Three Steps to Generating Interest with Prospects Immediately

Prospecting

By:  Dennis R. Kyle, CEO, Sales Trainer

       Positive Results, your sales resource company

Prospecting is the step in the sales process where you evaluate the quality of the leads you’ve generated and decide how fast you need to follow up with them, if at all.

Challenge of Communicating with Decision Makers

During a recent iSales Process™ for New Business Development seminar we conducted for a group of top level sales professionals, an attendee posed this interesting prospecting question that is worthy of talking about in this week’s article.  Her challenge, not unlike many professionals we meet, was focused on how to properly communicate with the decision maker.

Here is her prospecting question…

In the last article from the New Business Development series, we discussed building a sustainable lead generation program and the three principles to improved success.  Once you have properly identified the leads, you need to efficiently qualify them to determine which ones should actually be pursued.  Enter Prospecting.

Prospecting is the step in the sales process where you evaluate the quality of the leads you’ve generated and decide how fast you need to follow up with them, if at all.

Challenge of Communicating with Decision Makers

During a recent iSales Process™ for New Business Development seminar we conducted for a group of top level sales professionals, an attendee posed this interesting prospecting question that is worthy of talking about in this week’s article.  Her challenge, not unlike many professionals we meet, was focused on how to properly communicate with the decision maker.

Here is her prospecting question…

"Between my own efforts and those of my company, I do a great job of creating prospecting lists that include plenty of leads that seem to be like my current customers; however, I have a hard time finding the right words during a phone call or at an appointment.

I want to be able to communicate better with the Decision Maker so that I can start selling more quickly.  It’s very difficult to get prospects interested in what I have to offer.  Is there an easy method for creating interest right away?"

Make a Connection with Prospects

Making a connection with your prospect is crucial.  In fact, many deals are lost because sales professionals fail to get in touch with the right people and deliver interesting information early in prospecting.  Without reaching the decision maker, you aren’t able to close the sale.  As a result, your inability to effectively connect with, and persuade, the decision maker leads to lost revenue and limited success.

During our seminar, there was an overwhelming consensus about the impact of not reaching decision makers.  While most traditional sales workshops talk about the importance of decision makers, they fall short when discussing how to approach and connect with them.

Three Steps to Generate Interest Immediately

You will be better at communicating with decision makers if you implement the following three steps into your prospecting strategy:

1.    Have a Solid Introduction

Sales professionals often get caught in the trap of talking too much about themselves. The key to introductions is to be able to introduce yourself and your organization in less than 20 seconds. If you find that you cannot properly accomplish this goal, invest the time necessary to revise your introduction.  Ask friends and family to assess your introduction.  Be open to feedback.  Then practice it.

2.    Build Common Bonds

Prospecting isn't an easy task.  One reason that so many sales professionals dislike prospecting is the amount of rejection.  Suspects tend to reject people with whom they cannot relate.  Creating a level of connection through job title, industry, or market is important for becoming a successful prospector. 

For example, the conversation between a software sales professional and one of his prospects might start like this:  "Good afternoon, Tom, this is Pete with Software Solutions. I have been working with other Director of IT professionals like yourself and..."

The key phrase in building common bonds is: like yourself.  Connect to prospects with the similarities you can legitimately claim.

3.    Consider Title Motivators

It is important for sales professionals to consider the things that motivate their decision makers.  One clue in determining these factors is the decision maker’s title. 

For instance, consider the title “Director of Sales” versus the title “Director of Finance.”  Sales driven individuals are focused on generating revenue, while finance driven individuals are focused on saving dollars.   When selling to a sales minded thinker, begin your prospecting efforts by considering how to create a proposition of value that focuses on driving revenue, a significant motivator for a Director of Sales.

These three steps to generating interest with prospects require assessing what you say and to whom you speak. Think about what words you use to sell your product or service and how those words connect to different types of buyers.  These sales techniques are guaranteed to increase your prospecting and closing ratios.

Learn Effective Prospecting Skills

To become more effective at prospecting, consider attending our new, dynamic seminar: Intellectual Sales Process™ for New Business Development.  We are conducting the three-day seminar in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Texas, over the next six months.

Intellectual Sale Process™ for New Business Development teaches sales professionals and sales managers how to implement Positive Results’ methodologies to become more productive.  In fact, 67% of the companies we’ve worked with have experienced double-digit growth following implementation.  The seminar not only outlines Positive Results’ concepts, it also provides opportunities to practice the skills necessary to carry out the iSales Process™ and the tools necessary to customize it for your organization.

Intellectual Sales Process™ for New Business Development is ideal for organizations that need to:

• Effectively generate leads that are more similar to your best customers
• Efficiently qualify and prioritize leads for your sales pipeline
• Thoroughly identify your prospect’s wants, issues, and needs and evaluate the impact of those challenges on their business
• Competently tell the story of how well your products and services address the prospect’s challenges
• Thoughtfully design and deliver persuasive proposals that mirror your sales process
• Successfully negotiate and gain commitment

To register for an iSales Process ™ seminar, visit www.PositiveResults.com/nbd or contact us at 800.926.5953 x301.

Founded in 1994, Positive Results is a comprehensive sales resource company specializing in business to business sales training for new business development, account management, and sales force management.  Our Intellectual Sales™ processes are a collection of systematic resources that maximize sales efficiency and effectiveness, making sales divisions much more productive.  For more information on Positive Results’ public or private training, visit our Web site at www.positiveresults.com, or speak to a consultant at 800.926.5953.