Final SMX Prospecting

8/8/2019 Final SMX Prospecting

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SMX CONVENTION CENTER SMX CONVENTION CENTER

T he reality is, if you can't handle all stages of the selling

process, you won't sell enoughto stay in the profession.

However, regardless of how good you are at the six stages of

selling process, you will be out of business if you don't have a prospect.

What is the most important part of the selling process? What is the most important part of the selling process?



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SMX CONVENTION CENTER SMX CONVENTION CENTER

Without prospects, you are out of business.

With prospects, the professional sales person has a chance to

change the world -------------

starting with your own now!

What is the most important part of the selling process? What is the most important part of the selling process?



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WHAT IS HIGH PROBABILI TY

PROSPEC T ING?

WHAT IS HIGH PROBABILI TY

PROSPEC T ING?

HIGH PROBABILITY PROSPECTINGHIGH PROBABILITY PROSPECTING



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WHAT IS HIGH PROBABILITY PROSPECTING?

Whenever I speak to a large group of salespeople

about the success that can result from telephone

prospecting, I get several impassioned refusals

from members of the audience.

Their typical remarks are ³Cold calling is a waste

of time´ and ³I hate cold calling.´

I then respond, ³I agree that cold calling is a huge waste of time.´

There is a different telephone prospecting process that is efficient, effective and enjoyable.



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Vast majority of salespeople think that there

is only one way to use the telephone for prospecting ± namely cold calling.

I am sure you also realize by now, cold calling

is a tiring task.

It is unpleasant and loaded with rejection ±

personal rejection.



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When I say ³Telephone Prospecting,´

I am not talking about cold calling.

High Probability Prospecting is an efficient,

enjoyable way to contact and make appointments with prospects when they are ready to buy your

type of product or service.

A High Probability Prospect is one who wants,

needs, can afford, and is ready to buy your product

or service now.

Those who only want, need, and can afford - but

are not ready to buy now- are prospects that you

will not meet with now.



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But, you will continue to contact in the future,

until they are ready to buy.

It is based on the fact that people buy for their

own reasons, in their own time.

That¶s true for most of us, when we are the

prospect.



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This process requires you to call a

precisely targeted list that contains some people who already want your

type of product or service now or

will want it in the future.



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How does Cold Calling fit into High ProbabilityProspecting?

Before picking up the phone, you need to define your

target market.

If you haven't gone through the exercise of defining your target markets, start by making a list of your

best customers:

1) What characteristics do they share?

2) Are they in similar industries?

3) Are the companies of about the same size, or in the same vertical markets?

4) Or if they are using the same product and service

that your competitors are offering ««.



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The first call you make is always a cold-call.

Call is extremely short ± typically thirty-five seconds ± and creates no pressure.

It is designed to get a quick ³Yes´ or ³No´ answer.

Do not engage in conversation unless their immediate response is ³Yes.´

If they don¶t know what you¶re talking about,

is because your prospecting offer is too vague or they don¶t care.

This type of call leaves the prospect witha positive feeling about you.



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Your next call will be a warm call.

After the first call, every call you make to that

prospect is a ³warm call.´

Very few of those calls is likely to result in rejection ± if you change the wording of your

prospecting offer every time you call.

Prospects either say ³Yes´ or ³No´ to your

offers and you gladly accept whatever answer

you get.

No pressure, no manipulation, no conversations,

just a quick ³Okay, goodbye.´



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What about gatekeepers?

Don¶t try to ³get past´ them.

It¶s not worth your time and effort.

Most executives¶ gatekeepers are their Administrative Assistants.

They usually know what their boss wants and does not want.

Make your offer to the AA and accept the answer you get.



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The R esults

You should be able to contact and make offers

to three times as many suspects.

You will find and make appointments with the people who are most likely to buy.

R ejection and stress will be greatlydiminished.

The people that are not ready to buy now, but

are likely to buy in the future, will be happy

to take your calls because they are short,

pleasant, informative, and free of pressure.



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The R esults

Because of your frequent, positive contacts,

when they think of your type of products and

services, your name will be favorably at the

³front of their minds.´

You will stop wasting your time on low

probability prospects.

You will make appointments only with people

that are ready willing and able to buy.

Your selling cycle for each prospect will be

much shorter.

