Prospecting Guide

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How oten do you spend time prospecting or new business opportunities?

Consistent prospecting is vital to a sales proessionals success and the success o the whole sales

organization. I youre not paying proper attention to the sales that need to be closed, the sales that need

urther development, and the new opportunities available to be plucked rom the universe, your unnels

health will decline and youll never make your quota.

The most successul sales proessionals are those who are really efcient at prospecting. All activities

within the sales process are important, but to reduce how low you go into the valleys o your sales cycle,

prospecting must be a top priority - right behind closing business. You cant leave it on the back burner.

Good prospecting techniques can impact your number o qualifed leads and directly translate into increased

revenue and a higher commission check. Because its such a crucial part o the sales process, how do you

make sure you are identiying those prospects that will produce a win or both your organizations?

Weve compiled resources that address this challenge to help you master the techniques that will maximize

your prospecting eor ts. This guide presents a number o articles that will help you improve your prospecting

skills and achieve top-perormer status.

Time is valuable your clients and your own. You dont want to waste it chasing opportunities that have

no real chance o closing. Read on to learn how you can identiy ideal prospects, manage your time more

efciently, and expand your prospecting universe.

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Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Calls ....................................... 2

What is a Valid Business Reason

Its About Solutions

Mastering Proper Prospecting Timing ...........................................2

Time Zones

Time Courtesy

Time Expectations

The Right Timing

Maximizing Your Time by Deining Your Ideal Customer ...............4Selling the Cultural Similarities Between YourProspects Company and Your Own

Theres No Such Thing as a Perect Fit

Find Hidden Revenue by Cross-Selling and Up-Selling ................5

What is Cross-Selling & Up-Selling?

The Best Time to Cross-Sell/Up-Sell?

Can I Reactive Dormant Accounts?

Social Networking Etiquette: Finessing One o the

21st Centurys Most Powerul Tools or Prospecting ..................... 6Social Networking 101

Finessing Your Network or Prospecting

Securing Time with Key Decision Makers .....................................9

What Research Tells Us

Whats a Howdy Call?

Crating a Valid Business Reason

Design Your Marketing Vehicle

Market Targeting

Hypothesizing

Having a Framework or Discussion

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2 2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272

Three Ways to ImproveYour Sales Calls

Youve got a hot prospect. You need a ace-to-ace

opportunity to sell your product and services. So you

stop by, without an appointment, hoping to make it past

the receptionist and catch the decision maker in a rare

unscheduled moment. I was in the vicinity, and thought Id

just stop by to say hello. Well, at least you tried.

O course, there is a place or pleasantries and the social

aspects o business, but lets not conuse those with a sales

call. Many salespeople ocus on their own comort area, on

social calls and lunch dates or the product pitch. And as a

result, the sales process never gets o the ground.

Beore you try to call someone or meet with them in person,

you must ask yoursel one question: What is the reason

this person should be speaking or meeting with me?

The answer to this question should be the reason a potential

buyer will spend time on the phone or in person with you

your Valid Business Reason. Most importantly, the answer

should highlight the value provided to the customer or

engaging in conversation with you.

Having a Valid Business Reason or every sales call,

whether in person or on the phone, is the considerate

way o doing business. It tells buyers, no matter how long

youve known them, that youve given some thought to their

current challenges and that youre looking or solutions that

are valid to them.

What is a Valid Business Reason?

1. Its Valid: Its all about the customer. Valid to customers

means its worth making time to hear about how you can

help solve a problem that keeps them up at night.

2. Its Business: Research shows that many sales calls

are too general and unocused to be useul to buyers or

sellers. Do your homework and manage your selling time.

Understand their business. What are their challenges?

What are they trying to fx, accomplish or avoid?

3. Its a Good Reason: Not your reason - the customers

reason. Be prepared to explain why taking time out o a

busy schedule or you rather than spending it on other

priorities will beneft them in the long run. Tell the customer

what youd like to meet about and why you think this could

be o value.

Its About Solutions

How can your solution help what they want to fx, accomplish

or avoid? Doing your homework will allow you to be more

specifc. The more accurate and detailed you can be, the

more concise your message will be. Remember it has to

be quick and to the point so it can be let on a voice mail or

with a receptionist. It must always be rom the customers

point o view.

By defning your Valid Business Reason, youll improve your

ability to get ace time dramatically.

