Prospecting with a Plan
Prospecting with a Plan
The Mix
A good prospecting plan includes several types of activities. Some examples include: cold phone calls, referrals, talks, mailings and networking. While most salespeople have a variety of activities available to them, they tend to use only a few, either because they have a certain comfort level with some activities, or a discomfort with others. Mixing your activities takes the pressure of any one activity to provide your livelihood. If you’re not comfortable with an approach, invest time to improve your skills, and ultimately your comfort level, to make other activities work for you.
The Action
Prospecting activities are either active or passive. Active prospecting gives you complete control over how the activity is carried out. For example, making cold call is active. You control who you call, how often you call, how many calls you make, and what you say. Advertising is passive – you can’t control whether a piece gets to its intended destination, is read, or generates a response. Although you can increase your response rate by offering free samples, a bonus or other premium, you give up most control by advertising.
To achieve desired results, mix your active and passive prospecting. Passive activities may be more comfortable, but comfort may not be the answer to your prospecting challenge.
The Plan
When you’ve decided which activities to pursue, put them on your calendar. Schedule your activities according to time, budget, resources and target audience considerations. And be sure to put your preparation activities (preparing a seminar, writing your newsletter or composing your mailing) in no-pay time. A budget should accompany your prospecting calendar. Will there be labor, equipment, facility or print costs? These elements all factor into your choice of prospecting activities and their weight in your mix.
The Results
Once you’ve chosen your mix, planned your actions, scheduled your activities and carried out your plan, what were the results? Where did your leads come from, and which activities generated the leads that translated into appointments? Although different activities may produce varying results, you’ll probably find that a plan that reflects a variety of methods will pay off. And you may even find success with an activity you thought wouldn’t work for you, or that you were reluctant to try.
Each prospecting plan is unique, but all have elements in common: they should include a mix of activities that are feasible for your situation and have action steps for those activities based on resources available and scheduling constraints. As the saying goes, "If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?"
Prospecting with a Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Wall's Website.
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A good pool of prospects is one of the keys to a successful selling career. Knowing how to prospect effectively keeps a career vital, and is truly the lifeblood of sales. Yet, so many sales professionals overlook the crucial element of having a prospecting plan. With a plan to follow, you can measure your efforts and results.
The Mix
A good prospecting plan includes several types of activities. Some examples include: cold phone calls, referrals, talks, mailings and networking. While most salespeople have a variety of activities available to them, they tend to use only a few, either because they have a certain comfort level with some activities, or a discomfort with others. Mixing your activities takes the pressure of any one activity to provide your livelihood. If you’re not comfortable with an approach, invest time to improve your skills, and ultimately your comfort level, to make other activities work for you.
The Action
Prospecting activities are either active or passive. Active prospecting gives you complete control over how the activity is carried out. For example, making cold call is active. You control who you call, how often you call, how many calls you make, and what you say. Advertising is passive – you can’t control whether a piece gets to its intended destination, is read, or generates a response. Although you can increase your response rate by offering free samples, a bonus or other premium, you give up most control by advertising.
To achieve desired results, mix your active and passive prospecting. Passive activities may be more comfortable, but comfort may not be the answer to your prospecting challenge.
The Plan
When you’ve decided which activities to pursue, put them on your calendar. Schedule your activities according to time, budget, resources and target audience considerations. And be sure to put your preparation activities (preparing a seminar, writing your newsletter or composing your mailing) in no-pay time. A budget should accompany your prospecting calendar. Will there be labor, equipment, facility or print costs? These elements all factor into your choice of prospecting activities and their weight in your mix.
The Results
Once you’ve chosen your mix, planned your actions, scheduled your activities and carried out your plan, what were the results? Where did your leads come from, and which activities generated the leads that translated into appointments? Although different activities may produce varying results, you’ll probably find that a plan that reflects a variety of methods will pay off. And you may even find success with an activity you thought wouldn’t work for you, or that you were reluctant to try.
Each prospecting plan is unique, but all have elements in common: they should include a mix of activities that are feasible for your situation and have action steps for those activities based on resources available and scheduling constraints. As the saying goes, "If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?"
Prospecting with a Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Wall's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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