Sunday, November 29, 2009

Tips on Prospecting To Generate New Leads

By Head Rocha

You know how hard it is to start that daily commitment to exercise. Well, proactive prospecting seems to be as difficult. We know it is something we must do to gain positive results yet most sales people will try to avoid prospecting like the plague.

We need to have a starting point. Begin by blocking out one or two hours per day to prospect. Yes, we have put it off long enough. Start by using your sphere of influence to prospect. Prospecting, like anything will require commitment and discipline. This time is yours and you are important. Once you start you will feel more important and this will be a positive projection of your attitude when you talk with your sphere of influence.

Write down what you are going to say and practice saying it to yourself in the mirror. You will come across more confident to the person on the other side of the phone. Consider talking about something of value to the customer. It might be something related to the economy or the real estate housing market. People love knowledge and education. Provide them with information that will draw their interest.

Accurately define your target market before you begin. Determine how many calls you will make in that hour or two. Some sale people will call until they get an appointment or make the sale. Or you could decide to make 20 calls in that allotted time. Whatever you feel comfortable with and reasonable within the time allocated.

I would highly suggest having a database of at least one month's supply of names. The time allocated for prospecting should not be wasted looking up names or deciding at that moment who you are going to talk to next. Be prepared and watch how much more productive you will become.

Work without interruption. Do not take calls or schedule meetings during your scheduled prospecting time. Take full advantage of the prospecting learning curveas with any repetitive task, the more often you repeat it during a contiguous block of time, the better you become. Prospecting is no exception to the rule. Your second call will be better than your first, your third better than the second, and so on.

Consider prospecting during off peak hours when conventional prospecting times don't work. Some of your best work will be done between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM, between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM, and between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Vary your call times. We are all creatures of habit. So are your prospects. In all likelihood, they are attending the same meeting each Monday at 10:00 AM (or whatever time you can't seem to connect with them). If you cannot get through at this time, call this particular person in your sphere of influence at other times during the day or on other days.

Don't stop. Persistence is one of the key virtues in selling success. Most sales/valuable contacts are made after the fifth call, and most sales people quit after the first.

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