Prospecting
Presentation
Closing
They put a lot of effort into the prospecting part because it is the point where many salespeople die before giving their careers enough time to flourish and improve their skills.
Why? It's hard to be the reason for an interruption.
It's hard to make cold calls or knock on doors. Rejection, one of the feelings we humans want to avoid at all costs, is a threat in every new interaction.
That is why with digital advertising, mass media and the application of inbound methodologies we are tempted to stop knocking on doors and go out 'on the street' to look for new prospects.
At certain times of the year, the flow of leads and sales opportunities allows us to do this without problems. But when these are scarce, it is essential to be ready to find new opportunities on your own, to get out of the building, so to speak, and to prospect proactively.
Luckily, this activity can be carried out in a much more inbound way thanks to the Internet. With access to all the information necessary to prepare the approach, it is possible to avoid the common obstacles of prospecting.
The traditional situation you should always avoid
Proactive prospecting is traditionally expected to start the process like this:
Sir, I represent Company ABC, which sells XYZ products. I have come to ask you to allow me to present them to you and discuss whether you would like to purchase them.
The problem with this approach is obvious:
It does not generate any value for the potential client: It seems that the most important thing for the person giving this speech is the salesperson's commission rather than solving the potential client's problems.
It doesn't open the door to a relationship and if a conversation is started it will most likely start with difficult questions to manage such as:
Well, how much does it cost?
What are you selling?
What do you want?
It is difficult to maintain a professional stance and take control of the sale when this happens.
The problem is in the method.
Proactive prospecting can be a very professional process if steps are taken c level contact list prior to initial contact with the client.
Solution: Boost proactive prospecting with content and tools.
One of the worst things a professional salesperson can do is ask the prospect to do his job. With all the public sources, accessible to everyone, the minimum that is expected is a basic knowledge of:
Who is the person with whom you will have a meeting.
What position do you hold in the company?
What does the company do?
What product line do you have?
What market segments do they serve?
Knowing each niche:
By working by niches, the proactive prospecting team can understand the challenges, needs and opportunities of companies in each sector. This will be a good differentiator.
On the other hand, for each niche you can prepare the approach to the potential client with the objective of making it difficult to say no to an initial offer.
In prospecting you don't sell products but rather interest in the sales process. With this goal in mind you can make initial offers driven by content and tools that enable conversations like this:
- Dear Francisco, we conducted a study that showed that companies in your industry are facing several problems this year due to import restrictions. This study includes a series of effective strategies to counteract them. Would you be interested in discussing just one of these strategies with me?
