Prospecting in Your Business?

Tammy Stanley was another dynamic speaker at Thirty One‘s National Conference on Super Thursday.  Is your prospecting or lack of prospecting keeping you from being a success in your business?  When you think of prospecting for your business what is your FIRST thought?  Mine was actually mining for gold – I know not necessarily business related but it did bring back great memories of family trips to Knotts Berry Farm in California. As for business prospects they are people that I have met who may have stopped at my vendor table, bought an item ONCE or were introduced by a friend to me.  I may not know these personally, I may not remember details about them – unless I was good at making notes (okay, once in awhile I surprise myself) but they were interested enough in my business to fill out a customer care card.  BINGO!  We have something in common – it may be remote but it is in common and NOW it is time to pick up the phone.

I know – the “DIRTY” word – PHONE.  What is stopping you from picking up the phone?  Have you never followed up with them and feel like it is too late?  The biggest reason is FEAR of rejection.  I mean really who likes to be rejected.  Even if you don’t know a person if they reject you, you may feel bad for a moment.  How do you plan on growing your business if you don’t prospect?  Prospecting and follow-up is the key to increased business.  So, here are some tips that Tammy shared:

• Don’t wing it – script it.  Then PRACTICE the script so you are comfortable with it.  The script should be no more than 90 seconds.  That doesn’t mean speed read but be short, concise and to the point about why you are calling them.
• If you haven’t called a prospect in over a year, call them first to practice on.  Make your mistakes with people you were planning on writing off anyway or never expected to be successful with for sales or a party.
• Ask your customers “Did I catch you at a bad time”?  How often do we say “Is this a good time to talk” and their first response is NO.  By changing the question slightly – you may get a different response.  Prospects will always be busy.  It shows that you care and value their time if you are asking them if it is a bad time for them.
• DON”T ask your prospects “How are you doing?”  People will share with anyone who will listen so make sure you get in what you want to say FIRST, then ask.
• Begin with the real reason you are calling – “We are having a GREAT special this month and thought of you”.
• Never tell prospects/customers that you “want a few minutes of their time”.  WRONG!  I never have a few minutes so use attention grabbing and highly persuasive words like: preferred, qualify, entitled.  Your customers are more likely to do things for you if you are willing to do something for them.
• BECAUSE and FREE are powerful words. Because is a magic word that influences behavior.  People will take “buy one get one FREE” before they take “50% off”.

So, who is ready to start prospecting?  Pick up the phone with your script in hand.  Make a difference in someone’s life regardless of whether or not they take you up on your offer.  Remember to always ask for the order by persuading them in your script that they want to grab the deal before it goes away.

What are your best prospecting tips?  We would love to hear them.  Post them below for all to see.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.