Timing is crucial in all parts o the sales process, but it is

most vital when prospecting when a sound understanding

o how its executed can aect your chances or developing

prospects into opportunities.

Plenty o questions arise in sales representatives day-to-day prospecting eorts, too.

Consider the ollowing to build a check list or mastering

the oten glossed-over basics o timing in prospecting.

The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide

Mastering ProperProspecting Timing

Questions that Surace in aGiven Sales Process:

Howlongdoesitusuallytaketodevelopa

prospect into a well-qualifed lead?

Howlongshouldthetypicalsalesprocess

take?

Whenisagoodtimetoapproacha

prospect with a proposal or your solution?

Ismysellingprocessinstepwiththeir

buying process?


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Time Zones

Eective prospecting requires research and discovery

to determine whether the candidate could be eventually

developed into an actual customer. When identiying initial

company contacts, be certain to note their geography.

General research may turn up important specifcs on a

companys oerings, mission, and employee build-up. But

neglecting to identiy such a crucial piece o inormation

like location and time dierence can instantly derail your

chances or credibility.

Would you call someone back i they called outside o

ofce hours? Lack o regard or regular business hours

can convey to a prospect that a salesperson lacks

proessionalism.

Calling an east coast prospect while working rom the

west coast? You dont want to miss out on your best

opportunity to talk with them during their legitimate ofce

hours while they have business on their mind.

With every sales call you make, determine where the

contact is within the organizations geography. Are they in

the corporate ofce in New York, working remotely while

traveling in Europe, or positioned at a company branch

in Asia? Confrming your prospect companys location

shouldnt stop at headquarters consider the time zoneo each individual to start o on the right oot.

Time Courtesy

How many times have you launched into your opening

statements on a prospecting cold call only to hear they

dont have the time to talk? Sometimes it may be hard to

suppress the initial urge to launch into conversation, but

always ask whether a prospect has a ew moments to talk.

It sets the precedent that their needs are most important.

Assumptions can be dangerous, especially on the frstopportunity or discussion with a potential candidate

or new business. Oer your prospects the option to

politely decline and propose a time to reschedule the

conversation.

Time Expectations

Once youve confrmed with a prospect that they have a

ew minutes to talk, be courteous enough to tell them how

long the call will take. Clueing them in to the time it will

take rom their day allows them the opportunity to decide

whether now is appropriate.

Prospects may decide they dont have time at the moment

to talk to you but it reinorces your credibility by ensuring

you have their interests in mind. Remaining completely

ocused on the prospects needs continually supports

your selling initiatives as it portrays your entire organization

as one that is geared, not toward revenue, but toward

customer solutions.

Be sure they understand that, within the call, they will have

time to voice their concerns and business issues and will

receive answers to any questions they have. Dont orget

to reiterate that the phone call can always go longer i the

customer needs to urther discuss what they are trying to

accomplish.

The Right Timing

Remember that not all prospecting calls outbound or

inbound - need to result in an immediate conversation.

Setting an appointment to discuss items at a later date

can begin the process or prospecting.

Even in ideal market conditions, when your calendar just

cant seem to calm down, dont be araid to reschedule

inbound calls or a later time. You can devote greater

energy and resources to the prospect. Voicing that you

simply dont have the right amount o time to address

the customers questions at that moment isnt rude, nor

is it the mark o a poor salesperson. So long as relevant

inormation is collected frst, it can give you a distinct

advantage.

With the added time, you can research the prospect.

Preparation illustrates to prospects you have taken the time

to get an understanding o their company, industry and

competitors. A word o caution: dont orm preconceived

notions o what their solution should look beore the call

leave it to them to articulate.

The bottom line remains: timing can aect a sale in any

stage o its process. Mastering the essentials can ensure

your prospecting eorts remain grounded in the actions

that deliver results.

Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development


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Maximize Your Time byDefning Your Ideal Customer

When we use the term Ideal Customer, were not reerring

to an actual, real-lie customer. The Ideal Customer is

a standard that you identiy to help you measure your

prospects against to see i they are a good ft or your

companys solution. Why? So you can ocus on the

good ones, get rid o the truly bad ones, and anticipate

problems with those who all in the middle. Take a hard

look at your most proftable customer in order to produce

the hypothetical perect customer youd like to have. This

will become the defnition o your Ideal Customer.

