Sales Prospecting Tips

Use these proven sales prospecting tips on how to prospect and create a constant flow of potential sales appointments.

On this page you'll find 3 great tips on prospecting techniques that sales professionals us everyday to keep their appointment diary packed with opportunity.

All 3 of the sales prospecting tips work with very little effort from you. Once you get them set up, or build them into your daily routine, the leads will come flying in.

If you only take away from this site one successful idea on how to prospect your visit here will have been profitable



Sales prospecting tips proven by
successful salespeople

Here are 3 easy to use sales prospecting techniques that my sales teams have found effective.

Give them a try, see if they work, and adapt them for your sales role or your small business sales team.

A regular supply of prospects that you can use to make sales appointments will get you in front of enough potential buyers to achieve your career, business, and personal goals.

So it is well worth investing in finding prospecting and appointment skills that work.



The OXO routine

The oxo method is a quick and easy sales prospecting tip. It's a way to keep picking up prospects throughout your day and make it a part of your routine.

Every time you do an appointment, knock on the doors either side.

...Get it, OXO. ..either side, simple..yes?

It can mean, for every appointment you attend, you're adding at least another two prospects to your potential sales appointment list.

This simple idea is great for those sales people, like me, that don't like spending a day door knocking and walking the streets to increase their prospect data base.

Just a few minutes after each sales appointment and you'll soon build a list of sales prospects.

Think about it, if you complete 4 sales appointments a day, and add 2 prospects after each one, that's 8 prospects a day being added to your list.

A 5 day week will give you 40 prospects a week, and a 4 week month means 160 new sales prospects. They soon add up. That's a simple and effective sales prospecting tip.



The Number 1 Sales Prospecting Tip

The number one sales prospecting tip that everyone can do.

The most under used source of high quality sales leads is referrals.

These are hot leads

They are hot because you have the name of someone that has recommended that you contact them. If you're not yet confident enough to ask for referrals, think about the benefits to you, and what you could gain.

If you think it's not a professional way to do business, change your viewpoint. Re-frame it now. It will make a big difference to your results and your income.

What's the benefit to the referrer?

There are benefits to your customers when they give you referrals from both up and down the supply chain.

If they refer their customers they are doing them a service. They are givng their customers an opportunity of a relationship with a company they use and trust.

By recommending you to their suppliers, your good service could have an indirect benefit on the service they receive from their suppliers.

Other benefits may include keeping transport costs down if you are delivering to more customers in the referring company's area.

Think about the benefits of referring prospects and present them to your customers. This is what sales prospecting tips is here for. Not just to give you ideas to use, but to show you something you can develop for your marketplace.





Employee lead scheme

Every employee should be selling for you

I honestly don't believe it. There are still companies out there that don't have a sales lead referral scheme.

A scheme that gives a small reward for any sales lead brought in by a member of staff that is turned into an order. Every member of staff should be encouraged to be a salesperson for the company.

Yes it can be abused

As a manager I've seen instances where sales people pass all there hot prospects to a colleague not in the sales team. They then put them through the scheme and falsely claim their reward.

Yes it requires managing

It cost man hours to implement. But for many industries it is a fantastic way to build, and add to, the sales prospect list.

This is a great sales prospecting tip

If your company doesn't have one, do it unofficailly. Encourage members of staff to tell you about places they have visited that could use the services you supply. Give them a reward if you make a sale. It's a win win situation.

Delivery drivers are a wonderfull source of leads

Yes they should do it for nothing but they don't. Motivate them. A successfull sales person, like you, can afford it. Give them a small percentage of your commission.

Print a league table of the top prospect collectors.

Recognise them.

Lets get competitive.

Why shouldn't non-sales staff have some fun for a change.

There may be tax implications. Don't let that put you off.

It's an excuse used by many managers that can't be bothered to set up a sales prospecting employee scheme.

There will be someone in your company that can manage the tax deductions. After all, somebody does it each month with the salaries.



What a way to show some initiative.

If you're a manager set up a scheme. Give it to someone to manage it. Workout the numbers, the time, and the cost. then look at the potential benefits.

Most managers start at the wrong end when they budget for a lead scheme. They look at the costs without working out how many leads it will generate, and the profit from the resulting orders. Manage it right and it pays for itself and makes a profit.

Proof of setting up a sales lead scheme also looks great in an interview for a new position. You can state the need you were trying to address. The actions you took. And the results you achieved as revenue you generated for the company. It shows initiative, planning, and management, capabilities.



Once you have your list of prospects

When you have used these techniques on how to prospect and built up your list, how do you turn them into sales appointments.

Working with sales teams in real sales situations I've developed an effective process to turn prospects into sales appointments.

You can now use that same sales appointment training that has been so successful for us.

The training comes in an easy to use workbook.

You follow a set of step by step exercises.

You will have your new sales appointment calls ready to use in your own words and phrases.

It will be unique to you and the product or service you sell.

And you can download the training and start using it today.






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