Published in
Cara magazine...

Golden Prospecting

Prospecting for new customers is a lot like panning for gold. Know what you're looking for, look in the right place, use the right tools and techniques, and you'll get gold; otherwise all you get is a useless pile of well-sifted dirt.

It's hard to believe people who tell you that they enjoy prospecting. Prospecting is a tough, time consuming, and often boringly repetitive activity, fraught with ego-crushing rejection. But it's necessary. If you've a six month sales-cycle then you made the opportunity for today's sale six months ago. So your sales six months from now are entirely dependent on what you do today. Prospecting must be part of your everyday activities.

What most prospectors often miss is that the success of a prospecting campaign is determined BEFORE it begins. Two preparatory steps are vital:

1. Develop a formal profile of your ideal customer. Forget about whom you would like to be your ideal customer, or who your marketing or product people say are the ideal customers for your products or services. Look at who is actually buying from you, and who is buying from your closest competitors. Who are they? What size are they? When do they buy? Why do they buy? Draw up a formal profile of those customers - because it's more of them that you want to uncover when you go prospecting. Summarise the profile so that you can recite it in thirty seconds or less - and be sure that everyone in your organisation is equally familiar with it.

2. Develop a "why us?" statement. Prospects must have compelling reasons to buy from you. Develop a statement summarising all of those reasons. In developing this statement think: What's so special about what I offer? How are my offerings superior to everyone else's? Who are my most impressive customers and why did they buy from me? What are my offerings' disadvantages and how can I overcome them? Don't trust yourself, ask your best customers why they bought from you - and listen carefully. Use this input to produce a conversational thirty-second statement summarising all of the reasons prospects should buy from you. Refine it by reciting it to colleagues. When it's perfect be sure that everyone who has contact with your customer or prospect base can produce it as required.

With a profile of your ideal customer, and knowing why they should buy from you, you are ready to start prospecting. Only then. Here are some guidelines that will make your prospecting activity less time consuming and more productive:
Recognise that prospecting is not selling per se
...it is relationship building - creating an environment where a prospect wants to become a customer. Focus on the relationship - think of their needs, not yours. When the relationship is established the sales follow.

Keep close to existing customers.
Take proper care of existing customers and they're the easiest prospecting territory. Understand your sales cycle and be alert to when they should be repurchasing, upgrading or replacing. In larger accounts prospect in new areas, using your knowledge of their business as a door opener.

Every time you sell look for referrals.
New customers are as positive about you as they'll ever be just after you've sold to them. Ask for referrals at the moment of sale. If they can't point you at anyone specific then find out from them where folks in their industry get their information - what associations they belong to, what magazines they read, what conferences they attend. Others like them will flock there.

Make sure you're visible to likely prospects.
Find out what industry journals your prospects read and look at what they publish. Submit your own articles. Be sure that you know who organises any regular industry conferences or events and get yourself on speaker's lists. Make yourself a visible authority in your prospects' industries.

Network
Attend any forum, conference, exhibition or event where you know your prospects will congregate. Talk to as many people as you can. Deliver your "why us?" statement, exchange business cards, and move on.

Extend your reach
Lift a rock in your garden you'll see lots of insects swarming around in an incredibly small area. All of them make a living - because many of them don't compete for the same food or homestead. Your prospecting territory is like that - there are lots of non-competing organisations chasing your customers and prospects for business. Seek them out and build relationships with them - you pass them leads, and they pass you leads. Simple, but effective.

DO take no for an answer
Forget all that sales twaddle about the challenge to the salesperson of a "No!". The real challenge is to resist trying to turn every "No!" around, recognising when "no" really means "No!". If in doubt , qualify out. Quickly. If a prospect hasn't a compelling reason to buy from you then find one that does. Selling time, energy and resources are much too valuable, and there are always lots more prospects who are worthy of your efforts.

Don't worry about failing
Prospecting is a numbers game. However successful your campaign you'll have mis-hits. Learn from them. Think of Thomas Edison when his inventions repeatedly failed to perform as he expected: "I didn't fail a thousand times, I learned a thousand ways it wouldn't work"

There's gold in them thar hills! Go get it.