Step 1. List best and worst. Its up to you. Start with

those companies with whom youve done business.

Just customers, not prospects. Limit yoursel to those

accounts where youve already done some business. List

the best and list the worst. The best will include those

that have given you the maximum number o wins and the

least trouble. Then list those accounts that are the worst

possibly because even though youve closed the deal,

either you or the customer eel that youve lost. Remember,

you set the criteria.

Step 2. Next, list the characteristics o both the best andthe worst.

Ideal clients may possess such characteristics as:

Willingtopayforvalueadded

Committedtohighquality

Goodproximitytomysupportcenter

Sizeofend-usergroup

Unavorable clients may possess such characteristics as:

Inexibleonprice

SlowtomakebuyingdecisionsSecretiveandunwillingtocooperate

Outsidemyindustryexpertise

Step 3. Now combine the two lists. List the positive

characteristics, then add the opposite o your negative

characteristics. For example, slow to make buying

decisions becomes has a process or making buying

decisions quickly. Youve now created a profle o your

Ideal Customer. Youre ready to evaluate the account to

which youre trying to sell, against your defnition o the

best. Measure that account against each o your Ideal

Profle characteristics.

Identiy accounts within your total prospect population

that share a similar cultural value. How would you know

this? Do your homework. Research available inormation

on the company. Listen to the kind o messaging used in

annual reports, press releases, and client success stories.

Search or press coverage on the Internet. What are other

people saying about them? Aligning your selling eorts

around common characteristics establishes a connection

bound by a mutually respected value-system.

I expediency was a common characteristic how would

you use it as a strength?

Emphasize what the experience is like when someone

does business with your company. Perhaps client

communication is streamlined using a single-point o

contact or resolving customer issues or challenges.

Highlight the optimization o delivering the product or

service to the customer. Can you do it aster than your

competitors?

Theres No Such Thing as a Perect Fit

Defning your Ideal Customer Profle is highly eectivein identiying your best prospects and separating them

rom the ones that could potentially become liabilities.

Most likely, the prospects youve identifed to pursue dont

entirely match every standard o your Ideal Customer

Profle. They rarely do. But you will fnd that some potential

customers match up a lot better than others.

What do you do with prospects that are not a ft, but

still reectsome characteristics outlined in your Ideal

Customer Profle? You can do one o two things:

1. Stop pursuing specifc sales oppor tunities within

these accounts because they represent a low

probability o generating a win-win outcome.

2. Careully pursue those that arent a great ft, but

anticipate what problems will likely arise and devise

strategies or overcoming them.

2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1.877.678.0272


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Use your Ideal Customer Profle as a baseline test. Then

weigh the inormation it gives you against everything else

you know about the account. This balanced approach

will ocus your time, energy, and resources (both your

own and those o your company) on the right sales

opportunities.

Not all prospecting eorts need to be net-new. Oten,

cultivating the relationship with a current client can result

in a prospect or uture business.

In addition, it can cost our times as much to sell to a

new customer compared to an existing one. By taking

advantage o existing relationships and ongoing contact

with customers, companies can sell more products and

services, reduce the cost o sales, enhance customer

loyalty, and drive revenue.

Cross-selling and up-selling techniques can be

legitimate activities or prospecting when used correctly,

and may be able to bring dormant accounts back to lie.

Read on or requently asked questions to this eectiveprospecting activity.

What is Cross-Selling & Up-Selling?

I you are not currently engaging in cross-selling and up-

selling, you may be leaving money on the table every time

you close a sale. Whats worse, your customer is leaving

some o their ROI there as well.

Lets start with how Miller Heiman defnes cross-selling

and up-selling.

Cross-selling (verb)

(1) Expanding the number and quality o relationships

between key people in the buying organization and the

selling organization.

(2) Making additional relevant solutions available to the

buying organization (e.g., new products).

Up-selling (verb)

Converting an initial order into a more proftable order.

Typically maniested by the customers commitment

to (1) additional units o the sellers solution or (2) a

premium version o the sellers solution. This doesnt

mean selling ones customers something they dont

need; it does mean selling ones customers more o

something that they do need.

Why dont these two selling activities happen more

oten? Fear. Fear caused by the misconception that

asking or more raises the risk o losing the sale.

