PROSPECTING

1. Prospecting

2. Qualify

3. Demonstrate Value

4. Handel Objections

5. Close

6. Follow up / Referral

“All of these steps present a certain level of challenge. But hands down, prospecting has been chosen as creating the most difficulty for reps. In fact, “more than 40% of salespeople say this is the most challenging part of the sales process(HUBSPOT).”

Time is the highest form of currency in sales. Targeting the correct accounts can lead to double digit growth. The most successful sales representative target accounts that give the most ROI for their time and will get them what they want, promoted. Targeting creatively will get you noticed by management in environments that seem unappreciative of hard-working salespeople.

Targeting the wrong prospects will waste your resources, your effort and time. Effective salespeople rely on verbal and nonverbal feedback to access if a marketing pitch or process is effective. If you are targeting a prospect that has no need or authority to purchase your product or service, you are receiving futile feedback in your processes. The biggest hindrance to prospecting is a salesperson losing confidence in their abilities. By targeting the wrong prospects, you are limiting your probability of closing business, reducing your time to service your current customers, and killing confidence.

Prospecting correctly and increasing revenue can be achieved by measuring processes. To stay current and a leader in a market, a company needs to be trying new strategies to beat competition. As a salesperson or manager, you need to always be taking calculated risk to improve your market share. Small wins build confidence and overtime form large wins. I have broken down my foundation for prospecting below. You too can turn small wins into large consistent wins and form a base for success.

RESEARCHING COMPANY PROFILES AND STAFF

Today almost every company has their own website. It is imperative that you take advantage of the information presented on the website. It is free and will give you clues on how you will tailor your prospecting approach.

The first thing I look for is when the company was founded. This will tell you if the company has successful processes established in the marketplace. If they have been in business for a longer than 5 years, it is probable that a similar or competitor’s product is already in place. Therefore, you will have to compete for the business. Another import aspect when customizing you approach is to find out what the companies community interest are. This will allow you to understand what the owners’ driving factors are in making business decisions, their why. You need to have a grasp on this because the owner of the company is likely to hire employees that have similar personal standards. When you group people with similar mindset together a company culture is created. If you understand what motivates the owner, you can design your approach to gatekeepers and align your message with company culture to build instant trust and rapport.

The next free clue to increase your ROI is examining the companies mission statement. The mission statement outlines what the company purpose is and how their product or service will benefit their customers. This will allow you to understand the company objectives and how you can align your own product or service with their mission. This is critical to understand your prospect because as a salesperson your product or service needs to help the prospect get closer to their company initiatives. Clear stating how your product or service get prospects closer to the prerogatives or how you will eliminate pain points in their processes will only increase your close percentage further in the sales process.

The next quantitative element I focus on is researching the organizational structure. Most companies in America are set up in similar organizational charts. Sure, there are different titles, some titles have different responsibilities based on the company. However, the job title flow charts look the same in corporate America. As an efficient salesperson, it is your responsibility to research potential decision makers before you make contact. It should be your goal to target and make key decision makers a champion of you and your product.

The last thing that I look for in company research are unique details of the company. This can be a lifesaver or a gamechanger in conversation. If a company puts in the effort to mention that all its products are green products on their website, be sure to mention and praise it when communicating. These statements build trust when communicating by assuring the prospect that we have the same goals and personal aspiration. Most companies want to do good, do not be afraid to communicate to prospects that you and your organization want the same.

This might seem insignificant and elementary for some seasoned sales folks. If you are trying to build rapport and trust quickly, these concepts can help identify valuable prospects and make you more efficient in the sales process. Most people start working for a company because of common interest, a mission statement, community involvement, or through common acquaintances. Most decision makers are proud of their position and were they work at. You are prepping your brain to personalize messages in the sales cycle and will create a backup subject if you have a “brain freeze” during live communication.

RESEARCHING FACILITIES AND BUSINESS ANALYTICS

Now that you have an idea of the company culture, mission statement, community involvement we focus on the more analytical side. It is time to focus on how impactful gaining the company’s business will be on your own personal sales quota. To make this palatable, we will use a reference that almost everyone is familiar with. Everyone has been to a hospital. I will use medical device sales as an example.

As a salesperson, your worth is always measure by numbers. How far below your quota number you are or how big of a rock star you are because you are crushing your quota. These are the two options from a manager’s perspective. There are ways to measure how impactful earning a prospect business will be to achieve rock star status.

The first numerical element I always look at is the amount of annual revenue the company produces. Companies constantly approve budgets and as a salesperson it is your job to earn a piece of the budget pie. The larger the pie, the larger the slices you can potentially cut or earn. For instances in medical sales, I would focus on is bed count in hospitals. The higher the bed count the larger the impact, the more patient turnover the more opportunities your product must be used in.

The next measurable you need to focus on is how many departments within the organization you can sell your product into. You need to research the number of departments you can impact to get an accurate forecast assessment and to understand which decision makers will have input on the final decision. Sorting through prospect lists can be a daunting task, always predict the total revenue you can produce if you win the prospects business. This will help you plan your strategic priorities which will result in becoming better at managing your time effectively in your territory. Although you will not always be correct, this skill will evolve and improve with experience. Use this as a tool to understand how to get to your quota and expect a process of learning.

ON-SITE EVALUATIONS

There is nothing better than seeing and hearing how a business operate in person. An on-site visit will give you valuable input. Even if you are sitting in the waiting room and do not get to talk to a decision maker, this method is priceless. You can watch how the office communicates and operates. Often listening to small details will give you a roadmap to the answers you seek. You are the expert in the field as a salesperson, you must be observant and studious. Listen to the processes, listen to what voice makes decision in the office politics, listen to how involved the director is in managing employees, listen to who’s voice has the final word on purchasing decisions. This can answer the question will your product reduce pain points in your prospect work processes and who you need to impress.

Some representatives cannot visit all their prospect. If you can make in office visits, try to pair them with actions that are profitable for the company. If you have a meeting early in the morning in a particular location that you believe is going to be a profitable meeting, have a plan to visit three or four prospects in the area that afternoon that are wildcards. This can be an opportunity to gain business and an opportunity to try new approaches. Even of it is sitting in their office for 20 min, learn what you can to decide if they a valuable ROI prospect that will get you closer to your quota. If you have a small territory, on site visit should be a regular part of your process. Putting a face to your name is more influential than calling by phone or sending an email weekly for a year. You are showing up to communicate you want to earn their business.

If inexperienced, this approach may be difficult at first. The greatest growth comes outside of our comfort zones. Always remember every person starts as a beginner, with experience you will get better and evolve over time. Do not be hard on yourself, always take it as a learning experience and a necessary process for improvement. After each visit write down your findings and conclusions from your findings. This will allow you to identify patterns and improve your on-site prospecting skills. Learning from documented experience will reduce your learning curves and make you successful faster.

This ends my introduction to the prospecting step of my sales cycle. Thank you for reading and please let me know how I can help you achieve your goals!!!