Prospecting Sales Leads: Working Smarter, Not Harder

By Rick Davis, Building Leaders, Inc.

Forget about the old-fashioned idea that some folks are “born salespeople.” To successfully sell products, you need to learn the science behind the sale. Here are some tips for strategically prospecting leads in the marketplace:

Tip #1 – Schedule Appointments – Planned meetings equal good sales results. If you try the “drop in and hope” approach to prospecting, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Even cold calls should have established appointments. An unscheduled visit, whether with a client or a prospect, is an imposition on the time and assumes that the person has plenty of time to drop everything and meet with you. For a solid start to prospecting, establish an appointment and confirm it via phone or e-mail beforehand.

Tip #2 – Database Management – Knowledge is power, and your ability to harness knowledge makes you a powerful sales person. To achieve this, use whatever system works best for you, but write down and save key sales prospect information. Devise a way to include both personal information (i.e.: birth dates, sporting preferences, etc.) and business details (i.e.: competitive products used, company history, etc.). Make sure to update your filing system daily to stay on top of prospects and customers.

Tip #3 – Script It Out – First calls to prospective customers are always the hardest. Make life easier by having a written script or bullet points of information to convey in front of you while making the call and come to the point immediately. Don’t forget that your goal is to gain an appointment, so don’t use the phone call to qualify your prospective customer. Use it to get the face-to-face meeting.

Tip #4 - Territory Management – Manage your windshield time effectively. In addition to scheduling appointments to ensure productivity in the field, map out your territory to maximize your effectiveness during the day. Criss-crossing your marketplace wastes time and gas – two precious and expensive commodities for any sales person.

Tip #5 – Prospect Rating – To make your prospecting efforts more successful, rate your customers and prospects on their potential profitability to you. Asking the right questions will lead you to determining if a customer has the potential for purchasing 10 or 1,000 widgets from you in a given year. Once you determine profitability potential, rank your customers and prospects from A to D. Spend the most amount of time with the A accounts and start looking to replacing the C accounts.

Working smarter can also mean maximizing the time you invest from behind your desk. Instead of wasting time in the car, cruise the information superhighway. Here are some ideas for strategically researching potential customers without ever putting a gallon of gasoline in your car.

Tip #1 – Brainstorm – Abe Lincoln said, “Given eight hours to cut a cord of wood, spend two of them sharpening your axe.” Take time out to think freely. Focus on only positive opportunities and methods to learn. Even in these challenging times, perhaps because of this challenging business environment, it is an opportune time to strategize for the future.

Tip #2 – Seek Long-Term Opportunities – During these times it is easy to panic and accept any sale that comes your way…which you should! But your proactive focus should target the specific audience that creates long term opportunities. Commercial sales, condo associations and one-time sales are valuable short term opportunities. Concentrating on builders, subcontractors and re-sellers of your product will provide ongoing revenue streams for the future.

Tip #3 – Use the Internet – This tool brings information to your fingertips. Search web sites of associations such as the NAHB (www.nahb.org), the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) or www.thebluebook.com to stay updated on industry information. Then, visit company web sites, competitive manufacturer web sites and anything you can Google to gain more information on your target audience, their goals and how you can sell to them.

Tip #4 – Speak your client’s language – Many prospects are difficult to reach on the phone. Rather than persistently leave messages, try dropping a casual prospecting e-mail to prospects and clients. This affords you the opportunity to be precise with your message and your clients the chance to receive your message and answer at their convenience. In the modern world, you must adapt to a variety of conversation mediums. Strive to figure out which is best for each individual client.

Rick Davis is president of Building Leaders Inc., a Chicago-based sales consulting company, and provider of the DriveTime Diplomatm Series of Audio Sales Training. For more powerful sales tips and to move your career to the next level, e-mail rickdavis@buildingleaders.com, call 773-769-4409 and go to www.buildingleaders.com.

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