To eliminate this ear, it is critical to leverage quality

business inormation. By taking the time to gather in-

depth inormation about customers and prospects,

salespeople can gain a greater insight into their

accounts, uncover new business opportunities, andavoid many o the ears that get in the way o perorming

cross-selling and up-selling activities.

How do I cross-sell?

Selecting the right customers who present the greatest

need or a certain product or solution is the key to

eective cross-selling. This may be a new product

added to your portolio, but keep in mind it could also

be an existing product. Certainly there are customers

who are a good ft, but which customers present the

greatest need or this particular solution? Leverage the

inormation you have gathered to determine who are

proper candidates or this activity.

Step 1: Identiy Cross-Sell Opportunities. Make a list

o your top customers. Next to each customer, list the

products or solutions they have purchased rom you.

What do you see? Most likely this exercise will uncover

a large area o opportunity with certain customers who

have purchased only one or two o your solutions.

Step 2:Develop the Key Characteristics o Your TargetCustomer. Once you have a product in mind that you

want to cross sell, create a list o key characteristics

o your target customer. Consider the ollowing when

creating your list:

Itsnotwhohasaneed,butwhohasthegreatest

need or this product.


Find Hidden Revenue byCross-Selling and Up-Selling


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Itsnotwhowillbuy,butwhowillbuyquickly.

Quick wins help reduce fear and add to your

credibility as a salesperson.

Write down ve characteristics of your target

customer. Examples include company size, risk-

taking culture, recent merger or acquisition, etc. One

o these traits may outweigh all the others. So, i the

customer doesnt present all fve characteristics,

but has one very important one, you may still want

to pursue that customer.

Step 3:Compare and Select Key Customers to Pursue.

Go back to the frst list you made o your top customers.

Which o these customers present characteristics o the

target customer or your new solution? Which o these

customers present the greatest need or your new

product and are willing to buy quickly? These are the

customers you should spend the time and eort with to

build a strategy to cross-sell your product.

Each o these steps demands increasingly deeper

understanding o the customers key initiatives and the

big issues that transcend all the potential buyers within

the organization. That means taking the time to become

inormed on selected targets, their issues, and the

business reasons that will motivate them to schedule ameeting or make a purchase.

When is the best time to cross-sell/up-sell?

The worst time to start thinking about cross-selling

and up-selling is at the end o the sales cycle. By that

time, its too late. By incorporating the steps above into

your sales strategies, you will be continually looking or

ways to get the most out o every sale, while giving your

customers the greatest value in return as well.

Can I reactivate dormant accounts?

Its a common situation - you have completed a project

or engagement but you see lots o potential to oer

other services to the client. Sadly, you ailed to leverage

that frst sale toward more business so the account

became dormant.

Cross-selling is selling additional complementary

solutions, or expanding the initial engagement to other

locations or the same client. Any frm could increase

their revenues by improving the management o their

current clients in this manner. But some executives may

tell you that cross-selling doesnt work. Why? Perhaps

there is a lack o understanding by the client o your ull

suite o product or services. Maybe your organization

lacks internal teamwork, or incentives or cross-selling,

or the account manager ears losing control o the

account. But, to say that cross selling doesnt work is

the wrong mindset.

The key is to orget about other products or services you

hope to sell the client, and to concentrate on what you can

contribute to their business and organizational issues.

The more you demonstrate to prospects how much

you know o what is publicly available, the more theyre

going to share with you the things that are not publiclyavailable, this according to Miller Heiman sales vice

president Rich Blakeman.

The notion is a powerul one. Choosing to lead by

example, Blakeman is charging orward in his eorts to

leverage social networking as an emerging, continually

evolving and sophisticated technique or prospecting.

With the advent o numerous social media vehicles,

there is no denying the advantage sales proessionals

can gain by researching a prospect beore making initial

contact. By increasing his proessional network in anonline environment, Blakeman keeps a close eye on

business contacts to improve existing client relations

and stay alert or new business opportunities.

Networking isnt new, Blakeman says. This isnt a

new idea. The online practice is just a new way to do it.

The same people that were e ective beore are eective

now, but these new tools make it easier.

2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1.877.678.0272

Social Networking Leverage:Finessing One o the 21stCenturys Most PowerulTools or Prospecting


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Blakeman is convinced that tools such as LinkedIn

are already becoming an integral par t o how eective

sales organizations can improve results by gaining

urther visibility into key accounts and developing

prospect contacts into possible new business. Theres

a dierence between managing your relationships and

leveraging your network. The key to leveraging your

network is to use it to help you mine the data that is out

in other peoples network to your advantage.

