Peady’s Selling Engagement sponsored by IRD Prospector

Welcome to this week’s post on sales and selling success.

Prospecting is the first step in sellingandthe lifeblood of any successful sales person’s strategy, because without new business your client portfolio will quickly degenerate! Prospecting is all about sourcing and qualifying leads in your sales funnel.

You also need to focus on building relationships while prospecting. Building a foundation of trust can help you andthe prospect become more comfortable with each other, so once selling techniques come into the picture, they’ll be more effective.

Here’s five proven ideas that come from some of the elite salespeople I work with:

1. The 2/2 Phone Call. Business people are often hard to reach due to the number of scheduled meetings and conference calls.A great way to reach them is by calling between 2 minutes to the hour and 2 minutes into the next hour. If there is one time of the day they might be free, it’s often between meetings and calls.
2. The Saturday Morning Contact. Many senior people and small business owners don’t stop work on the weekend.  Often this is their time to read emails, go online, check out social media – things they mightn’t do during the week. Try sending an email at 7:00 am on Saturday morning.  The person receiving it is working and they see you’re working too. 
3. Actively seek referrals. Most of your clients will give you a referral, but usually not unless you ask. The real power of a referral is if your client sets up the first meeting for you. Then you have a qualified lead!
4. Maximise Holiday Periods. Many times, you can find the people you really want to talk with during the weeks around Christmas, Easter or long weekends (not the actual holidays but the working days around them). Often, they are more relaxed and willing to talk on the telephone or even see people.
5. Work with Non-Competing Sales People. Whoever you’re prospecting has many other services and products being sold to them. By establishing alliances with others selling differentproducts or services to the same people, you get some major benefits. First, you both get access to each other’s “circle of trust” – people who know you and your work. Second, you instantly double the number of people you can potentially sell to.

Don’t stick to the same old sales prospecting technique because it’s what you’ve always done. Find the right mix that effectively supports your prospecting efforts and your sales goals.

Until next time good selling!
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.

He can be contacted at [email protected]