Free Sales Training Tips:
How to Fill Your Prospecting Pipeline
The goal of every salesperson is to make sales. Unlike most
other businesses, in sales the purchase represents merely the tip of the
iceberg. What lies below the tip, or in this case, before it, is much
research, preparation, and legwork.
To conceptualize the need for preparation, imagine that you are in the
plant business. You grow houseplants and carry 12 varieties, each of which
blooms in a different month of the year. So you have a different plant
available each month of the year. Each of these plants, however, requires
12 months to grow from seedling to full-bloom. In addition, each plant
requires attention once a month. This attention includes feeding,
watering, pruning, and rotation. So you set up a schedule in which you
plant the seeds a year in advance and then every month do what is required
to continue or start the growth of each plant. The pay-off doesn't come
until after you've started, but each month thereafter a new plant will be
ready to sell. You're all set, unless you forget a step some month. You
will discover your oversight many months down the line. By then, however,
it's too late. In the plant business, you can't plant the seeds on the
thirtieth of the month and expect to have a sale on the first.
The development of your business as a salesperson also requires investing
in a future payoff. The time lag between planting your seeds and reaping
the rewards varies. Each month, however, you must do what is necessary to
ensure a future yield. The maintenance and growth of your business
requires that you:
1. Continually replenish your source of prospective clients
2. Qualify prospects to determine their eligibility as clients
3. Create a "business friendship" with each new person
4. Study the needs of each prospect
5. Propose solutions to prospects' problems
6. Confirm the appropriate purchases
7. Assure client satisfaction after the sale
Developing the habit of routinely engaging in these activities will
provide a smooth flow of income in the future. A failure to tackle these
activities conscientiously will create a "sales slump."
THE CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE OF SALES SLUMPS
A sales slump is almost always due to negligence. Throughout the years we
have found that salespeople who "get lazy" or ignore the cyclical nature
of sales eventually experience slumps. Slumps can be avoided by
maintaining an effective pipeline.
The following illustration demonstrates the steps necessary in creating an
effective sales pipeline. Starting at the top of the pipeline, you have
the general public, an almost infinite source of prospects. Through the
process of qualification and selecting a targeted market, you reduce the
infinite source to a realistic number. This group then enters the pipeline
one at a time to be "processed." You contact the prospects and study their
needs to determine how your product or service can help them. After
preparing an intelligent proposal, you suggest several alternatives to the
prospective client and confirm the sale. You have then added yet another
client to your pool. The task then is to cushion them by assuring ongoing
satisfaction.
The flow from the reservoir of prospects to the pool of clients will be
constant as long as you earnestly maintain each phase of the pipeline.
This will result in a continual flow of income to you and make slumps a
thing of the past.
THE RAW MATERIAL FOR YOUR PIPELINE
Productivity - whether of a factory, or a salesperson - requires raw
material. In the sales business, your raw material is people. You more
than anyone else, must be a "people person." You want and need to meet new
people constantly in order to maintain a steady flow through your sales
pipeline.
The sources of prospects are so extensive, that many salespeople find them
overwhelming. Having too many choices often makes decisions more
difficult. As a salesperson, you need to be well versed in all the proven
methods of obtaining prospects before choosing your best strategy. Only
then can you professionally generate a virtually endless number of people
to meet as prospects. The most accepted sources of prospects include the
following:
1.) CUSTOMERS
Satisfied customers represent an excellent source of prospects for you.
They'll talk to their friends and associates about their new purchase and
they may mention your name.
Most professional salespeople say the most effective way to obtain
referrals is to ask specific questions. One way of doing this is to review
your list of qualifying criteria for prospects. Choose one criterion and
base your question on it. For example, let's say one of your qualifying
criteria is that the prospect has recently been promoted. You would then
ask your client, "Who do you know who has recently been promoted?" You
should also ask your client if you could mention her name when contacting
someone to whom she referred you.
2.) PROSPECTS
Prospects beget prospects. Many new salespeople assume that if a prospect
doesn't buy, then there is no potential left in the relationship. Not so.
A prospect can be asked for referrals in the same way that established
clients are asked. With a prospect, however, it is paramount that you
create a professional business relationship before asking for referrals.
If you are perceived as being credible, trustworthy, and ethical, your
prospect will have no qualms about referring you to others.
3.) COMPANY LEADS & ORPHAN CLIENTS
Often, your company can furnish you with some very high-quality leads. It
procures its leads from mailing programs, telephone solicitation, existing
clients, and other sources. An "orphan" is a client who is not being
served by another salesperson.
4.) FRIENDS AND SOCIAL CONTACTS
Your family and friends can provide a rich source of prospects. It's not
uncommon to learn that a salesperson's friends and relatives have only a
vague idea of what he does. Now is the time to enlighten everyone as to
the exact nature of your business and devise a method of maintaining that
contact on a regular basis. Send them something periodically to keep them
up to date on you.
5.) MEMBERSHIP IN CIVIC AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
The idea is to enjoy the organization and the people in it. If you also
broaden your prospect reservoir, then you've really lucked out. If you're
participating in a professional organization, there's certainly nothing
wrong with letting people know what you do. In the natural course of
conversation we're often asked, "What do you do?" It's probably to your
advantage simply to tell them what you do and leave it at that. Later, if
you see that you may be of some service to them, you can approach them and
discuss their needs in a relaxed and helpful way. You don't have to "sell"
every prospect as he or she appears.