With such a wealth o inormation available, its difcult

to choose rom the variety o venues with which to

harness it. The numerous eatures and applications in

the social media environment arent necessarily sel-

explanatory. A bevy o tools are available to users on

social networking sites, ranging rom search options,

news alerts, resume-like career histories, reerral or

introduction capabilities, and limitless varieties o

exclusive groups based on interests, associations and

proessions. Recognizing that the technology exists is

crucial, but Blakeman emphasizes the importance o

understanding that it isnt about the tool itsel, its about

how you use it.

Its absolutely vital or improving the level o prospect

research, Blakeman says, mentioning he touches his

preerred social network site, LinkedIn.com, close to

three times a day. I youre looking to make a call toa new contact at a senior level, you want to do some

homework frst. The people most likely to return calls to

provide helpul inormation are easily identifable inside

a proessional networking site.

Social Networking Etiquette 101:

To help illustrate how to increase the quality o leads,

Blakeman oers a ew guidelines that can help sales

proessionals incorporate social networking into their

prospecting eorts.

Engaging in social media vehicles like online

proessional networking to improve your prospecting

eorts is one thing, Blakeman says. Running rampant

with the technology is quite another. Credibility and trust

are the keys to being eective in social networking

Because prospecting hinges heavily on the impression

you make with clients, it is important to understand what

sort o social networking usage is appropriate and what

is not. Blakeman insists that, to stay credible in the eyes

o possible prospects, how and when you use your social

network to stay connected should remain closely tied to

those contacts purposes, not yours. We all have people

that only reach out to us when they need something rom

us. Its imperative in social networking to demonstrate

you operate responsibly and with integrity.

Ensure you dont jeopardize credibility by:

Understanding the difference between research

and stalking. Persistence is an admirable quality

or a sales representative, as consistent contact

with your connections lends credibility but there

must be a purpose behind the contact. Sales reps

who position themselves in ront o a client merely

to accumulate ace time convey a lack o regard

or the clients business issues. It can also come

across as intrusive.

Exercisingdiscretion.Whilehavingalargenumberof

contacts increases the power and pull o your network

and opens connection possibilities, dont add just

anyone. A proper balance o quality versus quantity

must be achieved. Having a stronger relationship

with your contacts allows you to introduce others

with better chances or acceptance, demonstratingto both connections that your contacts network is

valid and can be trusted.

Staying involved with your contacts networks.

Social networking shouldnt muscle out the other

priorities o the day, but keeping a consistent

awareness o who is being promoted, relocating,

or changing jobs increases your visibility o the

business environment. Blakeman advocates

tracking the pulse o work activities to highlight

the interests and priorities o your connections andclue you in to updates that may provide valuable

insight. One o the absolute critical actors in social

networking is being timely, he says. I can track

people that I knew at a given company and note

where they go. Following their career highlights

opportune times to approach them at their new

company or leave a message regarding something

they may fnd valuable.



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Rolling with the punches. Blakeman notes that,

much like on the ront lines, sales proessionals

must grow a thick skin. Dont let unapproved

requests or rejections get to you, he says.

Finessing Your Network or Prospecting

Maximize your prospecting eorts through social

networking:

Look for coaches. Proles of individuals within

companies can indicate their interests, feld

specializations, and work history outside the

current company. By doing a bit o digging, you

may identiy individuals previously employed with

companies your organization has done business

with. These candidates can evolve into advocates

or your companys solution, clue you in to proper

proposal timing, help pinpoint proper buying

inuenceswithinthecompany,andadviseonhow

best to approach them.

Findlevelsofinuence.IfAcme,Inc.hasanewsales

vice president who brought 17 employees with him,

chancesarethereissignicantdegreeofinuence

among the band o newly instated employees.

Leveraging a relationship with those employees

may provide an opportunity to connect upwards in

the organization to support your initiatives.

Search like a professional. Several social

networking sites have search applications that

can provide insight on numerous topics. Refne

searches by job title, company name, company

geography, and keywords to unearth available

inormation. Validate company headquarters and

get a better understanding o what a prospects

feld organization looks like. Where are sales leaders

located? Where are company engineers located?

Where is product development located?

