OK, so you have got a referral lead and you are going to phone the prospect right now: what is the fastest way to qualify them and find out exactly what they want in your kind of product or service - if they have a need at all - so you know how best to present your offerings to them?
There are 2 key questions to ask a prospect to help you elicit exactly what they want in relation to your offer. There are further questions, but these are the main ones:-
Question 1: “What do you want in a (your product/service category)?”
Answer: The answer will identify the prospect’s key purchasing criteria – such as specific product/ service features and benefits, quality or service issues. This then enables you to focus on those criteria that you have established as having the greatest importance for the prospect. You can then present the benefits offered by your own products and services that correspond with these criteria - matching the prospect’s specific phrasing - and eliminate from the presentation other, less-relevant product/service features.
It is important to confirm these criteria with the buyer and establish through further questioning your understanding of their precise and mutually-agreed meaning. You can also qualify, quantify and agree the prioritisation of these issues for the prospect, and any relevant benchmarks.
For example: for the description ‘fast access speed’ as a criterion stated by a prospect for buying a computer network: how will ‘fast’ be evaluated? How fast? Compared with what? How does ‘speed’ feature as a priority compared with other listed criteria?
Wednesday 25 March 2009
Monday 9 March 2009
Referrals from Perfect Strangers
Is it possible to ask for a referral from someone you don’t even know?
Yes it is: here is a tactic for generating referrals that extends your ‘reach’ beyond your immediate circle of contacts.
This is based upon a well-proven principle in sales and marketing, the rule of ‘reciprocation’ (to find out more about this see ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’, by Robert B Cialdini). Basically, if I do something for you, and it benefits you, then you will feel under some obligation to reciprocate in some way. It’s what makes the world go round.
The tactic works like this:-
1. List a number of potential business contacts – 5, 20, 100 or whatever is a manageable number for your business – contacts that serve a similar market to you, by customer type, size and location perhaps. These are the people and companies that you are going to approach because they will have contacts that could be helpful to your new business drive.
2. Approach them by post or e-mail and say that as part of National Referral Week you are contacting a number of businesses of which you think highly, and that you have clients and contacts that you could refer to them.
3. Ask them to complete a form, which you enclose, where they can enter their contact details and, say, 20-40 words on what they do and how you should introduce them to your own contacts. As an example for the reader, write a similar entry for your business.
4. You should receive a positive response and feedback from some of these prospects. On the basis of ‘reciprocation’, some of the companies you have approached will feed some leads to you. They may be interested in using your services too, where it is relevant. Your approach influences the nature of the relationship: you are not just selling, you are potentially a valuable business contact and intermediary.
5. To maintain a relationship, there may well be people you could introduce to these new contacts you have approached using the data in the forms that have completed and returned.
Yes it is: here is a tactic for generating referrals that extends your ‘reach’ beyond your immediate circle of contacts.
This is based upon a well-proven principle in sales and marketing, the rule of ‘reciprocation’ (to find out more about this see ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’, by Robert B Cialdini). Basically, if I do something for you, and it benefits you, then you will feel under some obligation to reciprocate in some way. It’s what makes the world go round.
The tactic works like this:-
1. List a number of potential business contacts – 5, 20, 100 or whatever is a manageable number for your business – contacts that serve a similar market to you, by customer type, size and location perhaps. These are the people and companies that you are going to approach because they will have contacts that could be helpful to your new business drive.
2. Approach them by post or e-mail and say that as part of National Referral Week you are contacting a number of businesses of which you think highly, and that you have clients and contacts that you could refer to them.
3. Ask them to complete a form, which you enclose, where they can enter their contact details and, say, 20-40 words on what they do and how you should introduce them to your own contacts. As an example for the reader, write a similar entry for your business.
4. You should receive a positive response and feedback from some of these prospects. On the basis of ‘reciprocation’, some of the companies you have approached will feed some leads to you. They may be interested in using your services too, where it is relevant. Your approach influences the nature of the relationship: you are not just selling, you are potentially a valuable business contact and intermediary.
5. To maintain a relationship, there may well be people you could introduce to these new contacts you have approached using the data in the forms that have completed and returned.
Friday 6 March 2009
Ask for a referral when you lose a sales pitch
Yes, surprisingly perhaps, this can be a very good time to ask for a referral. Why? Because if you have got as far as the presentation or pitching stage, the probability is that the prospect likes you and what you have to offer. It may be that this liking is not enough to buy from you on the day - but it should be enough for you to ask for a 'favour' - a relatively small and cost-free one - i.e. for a referral.
From your point of view, you have got so far, and spent all this time on the proposal and perhaps two meetings - isn't it worth trying to retrieve something from the situation?
So, once it is clear the sales prospect has declined your offer, you might ask: "Well I am sorry we can't help you on this occasion, do you have any contacts who might have a need for our services?"
There is certainly a chance that the prospect might know someone who fits the bill. If you don't ask, the prospect is not going to think about this on your behalf. So ask. It takes some practice so that you feel comfortable with this tactic.
In fact, this should become part of your routine post-sales process:
1. Ask and find out exactly why you did not win the business, and
2. Ask for a referral
From your point of view, you have got so far, and spent all this time on the proposal and perhaps two meetings - isn't it worth trying to retrieve something from the situation?
So, once it is clear the sales prospect has declined your offer, you might ask: "Well I am sorry we can't help you on this occasion, do you have any contacts who might have a need for our services?"
There is certainly a chance that the prospect might know someone who fits the bill. If you don't ask, the prospect is not going to think about this on your behalf. So ask. It takes some practice so that you feel comfortable with this tactic.
In fact, this should become part of your routine post-sales process:
1. Ask and find out exactly why you did not win the business, and
2. Ask for a referral
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