Remerciez-le!

Remerciez @Admin pour avoir partagé cet document gratuitement, de la manière la plus simple, en partageant sur les réseaux sociaux.

Prospecting Guide.1008.indd The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide Best Practices

Prospecting Guide.1008.indd The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development How often do you spend time prospecting for new business opportunities? Consistent prospecting is vital to a sales professional’s success and the success of the whole sales organization. If you’re not paying proper attention to the sales that need to be closed, the sales that need further development, and the new opportunities available to be plucked from the universe, your funnel’s health will decline and you’ll never make your quota. The most successful sales professionals are those who are really efficient at prospecting. All activities within the sales process are important, but to reduce how low you go into the valleys of your sales cycle, prospecting must be a top priority - right behind closing business. You can’t leave it on the back burner. Good prospecting techniques can impact your number of qualified leads and directly translate into increased revenue and a higher commission check. Because it’s such a crucial part of the sales process, how do you make sure you are identifying those prospects that will produce a win for both your organizations? We’ve compiled resources that address this challenge to help you master the techniques that will maximize your prospecting efforts. This guide presents a number of articles that will help you improve your prospecting skills and achieve top-performer status. Time is valuable – your clients’ and your own. You don’t want to waste it chasing opportunities that have no real chance of closing. Read on to learn how you can identify ideal prospects, manage your time more efficiently, and expand your prospecting universe. The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Calls. ....................................... 2 What is a Valid Business Reason It’s About Solutions Mastering Proper Prospecting Timing. ........................................... 2 Time Zones Time Courtesy Time Expectations The Right Timing Maximizing Your Time by Defining Your Ideal Customer................ 4 Selling the Cultural Similarities Between Your Prospect’s Company and Your Own There’s No Such Thing as a “Perfect” Fit Find Hidden Revenue by Cross-Selling and Up-Selling................. 5 What is Cross-Selling & Up-Selling? The Best Time to Cross-Sell/Up-Sell? Can I Reactive Dormant Accounts? Social Networking Etiquette: Finessing One of the 21st Century’s Most Powerful Tools for Prospecting. ..................... 6 Social Networking 101 Finessing Your Network for Prospecting Securing Time with Key Decision Makers...................................... 9 What Research Tells Us What’s a “Howdy Call”? Crafting a Valid Business Reason Design Your Marketing Vehicle Market Targeting Hypothesizing Having a Framework for Discussion The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development 2 © 2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272 Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Calls You’ve got a hot prospect. You need a face-to-face opportunity to sell your product and services. So you stop by, without an appointment, hoping to make it past the receptionist and catch the decision maker in a rare unscheduled moment. “I was in the vicinity, and thought I’d just stop by to say hello.” Well, at least you tried. Of course, there is a place for pleasantries and the social aspects of business, but let’s not confuse those with a sales call. Many salespeople focus on their own comfort area, on social calls and lunch dates – or the product pitch. And as a result, the sales process never gets off the ground. Before you try to call someone or meet with them in person, you must ask yourself one question: “What is the reason this person should be speaking or meeting with me?” The answer to this question should be the reason a potential buyer will spend time on the phone or in person with you – your Valid Business Reason. Most importantly, the answer should highlight the value provided to the customer for engaging in conversation with you. Having a Valid Business Reason for every sales call, whether in person or on the phone, is the considerate way of doing business. It tells buyers, no matter how long you’ve known them, that you’ve given some thought to their current challenges and that you’re looking for solutions that are valid to them. What is a Valid Business Reason? 1. It’s Valid: It’s all about the customer. Valid to customers means it’s worth making time to hear about how you can help solve a problem that keeps them up at night. 2. It’s Business: Research shows that many sales calls are too general and unfocused to be useful to buyers or sellers. Do your homework and manage your selling time. Understand their business. What are their challenges? What are they trying to fix, accomplish or avoid? 3. It’s a Good Reason: Not your reason - the customer’s reason. Be prepared to explain why taking time out of a busy schedule for you rather than spending it on other priorities will benefit them in the long run. Tell the customer what you’d like to meet about and why you think this could be of value. It’s About Solutions How can your solution help what they want to fix, accomplish or avoid? Doing your homework will allow you to be more specific. The more accurate and detailed you can be, the more concise your message will be. Remember it has to be quick and to the point so it can be left on a voice mail or with a receptionist. It must always be from the customer’s point of view. By defining your Valid Business Reason, you’ll improve your ability to get face time dramatically. Timing is crucial in all parts of the sales process, but it is most vital when prospecting – when a sound understanding of how it’s executed can affect your chances for developing prospects into opportunities. Plenty of questions arise in sales representatives’ day-to- day prospecting efforts, too. Consider the following to build a check list for mastering the often glossed-over basics of timing in prospecting. The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide Mastering Proper Prospecting Timing Questions that Surface in a Given Sales Process: • How long does it usually take to develop a prospect into a well-qualified lead? • How long should the typical sales process take? • When is a good time to approach a prospect with a proposal for your solution? • Is my selling process in step with their buying process? 3 © 2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272 Time Zones Effective prospecting requires research and discovery to determine whether the candidate could be eventually developed into an actual customer. When identifying initial company contacts, be certain to note their geography. General research may turn up important specifics on a company’s offerings, mission, and employee build-up. But neglecting to identify such a crucial piece of information like location and time difference can instantly derail your chances for credibility. Would you call someone back if they called outside of office hours? Lack of regard for regular business hours can convey to a prospect that a salesperson lacks professionalism. Calling an east coast prospect while working from the west coast? You don’t want to miss out on your best opportunity to talk with them during their legitimate office hours while they have business on their mind. With every sales call you make, determine where the contact is within the organization’s geography. Are they in the corporate office in New York, working remotely while traveling in Europe, or positioned at a company branch in Asia? Confirming your prospect company’s location shouldn’t stop at headquarters – consider the time zone of each individual to start off on the right foot. Time Courtesy How many times have you launched into your opening statements on a prospecting cold call only to hear they don’t have the time to talk? Sometimes it may be hard to suppress the initial urge to launch into conversation, but always ask whether a prospect has a few moments to talk. It sets the precedent that their needs are most important. Assumptions can be dangerous, especially on the first opportunity for discussion with a potential candidate for new business. Offer your prospects the option to politely decline and propose a time to reschedule the conversation. Time Expectations Once you’ve confirmed with a prospect that they have a few minutes to talk, be courteous enough to tell them how long the call will take. Clueing them in to the time it will take from their day allows them the opportunity to decide whether now is appropriate. Prospects may decide they don’t have time at the moment to talk to you but it reinforces your credibility by ensuring you have their interests in mind. Remaining completely focused on the prospect’s needs continually supports your selling initiatives as it portrays your entire organization as one that is geared, not toward revenue, but toward customer solutions. Be sure they understand that, within the call, they will have time to voice their concerns and business issues and will receive answers to any questions they have. uploads/Industriel/ prospecting-guide.pdf