1. CHAPTER 9
Developing and Qualifying a Prospect Base

2. 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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3. Learning Objectives
Explain common methods of organizing prospect information
Describe the steps in managing the prospect base
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4. 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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5. 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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6. Girard’s Ferris Wheel—Supply
FIGURE
9.1
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FIGURE
9.1

7. Prospecting Requires Planning
Increase number of people who board the Ferris wheel
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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8. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Sources of Prospects
Referrals
Centers of influence
Directories
Trade publications
Trade shows and special events
Telemarketing and
Direct-response advertising and sales letters
Website
Computerized database
Cold calling
Networking
Educational seminars
Prospecting by non-sales employees
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9. 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
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10. Lead Generation See the Website
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11. Lead Generation See the Website
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12. 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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13. Popular National Directories
Middle Market Directory
TrackAmerica
Standard & Poor’s Corporation Records Service
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
Polk City Directory
The Encyclopedia of Associations
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14. 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
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15. 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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16. Direct Response and Sales 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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17. 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 lists
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18. Computerized Databases
In-house databases: your firm may already have a comprehensive database, sometimes referred to as the “house list,” with details on customers, purchase patterns, and so forth
List sources: wide range of precise lists available from variety of sources
See
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19. Computerized Databases
Purchasing databases or lists can be costly; price usually set on cost-per-thousand names
Not all relevant databases are equal; some “pull” better than others
Pull is the percentage of the list resulting in qualified prospects or actual sales
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20. 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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21. 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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22. Three Types of Networks
FIGURE
9.2
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23. Educational Seminars
Provide opportunity to showcase product without pressuring to buy
Require extensive preparation
Start value-added process
Can attend or present at industry-sponsored seminars or offer your own
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24. 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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25. Combination Approaches
Salespersons generally rely on combination of prospecting methods
Some methods have higher yield than others
Important to use CRM technology to help maximize efficiency
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26. 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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27. Collecting and Organizing Prospect Information
Sales data can be collected and organized into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
Examples of popular applications:
Salesforce.com
Oracle
NetSuite
Microsoft
Harvey Mackay suggests a 66-question customer profile.
See it at:mackay.com
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28. The CRM Contact Sheet FIGURE 9.3 See the Website
Sample CRM Contact Sheet from Salesforce.com
FIGURE
9.3
See the Website
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29. Managing the Prospect Base
Sample CRM record for one salesperson’s prospects from Salesforce.com
FIGURE
9.4
See the Website
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30. 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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31. The Portfolio Model for Classifying Prospects
FIGURE
9.5
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32. The Sales Funnel Model FIGURE 9.6
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33. Using CRM Technology for Pipeline Management
Sample CRM pipeline dashboard from Salesforce.com
See the Website
FIGURE
9.7
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34. Key Concept Discussion 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
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

35. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
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Publishing as Prentice Hall