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Part Eight - Prospecting for More Sales
Written by: Lawrence AtkinsonArticle Overview: Part Eight of a Ten Part Series. In this series, we explore all the different avenues of prospecting necessary for a business to succeed. Think of your business as a a beautiful garden, and then consider all the things you need to do to keep that garden beautiful and growing, rather than dreary, dead or decaying. Need help with Prospecting? Feel free to get in touch with us via our website.
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Free Download - Risk Management for Law Firms By Lawrence Atkinson |
Part Eight - Prospecting for More Sales
Reputation
Advertising is an essential aspect of ensuring the growth of your business, but the best advertisement you can have is a satisfied customer.
Too many people stop trying once the sale is made. This is really stupid. It's what happens after the sale that builds your reputation.
If you were a buyer, for example, getting the lowest possible premium on an insurance policy might make you feel good for a while, but if the company is difficult about paying claims, or if they take six months to send a cheque, then you'll wish that you'd gone elsewhere. Or if you find that the bargain you got on your new micro-computer means that you have to assemble it yourself, and that you have to send it to Taiwan for repairs, then you might decide that it wasn't a bargain after all.
If you really care about your customers, and give them the type of service you'd like yourself, then your reputation will grow and so will your sales. A basic maxim of selling is "No trust, no sale" and trust develops out of honest, efficient service before and after the sale. Don't forget it!
Record Keeping
An important part of developing an effective prospecting program is to stay aware of the possibilities, and to keep easily accessible records of the stage you have reached in your contacts with the people you have identified as potential buyers.
One way of providing a visual stimulus is to use a whiteboard in your office to record new and possible sources of business. It can hold press cuttings, business cards, brochures you have collected, and anything that is a guide to a possible sale. It's a stimulus to action, but it isn't action, so be sure you also include an action column so that each day you can do your pre-call planning around your new business whiteboard.
It's true that you could keep the same information in a notebook, but the whiteboard puts the information up where it can't be ignored. If it's impossible to avoid seeing the things you should be doing, it's much harder to avoid or forget this very important aspect of promoting sales. Do it now!
Continued in Part Nine
Sales Prospecting Techniques
Sales Prospecting for Sales Results
Sales Prospecting
Prospecting it is simple only DOING counts
Sales Management, Prospecting, and a Sense of Urgency©
Article Tags: accessible records, advertisement, bargain, brochures, business cards, cheque, efficient service, insurance, insurance policy, maxim, micro computer, new business, notebook, possibilities, press cuttings, reputation, six months, taiwan, visual stimulus, whiteboard
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About the Author: Lawrence Atkinson RSS for Lawrence's articles - Visit Lawrence's website  Lawrence is the Principal of Lawrence Atkinson Career Management Services, and Lawrence Atkinson Practice Management Services. Click here to visit Lawrence's website   Part Seven Prospecting for More Sales Part Two Prospecting for More Sales Part Eight Prospecting for More Sales Job applicants take note please Risk Management for Law Firms |
Related Forum Posts
Prime Means of Selling
- Prospecting and Selling aren't the same. Prospecting is finding the few within a target group who are prime candidates for your service. I don't think everyone will agree on what "prime" means but I'd say if the prospects actively want what you're offering and have the ability to pay for what you're offering then they qualify as "prime".
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz]
I second the request...
Patent information
- I'm also interested in Part 2. Thanks.
Patent Process
- Interesting to hear your experiences with the patent process - what's Part 2?
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