeet” goals to help you develop closer relationships with people  Use active listening to learn more about the financial goals and needs of others  Look for appropriate opportunities for further business-oriented discussions Methods of Prospecting

12. 7-12 Networking - active cooperation, i.e. ‘tips’  There are formal groups that you can join  Sharing information makes good sense Using Directories - Goldmines if used correctly Moody’s Industrial Manual Poor’s Register of Directors and Executives The Dun and Bradstreet Reference Book The Thomas Register of American Manufacturers Contacts Influential Methods of Prospecting

13. 7-13 Company Initiated Prospecting  Telemarketing Activities  Advertising Response –Direct Mail –Newspaper Past Customers Go over list of inactive accounts Develop and create a Web site Streamline the sales process Affiliate program marketing Turn web leads into online sales Methods of Prospecting

14. 7-14 Trade Shows Methods of Prospecting Selecting the right trade show is critical On the spot sale versus lead generation Pre-show training and post-show follow-up Display planning to get high visibility Staffing the booth to handle information

15. 7-15 E-prospecting Methods of Prospecting Sales leads http://www.infousa.com/ http://www.business.com/search/rslt_default.asp?r4=t&query=prospecti ng+sales+leads http://www.zapdata.com/ http://www.bcentral.com/products/cl/default.asphttp://www.bcentral.com/products/cl/default.asp specific search snowboarding trade mag http://www.transworldsnowboarding.com/snow/snowbiz/0,13010,,00.ht ml agricultural equipment http://www.agsites.net/links/agriculturalequipment.html\

16. 7-16 What methods will YOU use? Methods of Prospecting