Set a daily time and quiet place for prospecting
You have to establish a habit and engage in the discipline of prospecting on a daily basis and from a controlled environment where your prospecting tools are available and readily accessible. In my private office I set up a prospecting station that includes a stand-up area, a computer and telephone with headset. Tacked to a wall are scripts for use when contacting past clients, potential clients, and cold calling. On another wall I’ve tacked all of my objection-handling scripts, including a few options for each objection. This allows me to be prepared for any dialogue or direction a conversation could take and allows me to avoid fumbles.
Prospects List
Make sure names, titles and contact details are up-to-date. Be certain that you are making your presentation to a qualified prospect – ex.: You are a car shooter make sure you are not contacting a prospect that has food, or beauty accounts. Gather as much data as necessary – review the company’s website, news releases, clients, etc. – So that you are on top of who they are, what they do and the latest company developments. Do your research. Your potential prospect will recognize and appreciate your time investment in learning about his or her business.
Introduction/Script
Being on the phone can make your mind go blank, so have relevant information at hand. Practice your verbal marketing message; have your calendar nearby and your portfolio ready to go out.
Knowing that body language comprises more than half of the power of communication, even when on the phone, I keep my intensity and focus high by standing up and smiling. Good humor can be ‘heard” via the phone, so remember to “smile” before dialing. A good quality headset, which I consider an absolutely essential tool, enables me to keep my hands free, so I can gesture, or accentuate points as if I were speaking to my prospect in person. Practice makes perfect – making calls daily means you are “familiar” with your “script”.
Be prepared for potential objections. Make a list of reasons why a prospect may be reluctant to do business with you and rehearse responses to them.
Call to Action/Sales Objectives
What’s your call to action – getting a meeting, getting a portfolio drop off, making a different contact within the company? It is unrealistic to expect a single call or meeting to result in a bid or job. Your objective on each of the multiple calls you’ll make will be to get the prospect one step closer to working with you.
Use the multiple sales calls to accomplish objectives such as:
- Introduction, establishing a rapport
- Making an appointment for a portfolio drop off or review
- Finding out your prospect’s specific needs
- Discovering who is part of the team and decision making process
- Meeting new people within your prospects organization – ask for referrals
- Supplying your prospect with new info about you
- Checking to see if prospect’s clients have changed since your last contact
- Supplying prospect with references and info from previous clients and jobs
- Determining whom the competition is
The truth is most of us welcome distractions that take us away from our prospecting obligations. An incoming phone call, e-mail, and the files that need organizing, the pile of papers we’ve been meaning to get to, - anything will do. It’s called creative avoidance.
Whether you are just starting out or you’re at the top of your field, distractions never just go away. In fact the busier you are, the more potential distractions you have because of the volume of business, the number of staff people, the number of clients, and the scope of responsibility.
The difference between prospecting success and prospecting avoidance comes down to the question, what do you do when the distractions hit? Do you postpone prospecting while you put out the fire? Do you decide to return a few phone calls? Do you justify not starting the prospecting at the appointed time? If you said yes, you are practicing creative avoidance.
To fight off distractions, impede their success:
- Turn off your e-mail indicator – visual and auditory – so it doesn’t tempt you
- Allow incoming calls to go to voicemail, or have your studio manager take messages
- Turn off your cell phone
- Virtually put a sign on the “door” that says – Don’t bother me I’m prospecting
Success comes down to taking the right steps in the proper order. You must know who you are going to call and for what reason. The best approach is to set up each day’s prospecting plan a day in advance.
If you wait to put your prospecting plan together at the beginning of your session, chances are that you will talk yourself out of making the calls in the first place. If you establish a plan in advance, you’ll be ready for action, rather than for avoidance of second guessing yourself.
Before you leave your office for the day, determine the prospecting calls you are going to make the next day. Assemble everything you need and put the information on your desk, so it is ready as you walk in the door.
In the morning, quickly review your calls and goals – don’t take to long – you could be setting yourself up for creative avoidance.
Spend 15 minutes prior to the first call practicing your verbal marketing message, scripts, dialogues and objection handling techniques. Establish a routine, create a plan that you repeat again and again before each prospecting session. Think about how actors warm up before a performance, or a singer vocalizing, or an athlete stretching out – you expect them to be prepared. Follow the same rule – warm up in advance.
Keep good records
Keep good records of calls, note bits of conversation, any important references, and follow-up promptly. Call when you say you are going to call, send the portfolio when agreed to. Always include your contact details.
Keep in Touch
Perfecting the art of keeping in touch is also key to your success. Call prospects on a regular basis – use the opportunity to ask what they are working on. Send a handwritten note after your contact – whether a phone call, bid or estimate – even if you don’t get the job – send a note of appreciation for the consideration and hope to do business in the future.
Don’t Take Rejection Personally
One of the most important things to remember is not to take rejection personally. Think about this – the more rejected you are the more successful you will become. You have more opportunity to practice what works and know what doesn’t when you fail. Get out there.
Be true to yourself and finish what you start - Don’t drop out early; when you are running a race, you have to run the distance.
Being prepared and planning ahead will help you feel assured that you know exactly what you plan to do at every point of the call – and you also show your prospect that you understand the value of his/her time. Clients will appreciate doing business with someone who respects their time and conducts sales calls in a productive, efficient and professional manner.
Angela Krass is the founder of www.fotoprojx.com.