Your closing rates can dramatically increase.



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Points to remember:

High Probability Prospecting doesn't eliminate

cold-calling entirely.

You will, however, make successively fewer Cold

Calls and far more "Warm Calls".

That will eliminate most of the R ejection associated with cold-calling.

Thus, you will turn telephone prospecting into an

efficient and enjoyable activity.



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HOW WINNERS TELEPHONE PROSPECTHOW WINNERS TELEPHONE PROSPECT

Attitude Determines Sales Success

Let¶s look at a plan that will help you handle

telephone like a pro:

a) a strategic telephone prospecting process,

b) an ob jective assessment of your situation,

c) goal setting,

d) resulting strategies, ande) tactics to achieve that goal.



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OVERCOME OUR RELUCTANCEOVERCOME OUR RELUCTANCE

1. Overcome your reluctance Make the telephone prospecting calls when

you feel the freshest and most energized.

For most people, this is at the start of the business day.

Think of the call as a friendly call, not an adversarial one.

R emind yourself that you have a great

product that genuinely serves a need.



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RESEARCH OUR ROSPECTS (RESEARCH OUR PROSPECTS (

2. R esearch your prospects

Check local newspapers, industry

journals, and Web sites for information

about the companies or individuals whom

you're calling.

In this way, you can start your call by

discussing the prospect's business, not

yours.



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RESEARCH OUR PROSPECTS (RESEARCH OUR PROSPECTS (

2. R esearch your prospectsTIPS:

Target call to the right audience.

Use market research to focus on your target

market.

Find out as much as you possibly can about the

company or individual you're going to call in

advance.

This gives you the huge advantage of being able to talk about their business and their

needs when you call them.



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DISTANCE ROM THE COMPETITIONSDISTANCE ROM THE COMPETITIONS

3. Distance yourself from competitions

Position yourself as different than the

competitions.

5 Unique Selling Points USP).

Develop a script around each USP.

T he USPs should describe benefits rather than features of

the product or service.

References in a script to the experiences of satisfied

customers will help illustrate and give real-life evidence of

a benefit.

Get to know your customers and their business needs very well, so you become more than just a

"supplier" to them - you become almost an

extension of their business.

TIPS: R efer to your S.W.O.T.



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PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT(II)PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT(II)

4. Prepare an opening statement

Now, write an opening statement.

Do not read the opening statement word for word.

Use your statement to organize your thoughts.

Since you have about 20 seconds to get a

person¶s attention, you can't afford to ramble

or trip up once the prospect is on the line.

Include a greeting and an introduction, a

reference point this can be something about

the prospect), the benefits of your product

or service, and a transition to a question or

dialogue.



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PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT III)PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT III)

Prepare several opening statements for your calls: «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

«««««««««««««««««««««««««««.«««««««««««««««««««««

«««««««««««

Include questions that:

enable you to learn about the prospect¶s companyand its needs,

elicit ³yes´ responses that will dispose the

prospect to agreeing to a sales visit.

Because several calls might (probably will) be necessary to get an

appointment, each opening call to the same prospect should contain

something new to tell or ask the prospect each time you call back.

TIPS:

USPs will come in handy!

Write out possible ob jections and your

answer to them.



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PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT(IV)PREPARE AN OPENING STATEMENT(IV)

For example:

" Good afternoon, Ms. Marshall. T his is Ken

Brown with Green Works. I read in the local

paper that you recently broke ground for a new

office complex. We specialize in commercial

landscape services that allow you to reduce in-

house maintenance costs and comply with the

city's new environmental regulations. I'd like to

ask a few questions to determine whether one

of our programs might meet your needs."



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MAKE THE GATEKEEPERS YOUR ALLIES(I)MAKE THE GATEKEEPERS YOUR ALLIES(I)

5. Make the gatekeepers your allies

Secretaries and administrative assistants

stand between you and the decision makers

of a business.

As such, these women and men can be

valuable sources of information; they can

direct you to the right person and help you

to understand how their company might use your product or service.



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MAKE THE GATEKEEPERS YOUR ALLIES (II)MAKE THE GATEKEEPERS YOUR ALLIES (II)

Develop strategies to get the gatekeeper on your side:

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««..

«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««.

«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««..

