THE POWER OF PERMISSION-BASED PROSPECTING
Prospects Are More Interested in a Sales Presentation when it's on Their Terms.
If you're like me, you prefer to look for products, shop for suppliers, and make buying decisions when you are inclined toward having a need, interest or desire to do so. In fact, I'll be the last thing you purchased for fussiness or pleasure fits that scenario.
Unlike the traditional and outdated practice of cold calling (often rationalized as "warm calling" by desperate sales managers), our concept of Permission-Based Prospecting is based on the principle that prospects are more likely to step up and be more interested in receiving a sales presentation when it is their idea to do so.
Locating Receptive Prospects
The secret is to obtain the most relevant data pertaining to the segment of the market to which you want to sell your product or ser vice. This is best gained through the use of demographics, psychographics, lists, trade show leads, association membership rosters, and Standard Rate and Data listed brokers. These prospects should be the ones who most closely resemble the profile of your most profitable and high margin customers.
This data is only valuable if it contains certain key information. Here's a checklist of what you'll need:
- Name
- Title
- Organization
- Mailing Address
- Phone Number
- Fax Number
- E-mail Address
Launch a Personal Prospecting Campaign
Equipped with this information, you can now mount your personal prospecting campaign along a series of fronts. These include: direct mail; newsletters; phone; free offers; broadcast e-mail; special reports; and broadcast fax.
"Your whole approach should create an awareness of your unique ability to solve a problem, relieve a concern, or resolve a dilemma that your prospect has."
Armed with these tools, you need to understand three very essential concepts:
- Most of it (if not all) responses from your prospects will occur sometime after the third contact.
- You must not bother or badger prospects. Instead, provide them with valuable, usable, and profitable information with every contact. Make your offer free, risk-free, and be sure it is of significant help to them.
- You will have seven seconds to attract their attention with your contact. Therefore, the key to the whole approach is the headline of your contact (not your logo a friendly "Dear Prospect," or any other stuffy greeting).
Lure Your Prospect In
Ideally, your whole approach should create an awareness of your unique ability to solve a problem, relieve a concern, or resolve a dilemma that your prospect has. Once this has been accomplished, your next concern is to give them an opportunity to respond to your offer for additional information. Specifically, to respond to you via e-mail, phone, fax or mail and say, "Yes, I'm ready."
You want your prospect to say, "Yes, I'd like to learn more about how to do that!" You may want to have them ask for your special report, booklet, tape, or CD Rom.
Boost Your Response Rate
Always be sure to include your e-mail address, toll-free phone number, fax number and a fax-back form, and return address (with a postage paid envelope). A few more tips:
-Be sure your list is clean, up-to-date, and complete.
-As prospects respond, be sure to remove them from your prospect list and add them to your active file.
- Be speedy, efficient, and timely with your free offer.
- Remember to test the concept with a segment of your list first. Keep in mind that if a concept works with 100 people it will work with 1,000.
- Continue to contact your list with postcards, letters, reports, e-mail, and broadcast faxes, and do so with the promise of valuable, helpful information that they can obtain free of charge. Once you get responses, repeat your effort with very little modifications to more prospects.
The advent of user-friendly, cost-effective technology has made all of this possible. And it has done so within a very short period of time. Software, computers, and the explosion of database management have now given salespeople a great opportunity and some great challenges. I urge you to take on those challenges. Your income and long-term career success depends on it.
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the views of Work-at-Home-Business.com and/or its partners.
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