7-1 The Power of Selling

7-2 Chapter 7 Prospecting and Qualifying: The Power to Identify Your Customers

7-3 Video Ride-Along The video Prospecting features Lisa Peskin, Sales Trainer, Business Development University Lisa Peskin shares her tips for identifying new customers According to her, cold calling is the least effective method for prospecting

7-4 Chapter Objectives Explain the role of the seven steps of the selling process. Understand the role prospecting plays in the selling process. Identify resources to use when prospecting. Understand how to identify prospective employers.

7-5 Figure 7.1 – Seven-Step Selling Process

7-6 Seven Steps of Selling Process Prospecting: Identifying the potential buyers for a product or a service Qualifying: Determining whether a lead has the desire and ability to buy your product or service Preapproach: Preparation and research a salesperson does before making the sales call Approach: First few minutes of a sales call, during which the salesperson explains her purpose for coming and establishes a rapport

7-7 Seven Steps of Selling Process Presentation: Part of the sales call when the salesperson offers a solution for the prospect Objections: Hesitations or concerns a prospect might have about the product or purchasing process Close/Closing: Agreeing on the terms of the sale and finalizing the transaction Follow-up: Salesperson assures customer satisfaction and maintains customer relationships

7-8 Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process The value of a lead – Customers who give the “just looking” response are valuable leads – If such customers are not followed up and qualified, their business goes to a competitor Item number:

7-9 Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process Sales funnel: An illustration of the way the sales process begins with a large pool of prospects and ends with a more focused number of buyers Technological tools can help identifying, qualifying and prioritizing prospects – Examples: Collaborative communities and online resources

7-10 Figure Traditional Sales Funnel

7-11 Prospecting: A Vital Role in the Selling Process To decide which prospects you should invest your time in pursuing, create a profile of your ideal buyer: – What particular qualities and characteristics will define this individual or company? – What specific problems would this buyer have that your product could solve? – In what ways should the buyer be compatible with you or your organization?

7-12 Where to Find Prospects Top ten power prospecting list: – Existing customers – Referrals – Networking and social networking – Business directories in print – Online databases and directories – Newspapers, trade publications, and business journals

7-13 Where to Find Prospects – Trade shows and events – Advertising and direct mail – Cold calling – Be a subject matter expert

7-14 Seth Godin Interview The video How To Flip The Sales Funnel features Seth Godin, Best-Selling Author, Entrepreneur, and an Agent of Change Seth Godin talks about ‘flipping the funnel’ which means turning the funnel to a megaphone and letting your best customers act as your salespeople To view the video, click hereclick here Source: SellingPower.com

7-15 Organizing Your Prospect Information Choosing a system Gathering intelligence Keep it up-to-date

7-16 Choosing a System Customer relationship management (CRM): The process a company uses to organize and track their current and potential customer information – It allows you to maintain relationships in a systematic way, following up more consistently with your leads and continuing to meet the needs of your existing customers

7-17 Choosing a System Contact management system (CMS): A system for tracking and organizing customer and prospect information that is less complex than CRM and doesn’t necessarily keep a record of every customer contact – It allows you to keep current contact and company information on your prospects and to record detailed notes about your conversations with them

7-18 Keep It Up-To-Date To avoid loosing (losing) your prospect to a competitor, keep your prospect information current Several online business directories provide customized alerts on company news, turnover of key personnel, or merging and splitting off of companies – Examples: RSS ( Really Simple Syndication) and Google news alerts

7-19 Qualifying Your Prospects Five questions to help you meet your qualifying objectives: – Does your prospect have a need? – Does he or she have the authority to make the buying decision? – Does he or she have the resources to purchase the product or service? – Does he or she have the willingness to purchase the product? – Do you have access to the influencer or decision makers?

7-20 Managing Your Prospect Base Once you have qualified your prospect, the next step is making an action plan – Action plan: A specific plan of approach for each customer Begin your action plan by conducting a need analysis because your qualified prospects will have different needs Think about the next steps in the sales process Develop a timeline and plot out the steps