Expand the quality contacts within your network

through reerrals and introductions. Insistent that a

balance between quality and quantity o contacts

must be kept, Blakeman does not deny the power

o numbers. The bigger my personal network is,

the more likely I can leverage it to fnd a connection

that will introduce me avorably to a prospect I want

to meet. He mentions that a larger proessional

network increases your ability to eectively search

or data. Simply put, you dont get enough return

out o a social network i you dont have enough o a

network. But i you only pursue quantity, youll end

up adding people you dont really know, diluting the

efcacy o your network.

Relaythevalueofproposedconnections.Muchlike

a sales representative must understand the issues o

a prospect in order to o er a comprehensive solution

that will address their needs, imparting the value o

a proposed proessional relationship is necessary to

bolster your acceptance rate. Provide those contacts

who would be introducing you to others with valid

reasons. This lends you credibility with them, and

ensures they have a solid reason or introducing you,

which in turn lends them credibility.

Watch prospects and clients for better visibility

o company actions. Look out or prospecting

opportunities through the people in your sales

channel and identiying their customers, competitors,

and suppliers. You may fnd a pattern in which

companies are connected to each other, as well

as good ideas or how to expand your companys

solution into that territory, Blakeman says.

Online proessional networking is becoming a

mainstream prospecting activity within the sales

proession. Building your oundation now may give you

the step up you need.

You never know, Blakeman says o the part social

networking plays in prospecting. I you keep an open

mind to what youre going to fnd and what value it will

provide, you may be surprised where your next source

or business comes rom.

2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272


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Securing Time withKey Decision Makersby Eric Wasser

I selling time was characterized as time spent meeting

withkey inuencersdiscussingtheir challenges, issues,

and trends, most sales proessionals would agree that it

is small percentage o the time they spend working their

respective jobs. Statistics indicate that with all other job

responsibilities considered, it can be less than 10 to 15

hours per week on average.

Having more and better time with important buying

inuencesisakeytosuccessfulsellingintodayscomplex

environments. With multiple decision makers involvedand oten lengthy sales cycles, it is important to have

enough time engaging with those key decision makers to

understand their businesses while establishing rapport

and credibility.

A ocus in increasing selling time can lead to better

understanding customer environments, stronger

relationships and more opportunity to connect value

propositions to client needs.

What Research Tells UsThe Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study reveals what

top-perorming sales organizations are doing dierently

rom everyone else. The organizations designated as

top-perorming did signifcantly better than others in

key metrics including average account billing, account

acquisition and revenue.

Top-performing organizations were 90 percent

more likely than other organizations to rely on

comprehensive prospecting plans.

Top-performing organizations were 110 percent

more likely than other organizations to leverage the

best practices o top perormers to improve the

perormance o everyone else.

Additional studies have identifed the disappointments

o key senior-level decision makers with their sales

proessionals:

Too many salespeople are just trying to push

product rather than attempting to identiy and ulfll

organizational needs. They rarely do their homework

to understand business issues and challenges.

A large number of outbound contacts made by

salespeople today are nothing more than Howdy Calls.

Whats a Howdy Call?

A Howdy Call is defned as an outbound contact made with

no clear understanding o the clients need - what problem

the client is trying to fx or avoid or what goal the client is

hoping to accomplish. The Howdy Call is connected to the

common idea that sales is a numbers game; contacting

more clients will provide more opportunities.

Although there is some validity to the idea that businessdevelopment is about volume, successul sales

proessionals know that taking the time to choose the

right people to meet with and ocusing on what is o

key interest to them dramatically improves the quality o

meetings and yields.

Crating a Valid Business Reason

Letting the decision maker know why youre contacting

them ensures that discussions are productive or both

the sales proessional and the client. At Miller Heiman, we

advocate that you should never contact a decision makerwithout a Valid Business Reason. Presenting a solid Valid

Business Reason to the contact allows sales proessionals

to demonstrate an understanding o the clients business

and the challenges aced by executives. Beore making

the contact, the sales proessional should have answers

to the ollowing questions.

DoyouhaveaValidBusinessReasonforcalling?

Doesyourstatementof the reasonforthecallhelp

the potential buyer understand who you are and thereason or your call?

Doesyourstatementconveythevalueofsettingan

appointment?

Doesitestablishacommonfoundationforexploring

how to resolve an actual or potential problem or

achieve a specifc goal?


