prospecting skills
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My own way of practice which helped in excelTRANSCRIPT
Rajesh gabriel Content
PROSPECTING SKILLS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Discuss the importance of developing a prospect base
Identify and assess important sources of prospects
Describe criteria for qualifying prospects
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain common methods of organizing prospect information
Describe the steps in managing the prospect base
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PROSPECT, PROSPECTING, AND PROSPECT BASE DEFINED Prospect: a potential customer that meets
the qualification criteria established by your company
Prospecting: identifying potential customers Prospect base: is made up of current
customers and potential customers
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IMPORTANCE OF PROSPECTING
Every salesperson must cope with customer attrition: Customer may have a one-time need Customer may move outside the salesperson’s
territory Firm may go out of business or merge Sales may be lost to the competition
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PROSPECTING REQUIRES PLANNING
Increase number of people visit by increasing cold calls
Improve the quality of prospects Shorten sales cycle by determining which
prospects are “qualified” Prospecting plans must be monitored continuously
for effectiveness
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SOURCES OF PROSPECTS
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Referrals Centers of influence Directories Trade publications Trade shows and
special events Telemarketing and e-
mail Direct-response
advertising and sales letters
Website Computerized
database Cold calling Networking Educational
seminars Prospecting by
non-sales employees
REFERRALS Prospect recommended by current satisfied
customer or one familiar with product or service
Endless chain: ask contact who else could benefit from product
Referral organizations: facilitate networking
Friends, family members, centers of influence: a person who may have influence on opinion leaders 7
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LEAD GENERATION
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Through different Activities. Issue of hand outs distribution in the Amusement park/bus terminus
school/colleges/trade centre, Malls exhibitions halls, market area ,Field activity Cold calls Referrals (referred leads) Regular Field visits Posture Activity
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ontent
DIRECTORIES
Hundreds of business and industrial directories available
Many major trade associations publish directories
Be sure to use current copy or edition as prospects shift firms; track people and companies
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TRADE SHOWS/PUBLICATIONS Trade shows and conventions: your
company may have a booth at key trade shows/expositions
Trade publications: each industry has trade publications that sales professionals need to read
Join trade associations: many salespersons join trade associations to gain access to potential buyers 10
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TELEMARKETING Telemarketing: the practice of marketing goods
and services through telephone contact To identify buyers and generate contact lists for sales
staff To qualify prospects To verify sales leads
generated by other methods
To conduct follow-ups
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DIRECT RESPONSE ANDSALES LETTERS Direct response advertising: often features
inquiry cards or information requests via mail or telephone
Sales letters: send sales letters to decision makers, then follow up
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WEBSITE Websites provide a cost-effective way for sales
professionals to: Project personal image Provide additional information Generate leads from visitors to site Present product information Establish e-mail lists
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COLD CALLING
Simply calling prospects without referrals New salespeople rely on these as they haven’t built a
referral base Must be strategically planned Prelude to in-person appointment A way to introduce yourself and your company to a
prospect
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NETWORKING
Making and profiting from personal connections Networking guidelines
Meet as many people as you can Tell them what you do Do not do business while networking Offer business card Edit contacts and conduct follow-ups
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THREE TYPES OF NETWORKS
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NON-SALES EMPLOYEES
Non-sales personnel can be valued source of leads Prospecting not necessarily
exclusive task of sales force Non-sales personnel often
need training and incentives
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COMBINATION APPROACHES
Salespersons generally rely on combination of prospecting methods
Some methods have higher yield than others Important to use Customer Relation Managing
technology to help maximize efficiency
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QUALIFYING PROSPECTS
Basic questions: Does the prospect need my product?
Does the prospect have the authority to buy my product?
Does the prospect have the financial resources to buy my product?
Does the prospect have the willingness to buy my product?
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COLLECTING AND ORGANIZING PROSPECT INFORMATION
Sales data can be collected and organized into Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Examples of popular applications:ExcelWord
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PROSPECTING AND SALES FORECASTING PLANS
Important to balance time and organize contacts:
Prepare a list of prospects Forecast potential sales volume for each new account,
by product Carefully plan the sales route to minimize time and
cost
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KEY CONCEPTDISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discuss the importance of developing a prospect base
Identify and assess important sources of prospects
Describe criteria for qualifying prospects Explain common methods of collecting and
organizing prospect information Describe the steps in managing the prospect
base
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