Finding Prospects
To sell what you are selling (any type of what you are selling) two actions are required. One, locate a suspect and convert the suspect into a prospect. Two, convert the prospect into a sales and/or an account.
A suspect is someone who you think may be available or in a position to buy what you are selling or related services. It could be a location or an address where you think a prospect may exist.
The prospect is an individual or a human being who is in a personal or business situation that makes him or her a probable buyer of what you are selling. Four qualifications that a prospect must meet include:
- Has either a present or future need or requirement for your what you are selling and/or services.
- Has the money or means to pay for whatever you sell to him or her.
- Is approachable. Must have a door to him or her that you can open. That is, you must have some way to get to that person to tell him or her about your what you are selling and/or services.
- You must know that the person exists and suspect that he or she possess the above three qualities.
Prospecting for customers is looking for, exploring for, or trying to find that potential person who has the say-so or buying authority that can cause your what you are selling to be purchased. Seeing that person and making sales to him or her is the second part of the problem and will be covered later.
Before starting to prospect, it is necessary to determine what kind or type of company or business buys what you are selling. The solution to this problem is simple. Companies or business don't buy what you are selling. People buy what you are selling. It is a human being, acting on behalf of the company or business, that buys the what you are selling. A company or business is a group of people working together toward a common goal. Someone within that group has to make the buying decision. Your problem is to find him or her. That's the person you have to see or tell about your what you are selling. However, you have to find the company or business first.
