Success In Sales - The Power Of Prospecting

2008-09-26 Word Count: 565 Category: Sales

The real name for all sales is prospecting, the name of selling is prospecting, and the foundation for every successful sale is prospecting. Prospecting is the only way any of us can hope to succeed in sales. Your eventual success will be determined entirely by your ability to prospect. And what is prospecting? It is simply seeing enough of the right people at the right time.

Once you master the tools of prospecting, your talents will allow you to achieve the success you desire. By learning proven prospecting techniques, you will begin to see that absolutely everyone is a prospect! To begin with, you've got to develop a prospecting awareness. Here are the four steps to doing so:

Step #1 - Expect Class-A prospects to enter your life. You attract what you seek. When you are looking for the right type of prospects, you will find them!

Step #2 - See Class-A prospects everywhere. Define for yourself what a Class-A prospect looks like, then tune in and you will find exactly what you are looking for.

Step #3 - Believe you have what people want and need. Believe that your prospects want and need what you have to offer. The only thing left is for you to make the presentation.

Step #4 - Set a goal never to need directories or lists. Talk to people you know and people they know. Lists and directories should be last on your list of prospecting resources.

Once you've developed a prospecting awareness, invest time in developing your own system that utilizes your unique personality and attributes. Your system should be based on these seven ways to create a flow of non-stop prospects, in this order:

1. Develop centers of influence.
2. Always ask for referrals.
3. Use your powers of observation.
4. Book speaking engagements.
5. Develop nests or vertical markets.
6. Make use of drop-bys or fill-ins.
7. Use lists and directories.

With prospects flowing non-stop to you, it will be vitally important to track each one. Here is a proven system that will enable you to manage your prospects:

Step #1 - Log each name. Use index cards, your computer, or a handheld device to record the names of your prospects.

Step #2 - Classify A, B, or C. Classify each prospect from most likely to least likely to buy.

Step #3 - Learn the formula. Learn the "salesperson + prospect = sale" formula. Every sale equals a 10, so if you are starting out as a level-3 salesperson, you need a level-7 prospect to make the sale: 3+7=10. That is why you call on better prospects first.

Step #4 - Organize your prospects. Organize your log of names from Class A to Class C.

Step #5 - Schedule a time to meet. Schedule an appointment with your prospects (Class A first).

Step #6 - Make the presentation. Make the presentation and make the sale.

Step #7 - Get referrals. Get referrals from your new friend. This is a key step that you will never miss.

Step #8 - Repeat. Repeat this cycle from the top.

If you were to take all the elements of selling, from product knowledge to enthusiasm and from motivation to attitude, and had to choose just one element from which to base your entire sales success, you could choose prospecting, and you would succeed magnificently! There is great power in prospecting!

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New York Times best-selling author Paul J. Meyer has helped many revolutionize their sales with his no-fail prospecting techniques. Order "Prospecting Your Way to Millions," available at www.pauljmeyer.com, & say goodbye to cold calls forever!