Session 4 Prospecting and Planning the Call

7/31/2019 Session 4 Prospecting and Planning the Call

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Prospection and Planning the sales call

Session 4


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Leads

A lead is a person or an

organization that may

or may not be a true

prospect

Steps in the selling process

Prospecting

Collecting precall information

Making the approach

Discovering needs

Making the presentation

Responding to objections

Obtaining commitment

Follow up

.............................Lead

..............Prospect

......Customer


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Prospecting

It is the process ofidentifying &developing

a list of potentialcustomers called

prospects

Qualifying customers

It is the process of determining whether a

lead is in fact a prospect


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Cold call

It is a call without a preparation

Functions of prospecting

Prospecting adds new business

Prospecting is for replacing lost business

So, the customer list must be continuouslyupdated


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Criteria for a lead to be a prospect

1. The presence of a need

2. The ability to pay

3. The authority to buy

4. The liability to be approached

5. Eligible to buy volume of purchase

To get 10 prospects you have to contact

average 100 contacts out of which 1

person will buy


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Many leads do not become

prospects

Pareto ratio

20% of customers ------ 80% of sales


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The Challenges of Prospecting

5% of unplanned cold calls

result in a sale..

roughly 25-30% of preplanned calls

produce a sale

Workshop

People will be divided into groups each of themwill select a specific industry and then

determine how can you generate leads for your

company putting in consideration the priority of

these ways according to the nature of theindustry ????


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Sources of leads

1. Satisfied customers

2. Centre of influence method

3. Networking

4. Internet

5. Ads, Direct mail , Catalogs

6. Shows (job fairs)

7. Spotters (employment agencies)

8. Telemarketing

9. Others

1-Satisfied customers (Referrals)

They are the most effective sources for leads

Successful salespeople should be getting about

75% of their new business through referrals from

customers


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Statistics

One study found that 80%of clients would be willing

to give referrals but 20%are ever even asked to do

so

Also, the study found that one referral is as valuable

as 12 cold calls to leads

Sometimes customers are

not willing to offer

referrals because are

afraid of being blamed


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2-Center of influence method

2-Center of influence method (Contd)

-This method works best if the center of influence

is already a satisfied customer of the

salesperson

-Centers of influence may never buy


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3-Networking

-it means establishing connections to other people

and then using those networks to generate leads

-You must make a special effort to move outside

your own comfort zone in a social setting

Ways:

1. Collect business cards

2. Talk about yourself in meeting , conferences

3. Wear your badge (name card) so people can readit

4. Engage in conversation with telephone contacts

5. Read relevant journals& newspapers so you haveinformed about topical issues when conversing withnew contacts

3-Networking (Contd)


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4-The internet

It is the fastest method of generating leads

Using websites , e-mail , listservs

One advantage of web based promotions is the

generation of international leads

Successful firms make sure that their sites are listed

on the major search engines

Banner advertising is ads placed at the top ,sides

, or bottom of a web page Extranets that are customized for specific targets

5- Ads, Direct mail , Catalogs

Firms can send mails to potential customers

Ads in trade publications and the reader of the ad

can request additional information by calling a toll-

free number


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6- Shows

Many companies display their products at trade

shows and fairs

Salespeople are present to demonstrate products to

visitors

Then databases are collected

7- Spotters

Salesperson pays someone for lead information

The fee sometimes is paid simply for the name of

the lead but more often pays only if the lead ends

up buying the product or service


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8- Telemarketing

Outbound telemarketing:

Telephones are used to generate and qualify leads

by the salespeople or inside sales force

Inbound telemarketing :

Leads use the toll free number to contact the

company e.g. Motorola

Limitations of telephone prospecting

1. Calls can be annoying

2. Absence of body language

3. It is difficult to attract and maintain the customers

attention


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Planning the sales call

Nobody plans to fail but he fails

to plan


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What are the items to be put in consideration

on planning anything ?

Planning model

SOST + 4MSituation analysis

ObjectivesStrategyTargetsTactics

MenMoneyMinutes

Measurement


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Gantt Chart

A bar graph with time on the horizontal axis andactivities to be accomplished on the vertical axis.

Shows the expected and actual progress of varioustasks.

Planning Tools

5. A Gantt Chart

Planning tools


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Monthly plan-report.xls

Planning process

Gathering information about the prospect and thefirm

Setting the objectives of the call

Making an appointment
http://monthly%20plan-report.xls/http://monthly%20plan-report.xls/http://monthly%20plan-report.xls/http://monthly%20plan-report.xls/


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What are the information to be known about the

prospect???

