3 basic steps to finding & developing top prospects

1. Prospect Generation:
a) Known Prospects - go directly to steps 2 &3.
b) Unknown Prospects - the standard methods for making your company and products known and respected by prospects apply here:
• Search Engines
• Advertising & Publicity
• Exhibits & Trade Shows
• Mailing Lists/Direct Mail
• Dealer/Distributor Customer Lists & Customer Referrals

2. Prospect Qualification:
a) Send literature to those who inquire and follow up - not just to ask if they received it, but to question them in an attempt to determine whether they're real prospects, or just "literature collectors." When you're sending your sales materials, e-mail the suspect prospect, and follow up with a phone call.
b) If you sell through Manufacturer's Reps or Distributors, they usually know their customers quite well.  In fact customers often buy BECAUSE of them. Make sure they try to qualify them.
c) Run a D&B if you think it's appropriate. It will tell you how well they pay, or whether they're good to deal with.

d) Put a section in your website that encourages visitors to volunteer information that helps qualify them.

3. Prospect Development:
a) Do your best to determine what the prospect thinks of your products and your company. While this is listed as one of the last things you should do when evaluating prospects, it's one of the first things you should do before you begin marketing your product.

Even before you write your first news release you should know where you stand in the eyes of your prospects so you don't make claims that aren't believed or are seriously doubted. If prospect doubts are unfounded, then prepare PR & sales materials that help remove that doubt. The market has to believe the claims you make.  If they are well-founded do what you can to fix or offset them.

When I was Publisher of a Manufacturing Management magazine, a well-respected manufacturer asked us to do a market study to learn prospect attitudes regarding their products. We surveyed our readers and found that another manufacturer was ranked at the bottom of every category - from Quality & Reliability to Customer Service. That firm was out of business in about a year.

b) Determining prospect attitudes is also something your sales force and Customer Service operation can do. Just because prospects inquire about your product doesn't mean they prefer it. They are more often "acquiring" rather that "inquiring." They gather information on several alternatives to aid in making their decisions, and demonstrating to management that they did their homework.

c) If you sell through Manufacturer's Reps or Dealers/Distributors, qualifying the prospects to determine if your product qualifies is their responsibility. Make sure they're trained so they can be prepared to present and defend your strengths & weaknesses.