"Prospecting" is a term that has been used by Sales People (more
often by Sales Managers) for innumerable years to refer to the process
of acquiring new clients. As a word, it has an almost romantic, "old
world" flavour that conjures up images of pioneering adventurers hiking
into the gold fields "panning" for gold, sifting or digging through
tonnes of dirt and rubble to find, after a lot of sweat and toil,
nuggets of opportunity.
These days, if you're actually prospecting for gold you no longer use gold pans, pickaxes, shovels or mules.
The world has changed markedly and fundamentally over the last three decades and the pace of change has accelerated over the last few years. At the heart of that change has been the increased pervasiveness of technology in our personal and business lives, capped off by the growing impact of the internet. This has led to a spectacular rise in the quantity of "messages" that we are subjected to.
We have more "messaging" directed at us now than we can consume. I use the word "messaging" rather than "information". "Information" has a neutral tone to it, as though the data presented is that, just data. But, what we get from the internet and other sources of "information", irrespective of how it is packaged, is not neutral: it is designed to influence.
I read an interesting article in my local newspaper a few weeks ago. The author compared the number of employed journalists to the number of employed Public Relations consultants over the last half-century. According to the article, in the 1950's that ratio was roughly 1 journalist to 1 PR person. Today that ratio is roughly 1 journalist to 4 PR people (according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the ratio is projected to increase to 1 journalist to 5 PR people by 2018). Get the message?
We have moved beyond the Information Age and into the Messaging Age.
As private and business consumers (someone's potential prospects), we have taken steps to adapt to the new age. We, a) know that everything is a message, b) have developed very personalised "message filters" to only notice things that actually are of interest to us and c) have heightened our defences to messages that aren't of interest to us right now. We've done this to protect our ability to stay focussed on the task at hand (and to retain our sanity).
So how do you prospect effectively in this new environment?
1. Realise that your Prospect will only hear your message when they want to hear it.
You can't control when your prospect wants to hear your message. What you can do is maximise the chance that, when they want to hear it, your message is available to them. Here's how you do it.
2. Understand and target your niche
In the Messaging Age everyone is a niche player. That doesn't mean that they are a "small" player. It is far easier to differentiate and message to a niche and much more likely that your message will be heard. Understanding your customer has become more important than ever. Not just to ensure that your products or services are of value to your potential market but simply to earn the opportunity to be heard.
3. Sharpen your new prospecting tools
Your new tools are web and technology based. In the Messaging Age, these are your tools of choice. Whether you like it or not every business now has a shopfront in the world's biggest mall. It's a lot cheaper than a physical shop but you still need to be found, people need to walk into your store, they need to enjoy the experience enough to stay for a while and they need to find help if they want it. They also need to have the opportunity to opt into a way of remembering you once they've left.
4. Check that your old tools are still sharp
Like the pick-axes and gold pans of old, sales prospecting tools that you used to rely on (cold calling, direct mail, face-to-face word-of-mouth) may be past their use by date. Are they still effective for you? Have you given up on them when they could still be effective? Are you using them in the right way for your circumstances?
5. Address both existing customers and new prospects, but separately
One thing that hasn't changed is that it's still much harder to get a new customer than to retain an existing one. Existing customers are much more likely to listen to your message (cross-sell or up-sell) than prospects and they are more likely to want to hear it in a more personalised way. For example, newsletters are a good way of keeping your message in front of prospects who have an interest in your offering but are not ready to listen right now. The occasional, personal "cold call" is usually more effective for existing customers.
6. Build a Client Acquisition System
Above all, whether you're a multinational or a sole trader, you need to look at your client acquisition endeavours as an integrated system that addresses your company's unique situation and the behaviours of your niche. Not all tools will be as effective for all businesses and using some tools in the wrong way can even work against you.
In the Messaging Age the Prospect decides when to listen. Effective Sales Prospecting needs to be more analytical, sophisticated and systematic than ever before to deliver sustained results.
These days, if you're actually prospecting for gold you no longer use gold pans, pickaxes, shovels or mules.
The world has changed markedly and fundamentally over the last three decades and the pace of change has accelerated over the last few years. At the heart of that change has been the increased pervasiveness of technology in our personal and business lives, capped off by the growing impact of the internet. This has led to a spectacular rise in the quantity of "messages" that we are subjected to.
We have more "messaging" directed at us now than we can consume. I use the word "messaging" rather than "information". "Information" has a neutral tone to it, as though the data presented is that, just data. But, what we get from the internet and other sources of "information", irrespective of how it is packaged, is not neutral: it is designed to influence.
I read an interesting article in my local newspaper a few weeks ago. The author compared the number of employed journalists to the number of employed Public Relations consultants over the last half-century. According to the article, in the 1950's that ratio was roughly 1 journalist to 1 PR person. Today that ratio is roughly 1 journalist to 4 PR people (according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the ratio is projected to increase to 1 journalist to 5 PR people by 2018). Get the message?
We have moved beyond the Information Age and into the Messaging Age.
As private and business consumers (someone's potential prospects), we have taken steps to adapt to the new age. We, a) know that everything is a message, b) have developed very personalised "message filters" to only notice things that actually are of interest to us and c) have heightened our defences to messages that aren't of interest to us right now. We've done this to protect our ability to stay focussed on the task at hand (and to retain our sanity).
So how do you prospect effectively in this new environment?
1. Realise that your Prospect will only hear your message when they want to hear it.
You can't control when your prospect wants to hear your message. What you can do is maximise the chance that, when they want to hear it, your message is available to them. Here's how you do it.
2. Understand and target your niche
In the Messaging Age everyone is a niche player. That doesn't mean that they are a "small" player. It is far easier to differentiate and message to a niche and much more likely that your message will be heard. Understanding your customer has become more important than ever. Not just to ensure that your products or services are of value to your potential market but simply to earn the opportunity to be heard.
3. Sharpen your new prospecting tools
Your new tools are web and technology based. In the Messaging Age, these are your tools of choice. Whether you like it or not every business now has a shopfront in the world's biggest mall. It's a lot cheaper than a physical shop but you still need to be found, people need to walk into your store, they need to enjoy the experience enough to stay for a while and they need to find help if they want it. They also need to have the opportunity to opt into a way of remembering you once they've left.
4. Check that your old tools are still sharp
Like the pick-axes and gold pans of old, sales prospecting tools that you used to rely on (cold calling, direct mail, face-to-face word-of-mouth) may be past their use by date. Are they still effective for you? Have you given up on them when they could still be effective? Are you using them in the right way for your circumstances?
5. Address both existing customers and new prospects, but separately
One thing that hasn't changed is that it's still much harder to get a new customer than to retain an existing one. Existing customers are much more likely to listen to your message (cross-sell or up-sell) than prospects and they are more likely to want to hear it in a more personalised way. For example, newsletters are a good way of keeping your message in front of prospects who have an interest in your offering but are not ready to listen right now. The occasional, personal "cold call" is usually more effective for existing customers.
6. Build a Client Acquisition System
Above all, whether you're a multinational or a sole trader, you need to look at your client acquisition endeavours as an integrated system that addresses your company's unique situation and the behaviours of your niche. Not all tools will be as effective for all businesses and using some tools in the wrong way can even work against you.
In the Messaging Age the Prospect decides when to listen. Effective Sales Prospecting needs to be more analytical, sophisticated and systematic than ever before to deliver sustained results.
Antun Scurla is an independent Sales and Management Consultant ( http://www.analyticalselling.com/ ) who helps Clients get the best out of their Opportunities, Sales Processes and Prospecting efforts.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Antun_Scurla
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