Part Eight - Prospecting for More Sales

Guest post by: Lawrence Atkinson
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Risk Management for Law Firms - By Lawrence Atkinson

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

Sales Management, Prospecting, and a Sense of Urgency©

Prospecting it is simple only DOING counts

Sales Prospecting is the most important skill©

Prospecting - Time really is money©

Prospecting's 8 Simple Steps©

Sales Prospecting Is a Dirty Business (or Why a Clean Desk Is Not a Good Sign)

Keep Prospecting Simple©

Get In a Rut

Maximize Revenues©

Two spectacular sales ideas©

The Paradox of Sales Training

Prospecting For New Business - Cold Calling

The Threat of Recession and The Field Sales Professional

Sales Stops & Starts

Missed & Lost Sales Opportunities

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Risk Management for Law Firms - By Lawrence Atkinson

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.

Prior to starting his own business he was the Managing Consultant, Legal at Advantage Professional, which Lawrence joined following his time as Practice Director at Argyle Lawyers, a Sydney-based commercial law firm. His career includes being the National Manager for Corporate and Community Partnerships at Mission Australia, the General Manager of Shelston IP Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, running his own business services company with his wife Paula, and 27 years with Westpac in Europe, the Middle East, PNG and Australia.

Lawrence holds Fellowships with the following organisations:

Australian Institute of Company Directors
Australian Institute of Management
Australian Institute of Training and Development
Financial Services Institute of Australasia

Click here to visit Lawrence's website.

More from Lawrence Atkinson
Practical Practice Management for Law Firms Part One
Prospecting for More Sales A TenPart Series
Part Five Prospecting for More Sales
Job applicants take note please
Part Nine Prospecting for More Sales

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Part Eight - Prospecting for More Sales

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