Profitable Prospecting
by Andrew Shedden
Virtually any sales professional will tell you the worst part of selling revolves around the never-ending nightmare of prospecting. I would be willing to bet that 90% of all salespeople would say that prospecting is what keeps them up at night. Almost no one I know in selling likes the repetitive, discouraging, and stressful grunt work of prospecting.
If prospecting is about as much fun as sitting in a bath tub of acid and driving nails into your head then why bother doing more prospecting than you absolutely have to? This seemingly obvious question seems to be one seldom asked by salespeople and their managers.
All salespeople must ensure their prospecting practices are tuned for maximum efficiency. They must continuously strive to perfect their prospecting. Clearly, the only way to make things better is to really know how good or bad things really are. Is there a great secret to doing just this? Not really…
Measure twice, prospect once
Many salespeople vociferously complain that "Our prospecting system doesn't work. We call and call and get nowhere." When asked how weekly prospecting calls are being made the answer is usually "Lots." When asked the conversion rate of calls, to appointments, to presentations, through closed sales I often receive a blank look. This blank look uncovers more for me than would hours of exploratory meetings.
Lord Kelvin stated that "Measurement is the basis of all knowledge." This is equally true in science and sales. The dismal prospecting results you seem to be suffering through could actually be right on the money. Conversely, your seemingly great prospecting system could also be daily costing you sales.
When devising your prospecting program it's imperative that an accurate measurement system is put into place. Most salespeople experiencing prospecting problems fall down in this particular area. More importantly, having a great measurement process in place is of little use if it isn't being utilized. Make sure you are constantly measuring your results.
Prior to scrapping an old prospecting system or initiating a new one you need to know your numbers. You must isolate and quantify every element of your current prospecting system. You then need to methodically test one variable at a time and seek improvements. Your success in prospecting will greatly increase by monitoring the following 5 areas.
Test your list
The most important component of any prospecting campaign is your list. Every other element in your prospecting programme can be practically perfect in every way but if your list is wrong you will fail. Many times changing lists is all that you need to rev up your programme. Remember that the more commonly available your list is the more times it will have been picked over. If your company hands you a dog-eared copy of the Yellow Pages to prospect from you'd better run out the door.
Test your offer
Second in importance to the list is your offer. We've all heard the apocryphal stories about the stellar salesperson selling ice to the Inuit. We all can pull off a miraculous feat of selling from time to time. Are one off miracle sales this what you really want? We all know that enduring profits result from enduring sales relationships.
Many prospecting calls are made with the wrong offer no offer whatsoever. Your prospecting offer needs to be based on building a relationship based on trust and mutually agreeable results. Truly effective offers are customer centred and don't try to make the solution fit every problem. I'll give you an example for the food industry.
Wrong Offer:
"Mr. Prospect, the reason I'm calling you today is to tell you something about my company Universal Solutions. We have been manufacturing denesting closing solutions for the last twenty-five years. I'd like to book an appointment with you to discuss a few ideas. Is Thursday at 4 good or would 1 be better?"
There are a few small problems with this offer, the main one being that there is no benefit for the prospect to book a meeting. Offering to discuss a few ideas is hardly an enticing offer. This entire manipulative approach is cloaked in mystery.
Right Offer:
"Mr. Prospect, the reason I'm calling you is to ask a couple of questions about how satisfied you are with the level of packaging performance you are currently enjoying from your current line. In many other companies in the food industry I've heard that the single biggest problem is in the denesting and closing. Is this true in your business?"
Listen to response carefully and ask other perceptive questions then if there is a genuine interest or need for your product…
"Mr. Prospect, my company has put together an informative free report entitled "10 Steps to Dandy Fine Denesting." In this report we objectively discuss the pros and cons of all of the solutions that are being offered to companies in the food industry. From our brief conversation today it sounds like something that would be worth reading. I'd like to send you a complimentary copy. I'll make a follow up call in ten days to answer any questions you might have."
This offer has several customer centred benefits. The main customer centred benefit is that by carefully asking questions you have determined if there is a genuine interest in your product. If such an interest exists you're offering a valuable and unbiased report to your prospect without obligation. Your prospect doesn't feel manipulated. When you make your follow up call to answer your prospect's questions you may find them asking you for an appointment.
Test your message
If you truly want to test all of the variables in your prospecting programme you need to test your script or message. For many companies this is impossible, as they don't use scripts for prospecting purposes or to follow up on mailed marketing materials.
Some of the biggest arguments against using scripts are that reading them seems unnatural, saying them sounds wooden, listening to them sounds canned. All of these arguments can only be attributed to poorly written and badly read scripts. Bad scripts are ineffective for generating appointments. When used judiciously, well-written and read scripts are excellent. Remember to accurately measure the effectiveness of your message it needs to be scripted and adhered to.
Test your method
For the purposes of this article we are discussing using the telephone as the means of prospecting and booking appointments. There are many variations you need to test. You can mail out a marketing piece and follow up with a call. You can phone, mail, and then make a follow up phone call. You can phone, e-mail, and phone, you can only make a phone call.
I would actively encourage any business owner to test several methods. The "industry standard" methods may be just the thing holding you back. You can gain substantial competitive advantage by zigging when all of your competitors are zagging. If everyone in your industry telemarkets try direct mail, the Internet, joint ventures, or advertising.
Test your objectives
It is imperative to come up with realistic objectives for your entire prospecting programme. All prospecting objectives should be devised with the acronym SMART in mind.
Specific
Don't be vague about your objectives. Be very specific about what you want to accomplish.
"All qualified prospects will be sent our free report."
Measurable
Make sure that you have your numbers in mind.
"I will make 50 prospecting calls between 9 am and 11am every Monday."
Achievable
Stretch yourself, don't break yourself.
"I will make 1,000 prospecting calls per week for the next three weeks." Highly unlikely.
Realistic
Make your goals represent some form of reality. Unrealistic goals demotivate.
"I will triple our sales in four weeks."
Time Based
You need to set deadlines as a way of measuring progress.
"I will use script A and offer B for 4 weeks and check my results."
Test your prospecting system, make adjustments, repeat as necessary. Prospecting can become pleasantly profitable.
