Bennett Financial Services

Successfully prospecting for new clients means translating calls into sales.  If you are making a significant number of contacts and are doing the appropriate follow-up, but are not getting the sales that you expect, then you may have to change your approach.

To close a sale, you need to get your prospective clients to agree to some sort of presentation. It may be over the phone or in person; it may take a few minutes or much longer.  The key is that at some point you have to be able to explain how your product or service will benefit the client..

Assuming that your product or service is what the market needs and that your price is within the range of what the market will bear, and you are still not converting those calls into sales, then something is getting in the way.  Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you approaching the right prospects?   It will be helpful to learn more about your target market.  Speak to colleagues, read the trade publications, conduct a survey and interview some other clients.  Identify which segment of your market is most likely to act on your offer and concentrate your efforts there.
• Are you designing your approach on what you think that the client needs or what they indicate that they need?  You should correct any confusion right away by actively listening to what they are saying.
• Are you explaining how the product or service will benefit the client clearly enough in your initial contact?  Prior to that contact do some research on the client, on the local market that they are operating in and what they may need.  That initial contact should be clear as to how your product or service will match their needs.
•  Are your phone skills are letting you down?  Perhaps you are nervous because you are not well enough prepared.  Prior to that call, write down a few opening sentences.  Anticipate some questions and have prepared written answers ready.  Practive calls with a colleague and critique each other.
• Is your contact is not the right person to approach?  Perhaps they are not in a positon to be the decision maker.  Find out right away who the decision maker is and choose to work with them directly.  Your contact may not be qualified enough to appreciate the value of how your product or service can help their company.
• Do you have an adequate presence in the community being targeted?  If you are not known well enough, increase your visibility through advertising, sponsoring local events, networking, building referrals, public speaking and writing articles.  If you are introduced, referred, or the prospect already knows who you are, your sales rate from prospects will increase dramatically.  Always ask for a referral.
• Does your competition dominate the market?  Determine what the contacts like about their current supplier.  Then your approach can demonstrate that your service is higher quality, more effective, totally unique, or better for the bottom line.
• Do your terms suit the need of the client?  Are your payment requirements realistic and helpful for the client?  Do your delivery schedules meet their needs?  You may have to be more flexible in your terms to get the sale.
• Are you promoting too many products at the same time?  Clients tend to have specific needs.  Concentrate on meeting those needs on the initial approach.  This will get your foot in the door to offer other goods and services later.