Many sales or small business people take a short term perspective when it comes to sales prospecting and sales. A salesperson acquires a list of names or a few referrals. Then, he or she contacts the prospects on the list and either the prospects buy or not. If a prospect doesn’t buy, generally the prospect’s name – and any qualifying information learned about him or her – is disregarded.
Instead of taking such a short term approach, try keeping track of unsold prospects and seek to build relationships with those prospects over time. Whether a particular prospect is from a referral or from a more general prospecting list, when you contact a new prospect, have two goals in mind. First, pursue the possibility that the prospect may become a buyer in the near term. But, second, begin to lay the foundation for continued contact with the prospect in the future. Keep track of the prospect’s information in a contact management database and plan to stay in touch! [Sponsored Link - Database software - Act! By Sage 2010
Two types of future contact are called “directed” and “cyclic” contact.
- Directed Contact: Directed contact is contact that hinges on a future follow-up date. If a prospect says she wont be looking into the product or service you are selling until December, and you call back in December, you are engaging in directed contact.
- Cyclic Contact: Cyclic contact is undirected future contact that occurs on a predetermined and ongoing basis. If you determine to send a prospecting letter every three months to each of your prospects regardless of any suggested follow-up dates, this is a form of cyclic contact.
Cyclic outreach should be informative and low pressure. It should also be proactive so that anything you send should include a response prompt for current interest and some kind of reply section or link. [Sponsored Link - How to create and produce letters for direct mail - The One Pager Manual.] Use cyclic contact to teach prospects about the kinds of services you provide and how you can help them. Inform prospects about new product options or improvements. The possibilities for subject matter in cyclic outreach are endless. But, the goal is always to inform prospects about how you can help and to ask prospects to reply if they are interested.
Engaging in ongoing contact with prospects over time will help prospects to know you better. When a prospect begins learning more about what your products can do and how you can help, it lays a foundation for potential future business. If a prospect does have a future need for what you sell, such ongoing contact will increase the likelihood that he or she will reach out to you for help.
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Originally posted 2009-05-12 14:21:34.
