Creating a targeted prospecting strategy is the biggest prospecting problem sellers face from the recent 2017 survey conducted by Richardson Co. The survey was divided into 6 categories; Prospecting, Negotiating, Closing, Buyer Decisions, Productivity and Team Selling and I congratulate you on your research and efforts.
In future articles, I will share with you my suggestion for how you should handle these current and prominent sales issues/challenges. I also encourage you to read his report and his views.
The top prospecting issues of 2017 in order according to the survey are:
1. Create a targeted prospecting strategy
2. Quality of marketing leads
3. Win appointments
The 2016 numbers were:
1. Identify sales triggers/signals that indicate problems you can solve
2. Identification of target accounts
3. Win appointments
And, my ongoing articles will offer suggestions on how to deal with each.
Creation of a targeted prospecting strategy
existing accounts
Since your existing customers are the best place to make more sales, by buying the same, cross-selling, and up-selling, this is where you should start your prospecting campaign. In these accounts you have or should have multiple contacts. You should also have worked your way up to the General Manager’s office or C-Suite, where you’ve developed relationships that consist of more than just saying hello in the hallways. So, with all these positive relationships you’ve nurtured, you can ask these people for more business and buy the other products and services you sell. These people will also be happy to introduce you and refer you to other parts of their company: departments, divisions, product lines, subsidiaries, etc. However, if you don’t ask and aren’t looking to sell all the relevant products and services you offer, they won’t chase you down begging you to buy them.
Now, if you haven’t met, interviewed, and developed a relationship with these other contacts and important people, then my suggestion is to start this process. Host meetings using your existing contacts to meet others. Your reason, if you’re asked for one and you’re having a hard time finding one, is “You’d like to be sure you’re meeting their expectations and interviewing and learning from them will be the only way you’ll know for sure.” how are you.”
competitor accounts
Competitors try to break into your accounts or increase your share of joint accounts. So you’d be stupid if you didn’t go for them. Competitors are selling the same products and services that you offer. They can have full participation or a portion and those accounts should be ideal for you. The reason you haven’t cracked that account or become the preferred and dominant provider is because you lack positive professional relationships. That is to say, many of those who make the decisions, those directly involved and their bosses do not see that you give them what they want better than any other alternative.
The way to achieve this is to schedule meetings and interview these decision makers to find out what each one wants in relation to their solutions and how they would like to obtain these wishes and/or solutions to their problems. This is the time to stop marketing, that is, tell them what you have and why they should have it and why they should buy from you, and start learning what each individual wants and how they want to get it.
This is the time to continue to become your second source. So learn and ask yourself: “What do I have to do to become your second source?”
The reason why you would like to be the second source is because customers always have problems with their suppliers, no matter what. They usually don’t change because it takes too much effort and there may be a risk. However, if the customer has a second option that has been established to their satisfaction, they will call that source in a heartbeat.
So listen to the answer and see if you can do it. I suggest you don’t say right away that you can do whatever they ask. Think about it a little so that you show sincerity. Then develop a presentation of how you will demonstrate that you can deliver what you asked for. Be sure to do this with multiple contacts on that account, because usually multiple people will make the decision, especially bosses and especially if it’s a change.
I tell everyone I train that if they do this I guarantee that within 6 weeks they will get an order that would have gone to the competitor.
Greenfield Accounts
I call them that because if they can use your types of products or services, it’s hard to imagine that you don’t have a competitor. So these could be accounts where they do it themselves or they do it some other way. Again, the solution is to interview and establish yourself… if you can. But beware, this account may not be ideal for you. This implies that you should have developed an ideal profile so that you can determine after a few interviews whether this account is worth pursuing or not.
Part of your interview (which you can use with competitors and your own accounts) is: “What do you like about what you use or do now?” Listen carefully and get details. Then ask, “What don’t you like or would you change?” Again listen aggressively. Caution: Don’t just focus on what they don’t like, because they are buying the part they do like. The answers to these questions will give you the specification of what you will have to do or deliver to win over this person. Again, make sure you do this with multiple people because usually multiple people will make the decision, especially bosses and especially since this is a turnaround.
Prospecting time allotment
This is your prospecting strategy. Chase the existing account 50% of your selling time. This should be easy because you need to have access and you need to be there often. Chase competitor accounts 30-40% of your time. This should be that hard if you have the right attitude of learning instead of marketing. You must have contacts or know how to get them easily. Finally, look for the Greenfields the remaining 10-20%. Again, look to learn rather than tell them what they should be doing even though you know it would be good for them.
And now I invite you to learn more