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FINDING NEW PROSPECTS WITH ACTIVE SALES EFFORTSYou cannot guarantee how many new sales you will close this year. But, you also cannot practice your sales closing techniques until you have a new prospect. Active marketing and sales efforts could make a difference.
Advertising and luck are examples of a couple of activities that fall into the passive category of marketing and sales.
Of course, you need great advertising, and luck is a necessity.
I'm only saying that they are passive.
Much like fishing luers, we throw them into the pond and wait to see what happens.
Maximize your opportunities by including active efforts in your marketing plan. So grab your bow and arrow, and let's go hunting! Active sales efforts should work along side of passive activities in your marketing plans:Sales does involve taking orders and problem solving, but it is not customer service. There is a good reason why sales and customer service have different names.When was the last time that you asked a customer for a referral? How about making cold calls? How many of us are not happy with our total sales, yet do not consider alternative efforts to find new customers? Sit down and list all of your current active (not passive) marketing activities to find new prospects. Then think of every additional active sales effort that you can possibly imagine, and include them in your list. You are in total control of your active sales efforts, but not the results. So, let's first work on what we can control. Next to your list, write down an achievable weekly schedule. How many cold calls, referrals, networking events, and so on, will you commit to accomplish every week? Months quickly and easily pass without making even one active effort: active sales efforts are very demanding. They are one reason why sales is a difficult job. In fact, sales is so challenging that the highest 10% of salespeople in the manufacturing sector made over $114,000 per year according to a 2006 report by the US Department of Labor (opens a new window). That's one out of ten salespeople! Really good salespeople can make $300,000 in a year. There is no limit. It's easier to wait for an interested prospect to call, and then take their order. That's why I've never met a customer service person who made $114,000 a year. I'm not putting down great advertising and great customer service. They are a necessity, a joy to have, and can make or break your business. Even though they are very important and visible, they are not always all of the story. So then, after we are making a consistent effort, how do we start optimizing what we cannot control? Keep that list and every week write down what you actually accomplished. Then, start to record the effectiveness and results of your efforts. Once you get used to this habit, start to make notes on what's working and what's not. Brainstorm ways to improve the effectiveness of your efforts. Find ways to reinvent efforts that aren't working. Drop efforts that just won't work. Replace those with new efforts to try as you move forward. This might be the beginning of improvements. |
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Questions or comments? Please Contact Me. Copyright © 1999 - 2007 Robert Winton all rights reserved. | |||