The organizations you choose to join and participate in should be loaded
with prospects within your priority target markets.
6.) CENTRES OF INFLUENCE
A centre of influence is someone in a position to steer you to prospects
or prospects to you. He or she is someone important to you for one reason
or another. There are centres of influence in every facet of life and
business. In order to ask a favour of someone who is going to influence
the opinions of others, you must build rapport with the influential
person. Be sure that they know the benefits you have given other clients
as well as the types of prospects you are seeking.
7.) CANVASSING
Before you contact people or firms in your area, they should be qualified.
Because they are unsolicited prospects, study their situation to determine
any obvious need for your service or product. You can then approach them
in an intelligent fashion. Doing your homework will make you a credible
salesperson from the beginning. This alone opens more doors than simply
having a strong foot. If done with sincerity, interest, and research,
canvassing can expand your prospect reservoir significantly.
8.) CONVENTIONS AND TRADE SHOWS
Conventions and trade shows are to a salesperson like a candy store to a
child. They are gold mines for prospecting. Attend as many trade shows and
conventions as practical. At the convention, try to meet as many people as
possible. Ask them about their companies and try to uncover their needs.
After the convention, follow up on your leads and prospects. Be sure to
refresh their memories as to where and how you met. Often they will have
pleasant recollections of the time you spent together at the convention.
9.) DIRECTORIES
In addition to the Yellow Pages, your local library has directories on
everything imaginable. Whether you're scouting out prospects in a
particular area or creating a mailing list, directories will save you time
and energy. Some directories list specific people to contact, such as
corporate officers or department heads. Seek the guidance of your
librarian in finding the right sources.
10.) TIP CLUBS
The purpose of these groups is to make each member aware of the resources
available from the other members. This type of give-and-take results
in-group synergism. The branches of each person's prospecting tree are
extended further outward. Each person is able to bring to the group his or
her area of expertise, centres of influence, social networks, and business
contacts. With everyone bouncing ideas off one another, a kind of
professional kinetic energy develops in which everyone can gain
information, cross-sell, obtain referrals, and increase the drive to
achieve. Most tip clubs meet on a regular basis over breakfast or lunch.
11.) STUDY GROUPS
Study groups have become a very effective tool for strengthening a
salesperson in his or her career. A study group is an assemblage of
individuals involved in similar, yet not identical, activities. They form
close, business-related friendships in order to help each other grow and
develop as sales professionals. At each meeting, they bring one another up
to date by comparing notes on recent events, types of strategies planned,
obstacles encountered and overcome, and other insights. Each member tries
to strengthen the other members by offering observations, assessments,
feedback, and support.
12.) DIRECT MAIL
Direct mail as a means of prospecting offers the major advantage of
allowing you to reach a large number of people without being physically
present. There are two basic kinds of direct mail strategies - onetime
mailings and "campaigns." The one-time mailing is aimed at generating an
immediate response to an attractive offer. The "campaign" or
"conditioning" method seeks to make the prospect increasingly more aware
of you as a viable answer to her needs in a particular area.
13.) NEWSLETTERS
The rate of technical advancement in practically every field is so great
that a few individuals can keep abreast of it. If you are selling in one
of these fields and have a thorough understanding of the changes as well
as a knack for writing, you're in a prime position to issue a newsletter.
Mailing a monthly newsletter would certainly be a service to your clients
and prospects. They would appreciate your saving them time and would keep
you in mind as someone with whom to do business.
14.) PUBLIC SPEAKING/Seminars
Civic clubs, professional organizations, corporations, conventions, and
church groups are constantly seeking effective speakers to address their
groups. There are two effective ways to gain prospects from a public
speaking engagement. You can distribute response cards on which interested
prospects fill in their names and phone numbers. You can also offer to
send a free article on your speech topic to any attendees who give you
their business cards. When you mail the article, you can also include
information about yourself, your company, and your products/services.
QUALIFY YOUR PROSPECTS
The failure to qualify a prospect will cause you considerable frustration
and loss of time and money; it will decrease your efficiency. Remember
that a "prospect" is someone who has a need for your product or service. A
qualified prospect not only has the need, but also the means to act. Your
calls-to-sales ratio will be much higher if you qualify each prospect
before making your call. Qualifying a prospect involves three basic steps:
1. Set the conditions for qualifying your prospects. Make a checklist of
important prospect characteristics such as position in company, credit,
and so on.
2. Determine whether your prospect possesses these factors.
3. Decide whether this is a good time to initiate contact with this
prospect. Timing is often essential.
If you're scientific about your prospecting, you'll increase your prospect
reservoir and know exactly how you did it. This makes for future success
rather than a "hit or miss" career.
There are literally acres and acres of diamonds (prospects) sitting out
there waiting to be picked up. If you can cultivate an awareness of the
sources and the discipline to pursue them, you'll never have a sales slump
and you'll be handsomely rewarded for your efforts, with a new "crop" to
be harvested every month.
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