Personal

1. Name

2. Family status

3. Education

4. Interests (such as hobbies)

Attitudes

1. Towards salespeople2. Towards your company

3. Towards your product

What are the information to be known about theprospect???

3-Styles

1. Social style

2. Decision making style

4-Evaluation of productsProduct attributes that are important


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Secretaries and receptionists

Secretaries and receptionists in the prospects firm

usually are a high source of information

So, treat them with respect

4 groups workshop

Tomorrow you are going to visit a very potential customer in

his office

Before visiting him your manager asked you to prepare a list

of 3 possible objectives for that call

1- First state the criteria of ideal objectives ??

2-Then apply these criteria for the 3 objectives ??


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SMART objectives

To make our dreams come true, we need to set Specific,

Measurable Realistic,Achievable Time frame.

Goals provide a sense of direction.

Goals focus our efforts.

Goals guide our plans and decisions.

Goals help us evaluate our progress.

Examples of call objectives

Objectives leading up to the sale:

To have the prospect agree to come to the local branch office

sometime during the next two weeks for a hands-on

demonstration of the copier.

To set up another appointment for one week from now, at

which time the buyer will allow me to do a complete survey of

his/her printing needs.To inform the doctor of the revolutionary anti-clogging

mechanism that has been incorporated in our new drug and

have the doctor agree to read the pamphlet I will leave

behind.

To have the buyer agree to pass my information along to the

buying committee with her/his endorsement of my proposal.


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Making appointments

You have to find the

right place for

the appointment

Making appointments

Choose a place free of

distraction for all parties


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Exchanging experience

Can any of you tell us a situation he had in the

past in which he could not get an appointment to

visit a customer and on brainstorming he got a

creative idea to get that appointment ???

Trying to get in? Creativity may bethe answer

What should you do when a prospect who you know has a need foryour product refuses to meet with you ?

May be Creativity is the answer

Salesperson set up a meeting to sell his greeting cards to a customerbut the customer had to cancel the meeting and never returned thesalesperson calls to set up another meeting

From conversations with the receptionist the salesperson found that thecustomer loved golf so he bought some golf balls and sent them tothe customer with a card with as I have been unable to reach youI am looking forward to speaking with you soon on the inside ofthe card

His next phone call was successful and he got the appointment and thebusiness


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Secretary s objections?

Im sorry, but Mr.Ehab is busy now.

-What I have to saywill only take a fewminutes.

-Should I call back in ahalf-hour, or would you

suggest-I set up anappointment?

Secretary s objections?

We already have acopier.

Thats fine. I want totalk to Mr. Ehab about

our new paper-flowsystem designed forcompanies like yours.


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Prospects objections?

Cant you mail theinformation tome?

Yes, I could. Buteveryones situation isdifferent, Ms. Susan,and our systems areindividually tailored to

meet the needs of eachcustomer. Now

Prospects objections?

Well, what is ityou want to talkabout?

Its difficult to

explain the systemover the telephone. In15 minutes, I candemonstrate thesavings you get fromthe system.


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Case study

Caterpillar is number 1 company in the field of heavy construction .Its machines areused to build tunnels , highways ,bridges , airports ..

Last week the new Caterpillar salesperson John had his first meeting with Skelly , abuyer from united states steel (USS).The meeting was brief with John just wantingto introduce himself to the buyer

During the meeting John was excited to learn that USS was considering buying severalnew wheel loaders within the next year

John asked if he could give a presentation in a month to lay out what Caterpillar hadto offer & Skelly agreed

1-What kind of information should John gather about Skelly before his next meeting

with him?2-Which sources can John use to gather the information?

1- Kinds of information

The text lists the kinds of things John should learn. Some examples include:

1. What is Skellys knowledge about and attitude toward Caterpillarmachines

2. What are Skellys career aspirations?

3. What reference sources does Skelly use to make decisions of this

magnitude? What do those sources think of Caterpillar?

4. What is Skellys personality style?

5. Does Skelly sometimes revert to win-lose tactics in negotiations?

6. To whom does Skelly need to justify the decision?


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2-Sources for information

1. Look at Caterpillars files to see what activity has taken place in thepast.

2. Salespeople

3. Published statistics that indicate activity . These are probably a matterof public record.

4. Information about the firms mission and business philosophy can begleaned from web site, newspaper articles, annual reports, and companyemployee newsletters.

5. Skellys secretary and/or receptionist might reveal some moreinformation, but it is doubtful if John can probe him/her much at this

stage. It might appear to be spying or snooping.6. A good source of some information would be operators and supervisors

at the mining site who operate the mines current wheel loaders.

Session 4 Prospecting and Planning the Call

Documents

Transcript of Session 4 Prospecting and Planning the Call