This process can become so much easier to exploit if you have a prospect pool that you can encourage your sales people to follow up on. Yet, what do you do if that pool dries up?
Imagine having qualified prospects calling you…no, it’s not a dream, and it’s a real possibility if you use this simple, yet extremely powerful process. You’ll need to invest some time to develop the first step, yet, ultimately you could discover the easiest prospecting approach ever created!
The solution is to produce a white paper that reports on the biggest problems facing the prospects and customers within your industry. Then, to position yourself as ‘the credible expert’ you’ll need to write up a range of solutions designed to address these problems. You’ll then be in possession of a compelling document that you can promote for free. If you’ve correctly identified the problems then you’ll discover an avalanche of people (who happen to be great prospects for your sales people) requesting your masterpiece.
This approach is also aligned to the biggest motivational strategy on the planet; people will do anything to avoid pain and then, once they’ve avoided it, they’ll want to gain pleasure. Your report can effectively serve to highlight and reinforce your prospects’ pain then tantalise them with the pleasure they can get by implementing your solutions.
The problems you choose to highlight should be those that your organisation can remedy, so that in essence your report can create buying criteria that ideally only your organisation can satisfy. There are 3 main steps involved in creating this prospecting tool:
Step 1: Your objective is to write a report that highlights and addresses the biggest concerns that your target market are likely to be experiencing. Here are some example titles; The 5 Biggest Pitfalls to Avoid when Making Investments, The 5 Most Dangerous Trends Facing Human Resource Managers Today, 5 Issues that Prevent Profitable Buying.
When writing your report keep it objective and use a variety of quotations from
recognised experts in your market. Where possible, validate your comments with research findings and reference the sources for your information. Ideally your report should be between 6,000 – 12,000 words and focus on approximately 5 main problems. Highlight some suggested solutions that can help the reader overcome the problems.
Step 2: Use direct marketing and/or advertising to promote your report and offer it free upon request. The people that request the report will be your hottest prospects. (Would you want a report on ‘The 5 Biggest Mistakes Obese People Make When Attempting To Lose Weight’ if you were slim and healthy? Of course not, people who want to read this report will be overweight people who have a desire to lose weight!)
Only send out the report once you have got all their contact information. Whether you want the recipient to complete their information online or by phone, it’s important that you have set up a process for capturing their key information. You may want to include a couple of questions that can help you qualify their potential for your organisation’s products/services. Ensure that you send them the report immediately with a covering letter or email, confirming that you are interested in their feedback and will be in touch. Because this is a prospecting activity, it’s vital that you follow-up every request within a couple of days with an acknowledgement email or letter, so that the prospect begins to become familiar with the name of your organisation.
Step 3: Telephone every prospect who received your report and irrespective of whether they have read it or not, (in most instances you’ll soon discover that the majority of people requesting the report will not have had time to read it) ask for an appointment to discuss in more detail how you may help them with resolving some of their own specific issues. Your report will have built
your credibility and because you have already given them value, prospects will be more receptive to meeting you. You can increase the number of appointments made by asking each prospect a couple of questions that reinforce the impact of the issues mentioned in your report. Here are some examples: "What impact would an additional 1% have on your earnings from your investments?" "How do you currently measure the success of your training programs?" "How would an extended period in your suppliers’ payment terms, impact on your cash flow?"
Ultimately, a well researched report will provide you and your team with a lucrative way of generating qualified prospects and convey that you are the experts in your industry.
Getting Prospects to Call You - To learn more about this author, visit Nikki Owen's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Nikki Owen
(Visit Nikki's Website)
Nikki Owen has dedicated the last 16 years
to the development of sales professionals
and sales leaders for many large
international organizations. She has
coached and mentored over 6,000 sales
people and their leaders.
In 2004 Nikki conducted the largest sales
research projects ever undertaken,
involving 2663 organizations to identify
the 5 biggest barriers to sales success.
This extensive report has been referred to
in global publications as the ultimate
solution to creating high-performing sales
teams.
Nikki is the creator of The Sales
Activator® an award winning sales toolkit.
As a certified Master Practitioner and
Trainer of NLP, Nikki is an expert with
applying seeming complex techniques within
a corporate sales infrastructure. Nikki
lectures on sales leadership using her own
case studies from her client portfolio
including Shell, Barclays Bank and Zurich
Life. In 2007 she became an accredited
firewalking instructor with the
Firewalking Institute of Research and
Education and studies Quantum Physics.
Nikki is the author of 'A Second Chance to
Live' that was first published in 1991 by
Transworld and was translated and sold in
16 different countries. She has been
interviewed on numerous television and
radio shows and is finalising her next
book titled – An Audience with Charisma
based on her cutting-edge seminars that
she hosts at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre,
London.
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