eliminate businesses that neither buy nor sell similar products or those that do not attract
the same target market that Canon products are engineered towards. The potential
prospects that meet this qualification will be primarily retail businesses that specialize in
personal electronics, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, and Office Depot. Along with these
electronic retail stores, there would also be the retail giants, Wal-Mart and Target, as well
as smaller businesses like Wolf Camera that specialize in cameras and photography
equipment. Other potential prospects could include industries or professions *ƒ²*ƒ”€š such
as real estate professionals and insurance claims officers who need a lightweight, compact,
and versatile camera to provide them with a powerful visual aid for their clients.
The next qualification that will be used to filter the potential prospects is to determine
whether or not communication and correspondence can easily be carried on with the
potential prospect. This filter will locate the potential prospects that are located in
geographic regions which are not easily accessible or those that I am unable to get an
appointment with. Smaller businesses like Wolf Camera would be the most likely fall into
this category.
The last filter of the criteria would be to eliminate the potential prospects that do not have
the resources, capability, or authority to purchase of our product. By determining the
potential prospects that are able to make purchases, I will not waste time and resources
pursuing leads that are unable to make a purchase. Instead I will know exactly which
potential prospects are capable of making purchasing decisions and thus worth the effort
and time required to plan the sales call, which is the next step in the selling process.
Planning the Sales Call
The first step to take in planning for the sales would be to determine a set of goals to be
achieved from the initial call. Some realistic goals would be;
” For the prospect agree to a second meeting if sale can not be completed during the first
call.
” To have the prospect agree to a product demonstration.
” To have the prospect begin the process of placing a sales order.
After achievable goals have been established, I would next move towards gathering as
much as information as possible about the prospect. This information would be on both the
prospect and the firm they work for.
To effectively evaluate and prepare for a sales call it is important to know specific details
about the company which you are making the sales call. Information to be researched
about the company would include its size, how their purchasing decision process works
and the persons who are involved in that decision making process, the products they
currently offer, past purchases of our competitor products, and the current situation the