CHAPTER 7
Prospecting – The Lifeblood of Selling
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. THE GOLDEN RULE: PROSPECTING
A. People want to trust the person they buy from.
B. New customers are frequently gained through referrals which are earned by
II. THE SALES PROCESS
A. Sales Process – a sequence of actions taken by the salesperson which leads
B. 10 steps in the selling process:
1. Prospecting
2. Pre-approach
3. Approach
4. Presentation
III. STEPS BEFORE THE SALES PRESENTATION
A. Prospecting.
IV. PROSPECTING – THE LIFEBLOOD OF SELLING
A. Prospect – a qualified person or business that has the potential to buy your
B. Prospecting – identifies potential customers.
1. Increases sales.
C. “Lead” – a person or business who might be a prospect.
D. Questions to ask to determine if an individual is a qualified prospect:
1. Does the prospect have the money to buy?
V. THE SALES PROSPECTING FUNNEL
questions.
VI. THE LEAKING BUCKET CUSTOMER CONCEPT
A. Customers are coming in and going out of the salesperson’s sales base.
B. The cost of acquiring a new customer is higher than keeping a present one,
VII. WHERE TO FIND PROSPECTS
VIII. PLANNING A PROSPECTIVE STRATEGY
A. Many salespeople prefer to contact prospects having similar characteristics to
themselves.
IX. PROSPECTING METHODS
A. E-prospecting on the Web
1. Individuals
a. Free sites: Yahoo.com
2. Organizations
a. The company’s Web address.
B. Cold Canvas method – relies solely on the volume of cold calls made.
C. Endless Chain-Customer Referral – after every sale or contact, the salesman
D. Orphaned Customers – salespeople often leave their employers to take other
E. Sales Lead Clubs – an organization or group of salespeople in related but
F. Get Lists of Prospects – make a list of what your ideal prospect looks like, and
G. Become an Expert: Get Published – by convincing an editor that you’re an
H. Public Exhibitions and Demonstrations – frequently take place at trade shows
I. Center of Influence – involves finding and cultivating people in a community
K. Telephone and Telemarketing – allows for person-to-person contact and
L. Observation – a way a salesperson often can find prospects by constantly
M. Networking – making and using contacts.
X. PROSPECTING GUIDELINES
A. Three criteria in developing the best prospecting method:
1. Customize a prospective method to fit your firm’s needs.
B. Referrals are used in most prospecting methods:
1. Cold Canvassing
2. Endless Chain-Customer Referrals
3. Orphaned Customers
C. The Prospect Pool
1. Group of names gathered from various sources.
2. Four main sources are:
a. Leads
XI. THE REFERRAL CYCLE
A. Provides guidelines for when a salesperson should ask for referrals.
B. The parallel referral sale – sells the product plus sells the prospect on
C. The secret is to ask correctly. Clients frequently object to giving referrals
because they:
1. Are afraid of upsetting friends and relatives.
2. Don’t want friends to think they’re being talked about.
D. The pre-approach – mention personal contact.
the customer.
G. Service and follow-up – ongoing opportunities to maintain contact with your
H. Don’t mistreat the referral.
1. Treat the referral professionally.
XII. CALL RELUCTANCE COSTS YOU MONEY
A. About 40 percent of salespeople suffer reluctance at some point.
2. Countermeasures are numerous and depend on the type of reluctance a
XIII. OBTAINING THE SALES INTERVIEW
A. Getting an appointment is not always easy.
1. Be creative.
B. The benefits of appointment making.
1. Ensures an audience with the buyer.
C. Telephone appointment.
1. Plan or write out what you will say.
2. Clearly identify yourself and your company.
3. Get to the point quickly.
D. Make the appointment personally.
1. Believe in yourself – speak and carry yourself as though you expect to
2. Develop friends in the prospect’s firm.
XIV. WIRELESS E-MAIL HELPS YOU KEEP IN CONTACT AND PROSPECT – It
keeps you mobile.