Reaching Out
Finding good leads takes more than just making a few phone calls. Use a creative prospecting strategy to get yourself out there.
Thinking "out of the box" may seem clichéd, but
it's a good image to keep in mind when you think about
prospecting. If your current approach to finding leads isn't
working for you, it's probably time to get a little creative.
After all, prospecting is more than simply making a phone call and
asking to speak with the decision-maker. Here are three "out
of the box" prospecting methods that have worked for me:
1. Build a qualified priority list. Recently, when I
began marketing a new product, one of my first steps was to
research the marketplace. I went to every retail store I could find
that sold similar products and talked to the store managers. I
asked, "Which company sells most creatively to you? Which one
really moves product off the shelf and has a quality product people
like?" I checked out product packaging; got names, phone
numbers and websites; and did more research, legwork and homework.
Only then was I able to call the president of a company directly
and prospect from a much higher and more knowledgeable level.
2. Create synergy to double the opportunity from a single
effort. Everything is relative--the key is to be able to
recognize how things relate. As readers of this column know, I wear
many different business hats. I market products, but I'm also
an agent for authors and entertainers. Recently, I've made many
media contacts while trying to connect a nationally known comedian
to radio and TV. At the same time, I'm using these contacts to
try to get PR on radio and TV for my product. Even though my
product and the comedian are not related, I can use my prospecting
skills for both at the same time.
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3. Sell from the bottom up. Create demand for your
product whenever you can. I sell my product to a company, which in
turn sells the product to distributors, who then sell to consumers.
Sometimes, though, it can be difficult to get the distributors, who
may not see an immediate demand, enthusiastic about a particular
product. So instead of relying on the distributors to sell my
product, I get the demand going. I prospect to companies capable of
buying large numbers of my product and then have them call the
distributor directly to make the purchase. The distributor sees the
demand and therefore puts a greater effort into selling my product.
Everybody wins.
These three methods work for me. Your job is to create unusual
ways of prospecting that work for your own style, environment and
industry. Prospecting out of the box means exploring new ways to
generate business, trying things that haven't been tried
before, and finding new paths that will lead you to greater success
than you ever imagined.
Top-rated sales, management and motivation speaker Barry Farber is
author of Superstar Sales Secretsand Diamond Power.