Getting Prospects to Call You
Getting Prospects to Call You
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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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-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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