The unbreakable laws of successful sales prospecting

The law of first impression – This law states that, “the aim of a first impression is to cause a mental interruption” Do you sell online, offline or both. The first impression you create to a prospect will go a long way to determining if they will do business with you or not. If you sell offline ensure your personal appearance in terms of your clothing and hygiene are apt. Check to make sure your business appearance In terms of your business cards, brochures and other marketing collateral are neat. If you sell online ensure your pictures are clear, fonts easy to read and colours used intentionally. Just make sure it’s memorable for the prospect so you can cause a mental interruption.

The law of qualifying – This law states that, “it’s no use heading in the right direction with the wrong prospect” Have you spoken to a prospect before, given an effective presentation only to find out that the person had no money or couldn’t make a buying decision because they needed to get an approval or maybe discuss with their spouse first? You can avoid this by qualifying the prospect early in the sales process. You qualify simply by asking questions. For example, “If you saw what you wanted are you in a position to make a buying decision now? Would you need to discuss this with any one before you make a purchase?” Questions like this help you save time in selling by clearly identifying who can pay for your product or service, then who the real decision makers are.

The law of routine – This law states that, “if you consistently seek prospects daily, the time comes when prospects will start seeking you” Life is in phases, this is why success can be measured at different phases of life. When you begin the early phase of selling you will have to hunt for prospects daily. This must be a routine for you, probably even at a fixed time and duration daily just to ensure you’re consistent.

You start from;
I) The people you know:  As simple as the contacts on your phone, social media, school, church or any where you contact people
II) The people who you know, know: This is where you need to ‘ASK’ (please ask! Ask! Ask! Don’t think they will refer you just because they like you, ask and you shall receive) for those you know to refer you to those they know.
III) The people you don’t know: This is the third phase where you graduate to cold calling on people you don’t know.

Keep a notebook of potential prospects for the month then start calling them daily to get appointments. Constantly plan and seek for your prospects in a methodical way (within your niche market) e.g. across industries, profession, age groups or location. Your aim is to satisfy all your prospects with excellent service and product delivery then they will start to give you leads and referrals such that prospects will start looking for you. This is the most rewarding phase of professional selling.

The law of tracking – This law states that, “Not every prospect will buy immediately, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want your product. They just want to be persuaded a little more.” 80% of sales are lost due to poor follow up. This should be addressed with the use of effective tracking records and methods. This will ensure your subsequent conversations with a prospect are continuations from previous discussions and not you repeating the same questions to the prospect. Also, it will help you ensure every unfinished engagement with a prospect will end with a permission from you to contact them at a latter place and time.

CONCLUDED

Iyore is a sales coach