Sometimes asking, "I wonder if you could help me?" will help

you get the information you need, such as the name

of the right person to talk to or when the best time to contact

the prospect is.

Learning the names of gatekeepers and being friendly

helps, too.



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STAY FOCUS (II)STAY FOCUS (II)

6. Stay focus

Smooth the way for your call by sending prospects a small,

unique promotional item.

This helps break the ice and makes your business stand out

from the crowd.

YOU, could be remembered as:

"It's amazing - A P200 crazy little item we've sent out has

helped us get Fortune 500 accounts. When we call, they

say, "Oh yeah....you were the one that sent me that...³

R emember, the purpose of a call is to qualif y the

prospect and to schedule a face-to-face meeting.



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AVOID MAKING MISTAKESAVOID MAKING MISTAKES

7. Avoid making mistakes

Don't start a call by asking "How are

you doing today?" or "Is this a good

time to talk?"

The first question sounds insincere or

presumptuous coming from a stranger

and wastes time; the second gives the

prospect an easy opportunity to end the call.



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STICK WITH ITSTICK WITH IT

8. Stick with it

80% of new sales are made after the

fifth contact, yet the majority of

salespeople give up after the second

call.

Follow up and keep calling.

Persistence pays off.



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ENDING THE CALLENDING THE CALL

9. Ending the call

A cold call takes the recipient off -guard when they

answer the phone.

You are interrupting their day, so ensure that you

state your ob jective immediately, ask for their

time, and then ask 3-5 questions about their

business needs to determine if there is need to

move forward with further conversations.

This will show your prospect that you are

respectful of their time, yet you have something

to offer that they may not even realize they need.



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ASSESSMENT- Attitude Determines Sales Success

With every skill you acquire, there is always a

process of identif ying your own weakness,

assessing your own skills and seeking to improve.

When designing a prospecting process

you'll need to take a comprehensive as well as ob jective look at your individual

situation.

KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS (I)KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS (I)



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ASSESSMENT

Here are six of the considerations for

filling the " new business" pipeline:

1) What are the key characteristics of your territory?

Customers, references, competition, suppliers, market share,etc.

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ..

2) Where and how does your product or service best fit? In which

companies, markets, geographies?

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

3) To what degree is your company name or brand

recognized by your potential market?

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS (II)KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS (II)



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Here are eight of the considerations for f illing the "new business"pipeline:

ASSESSMENT

4) How effective have you been at prospecting? Do you have the skills, tools, and determination to make it work?

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

5) How much potential business is out there for you, based upon your analysis of your territory?

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6) What has been your conversion rate? That is how many leads does it take to create a new customer?

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

KEY TO YOUR SUCCESSKEY TO YOUR SUCCESS



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GOAL

There is a new business revenue number to

which you must commit -- to your management

and to yourself.

(Do you know that number?)

(Are you committed to that number?)

You must be convinced, based upon your assessment, that this goal is achievable.




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STRATEGIES

Winners will typically devise a number

of strategies, which together provide

the how - as in,

"How am I going to achieve my goal of

$3.5 million in new business this year? "

Here are the 14 proven strategies:




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STRATEGIES

1) Improve the skills you determined were weak in your assessment.

2) Ask for referrals.

3) Target a list of 50 companies or more.

4) Commit to prospecting two to eight hours every week.

5) Qualif y, qualif y, qualif y!

6) Commit to following up.

7) Make prospecting a quality, not a quantity effort.

8) Make it a practice to do some research on everycompany which you target to prospect.




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STRATEGIES

9) Get your messages and talking points down cold.

10) Decide in advance whether you are going to leave a voicemail message for people you can't

reach and what that voicemail will contain.

11) Be prepared.

12) Provide value at every point of contact.

13) Take notes. R ecord key points.

14) Invest the time for tracking and measurement.




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STRATEGIES

Planning, questioning, listening,

Internet research, relationshipbuilding, networking, and

telephone skills are all critical for

effective prospecting.




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Prospecting is the key to your sales success

practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice,

While TELEPHONE PROSPECTING may never be

much fun for you, you can get better at it, and the more you practice, the more effective a sales tactic it will be.

So get your script and your call list together and reach for the phone.

The people who want to do business with you are out there - but you have to let them know about you first.


Final SMX Prospecting

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