By: Tessa Stowe, www.salesconversation.com
Are you constantly looking for prospects? Would you like more prospects to contact you when they are ready to buy?
Would you like prospects to contact you before they call your competition? Even better, how about they just call you and not even consider calling the other guys?
Wouldn’t it be great if these prospects were almost presold as well? The good news is that all of this is possible.
When it all comes true for you, your sales pipeline will fill up almost automatically, and you will make more sales a lot faster.
At this point, I’m sure that you are asking yourself how, and how soon?
It’s not really that hard. Even though it can be done, most salespeople won’t do it. Yet they wonder why they keep having to continually find prospects, why their sales take so long, and why they are always fighting the competition.
Over the last week, how many people have you spoken to who do not need your products and services immediately? They may need them at some stage in the future, but you feel there is no point in selling to them right now.
What have you done with these “prospects in waiting?” Have you made a note in your diary to call them back in 6 months or whenever they have told you to? You probably concluded that at that future time, the prospect might finally have a need for what you are offering. This is what most sales people do in this situation.
But when you contact them in 6 months or whenever they told you to, you’ll be calling back at the same time as everyone else they talked to with similar products and services. You’ll be just one of the crowd. You’ll also be at the beginning of the sales process and will have to start building trust, a relationship, credibility, etc. while competing for face time.
Alternatively, suppose that you have already prequalified the “prospect in waiting” — that they definitely have a need for your products and services at some stage in the future. Now you don’t wait 6 months to call them back; you start immediately to build a TRAC record with them.
A personalized contact record of Trust, Relationship, Awareness, and Credibility.
If you build a TRAC record with them starting right now, chances are very high that they’ll remember and contact you as soon as they need your products and services. Even if they don’t, you’ll be in contact enough that you’ll pick up when the time is right.
When they do need your products and services, because you already have Trust, Relationship, Awareness and Credibility with them, the sales cycle will move much faster since you have already gone past these steps in the usual process.
So, how can you build this miraculous TRAC record with a minimum amount of effort? You obviously can’t spend too much time on it as you need to focus your selling time mainly on those prospects who are ready to buy now.
To build a TRAC record with “prospects in waiting,” you must put in place your own contact system which will build the record. You want to use a variety of communication methods — some technology-based and some that are more personal. Your system can include things like a newsletter, emails, Google alert tracking, phone calls, events, and appreciation cards.
Automate your system as much as possible and in the most personalized way you can. Automate it, or you won’t make the contacts on a frequent and consistent schedule. Personalize it, or you won’t connect as you should with the target person. You have to develop a relationship with that person as an individual, as well as with them in their business role. It’s amazing how many tools and systems are now available that will enable you to automate your hi-tech and hi-touch client communications.
The time that you invest in setting up your contact system to build a TRAC record will pay off in a flow of prospects into your pipeline who are already predisposed to buying from you. Then continued use of your automated and personalized system will expand the TRAC record and pay you a double dividend in repeat business and larger opportunities.
Posted via email from Random Musings by Jeremiah Wean | Comment »