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Does itestablishtheimportanceofthemeetingfor

the client?

Howwelldoes thereason forcallingt inwiththe

clients interests?

Doesitlettheclientknowwhatsinitforme?

Isitclear,conciseandcomplete?

Applying thought in a ew key areas can help ensure

eective creation o Valid Business Reasons.

Design Your Marketing Vehicle

There are many eective methods or reaching prospective

clients and decision makers. In a recent webcast on

prospecting, Miller Heiman polled a large audience o sales

proessionals on what methods they preer to use to reach

key clients and decision makers when trying to secure

appointments:

Phone - 51.3 percent

Internet/Email - 27.6 percent

Direct Mail - 5.5 percent

Other - 16.5 percent

Decision makers are as diverse in their preerred

communication methods as those in selling organizations;

consequently, securing time with those key decision makers

oten requires using multiple methods. Thinking about whatmethod to use prior to connecting with a decision maker or

client is an important consideration.

Market Targeting

Successul selling proessionals oten have a strong sense

or their own organizations aptitudes. A good understanding

o their Ideal Customer Profle provides a set o sorting criteria

as they consider who they should ocus on during business

development eorts. Organizations that understand their

Ideal Customer Profle have a potential benchmark to

measure against a prospects potential ft and likelihood

o uture success. It is important to consider segmenting

those key decision makers you hope to secure time with

by like characteristics as well. Understanding common

threads that connect buying inuences by segments like

geography, market segment, job unction and title provides

the oundation or thinking about their challenges, issues and

trends those areas o ocus they are potentially interested

in exploring urther.

Hypothesizing

A steadast ocus on clients is good business practice.

Understanding what clients are trying to fx, accomplish or

avoid allows sales proessionals to provide real value by

connecting with those clients on their terms. Selecting a

target audience, either a specifc key decision maker or alarger audience o key decision makers with some common

characteristics, is necessary to eectively think about areas

o interest rom their perspective. There are many resources

available today that provide specifc intelligence on the top

o mind issues acing industries, specifc companies and job

unctions. Online resources like Hoovers provide great insight

into those challenges, issues and trends. Successul selling

organizations are great at capitalizing on the institutional

knowledge possessed by their best perormers and sharing

that knowledge through best practices. Many successul

organizations analyze their wins to determine what thekey areas o interest were that drove initial conversations so

that those ideas might be shared with others. Key decision

makers will always be interested in spending time with

credible resources who can help them tackle their problems

and initiatives, helping them succeed. The key to getting

timewithbuyinginuenceslies inthesalesprofessionals

ability to communicate that message eectively, as early as

possible.

Having a Framework or Discussion

It is important to be clear and concise when communicatingwith key decision makers regardless o the chosen

marketing vehicle. Struggling to deliver the message in a

way that makes sense and demonstrates expertise can be

as ineective as not having a Valid Business Reason at all.

This does not imply a need to script but does suggest a

need to be prepared and practiced prior to connecting with

your audience. The ollowing are business development

best practice suggestions or what should be considered

when designing a ramework or Valid Business Reasons:

Considertheaudienceandyour

expertise in your introduction.

Referenceacompanywithasimilarchallenge.

Explainhowthesolutionworkedforthem.

Sharethemeasurableoutcometheyexperienced.

Beconversational.


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Next Steps: Securing Strategic AppointmentsSM

Take your new business development eorts one step arther by attending Securing Strategic

AppointmentsSM, Miller Heimans process designed to improve your ability to secure time with new

prospects and key contacts within a sale.

As customer needs evolve, sales proessionals must learn to better dierentiate themselves rom

competitors to get the high-value, quality appointments they need with potential buyers. Learn the

structure and skills that will help you identiy appropriate audiences and capture their interest through

concise, powerul messaging.

Call us at 1 (877) 678-0272 or visit www.millerheiman.com to learn more.

About the Author

Eric Wasser

Miller Heiman Sales Consultant

A sales practitioner with 20 years in sales and

sales leadership, Erics approach is practical

and real world. He earned his experience in both

account management and business development.

He has held leadership positions or two Fortune

500 companies and was a small business owner.

Currently a consultant or Miller Heiman, Eric is

in tune with many o the challenges acing sales

organizations today.


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Prospecting Guide

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Transcript of Prospecting Guide