I
admit it, I said, “I’m old fashioned.
I
know the difference between making calls and making sales.”
That’s how I responded when Phil
asked me this morning, “How can I keep my sales team on track? Half of
them won’t get into the contact management software, half don’t pay any attention
to management’s cost concerns and most of them go kiting off across the country
with key staff in tow every time the phone rings. It seems like they’ll chase
anything that moves to meet quota. How can I control this bunch?”
I
said, “To sell more you have to give them a way to qualify prospects.
Do
they know what makes a quality prospect for your product or service? More
importantly, do they regularly compare prospects to the ideal that you’ve
defined? The better you and everyone in your organization understand what makes
a quality prospect, the better your sales performance will be.
So
how do you get to Quality Prospects? Start by defining what a prospect is:
A
Prospect must:
§
Have a need for your product or service.
§
Have the funding to pay for it.
§
Be willing to talk to you.
Then
give each a simple rating:
Rating Defined
as
+5 Legislation or Management says
this project must begin in 30 days
+4 Project must start in 90
days
+3 Project viewed as strategic by
prospect
+2 Project budget is approved
and available
+1 Your firm meets the vendor
selection criteria
That
will get you quality prospects. Guaranteed.”
Learn more about Jerry Fletcher and his approach to marketing at www.JerryFletcher.com Need a keynote speaker on Marketing or Networking on and off-line? Check out www.NetworkingNinja.com