All customers are not created equal – 7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers
All customers are not created equal – 7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers
Show notes:
If you don’t like your customers, you only have one person to blame.
The topic of this podcast is not about customers – it is about the pre step – the prospect. Every customer was first a prospect.
Prospecting does not get enough attention – it is an essential activity for every business.
BUT not just an Activity – it is a Skill. Meaning: You can learn to do it better.
Prospecting needs both attention and intention.
You only have a limited amount of time in the day to do your work of selling – Don’t waste it on prospects that won’t turn into great customers.
How to Do Prospecting BETTER – 7 prospecting tips to create the best customers
- Every time you make a sale, you’ve just lost your best prospect
- Its hard to sell something if you don’t have a prospect to talk to
- Prospecting Every Day – always planting seeds
- Great Business friend: committed to “5 income producing calls each day”
The Goal for this podcast is this: The Golden Rule for Successful Selling is to spend more time with better prospects.
If YOU ARE a Business Owner, not just a salesperson – REMEMBER it is about better customers too.
Title: All customers are not created equal
7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers
Prospecting is planting seeds…
Before You START planting the seeds – know the soil
You, Your Business and the Book
LUKE 8:4- 8 The Parable of the Soil
Sometimes Called the Parable of the SOWER
So then the Sales Person is the sower
4 kinds of soil… only 25% of the seed took root and became a huge harvest
It says 100 times harvest. WOW!
NOT ALL SOIL IS GOOD SOIL. All Soil is not created equal. All Customers…same.
That’s what we are doing here – WE ARE EXAMINING THE SOIL
DON’T WASTE YOUR GOOD SEED ON BAD SOIL.
7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers
1. You have to understand your What it is you sell! Not just the features – THE BENEFITS.
- The curse of the familiar
- Spend some time with this – really thinking through.
- How awful would it be if you didn’t exist
- YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IT IS THE BEST – if not
2. Understand why your current customers buy
- Ask them
- What do you like – What Frustrates you about our work
- Ask the Key Question
3. Describe your ideal customer – THIS ONE IS BIG! Dream BIG!
My dream customer:
- I am serving them in a deep and meaningful way – my service is essential to their success! I am making an impact on them and their customers. THOSE KIND OF CUSTOMERS NEVER LEAVE YOU
- They are customers for a very long time. Decades – measured in. Now you’re talking lifetime value! What is a customer worth? Not just a one time sale – $500 a month – but 6K a year – ten years = 60K.
- They are in a stable industry – Restaurants are not a good client for us.
- They pay their bills on time – every month. It’s not what you invoice – Its what you collect! AR is essential
- They are NICE people. You like them. You welcome their call. They appreciate the work you do. Some Business people think IT IS THEIR JOB TO BEAT UP VENDORS…
- They are Profitable. Doing work for them is In Your “Area of Expertise” – your margins are high – – – You are charging them a High Price – and they are totally OK with it.
- They are happy to refer you – or give you a testimonial any time.
4. Focus on Customer Segments –
- This is owning whole industries in your market
- In my neighborhood – Hendry Creek – access to the Gulf of Mexico. Realtor called – waterfront/authority.com
- For us We Specialize in Hospitality – Country Clubs
- Learn the language and the Hot buttons for that industry
5. Differentiate Your Business
- How is your business different?
- Never apples to apples ALWAYS apples to oranges.
- We defy comparison
- Innovation: Where is the untapped Secret of my business
6. What must your prospect BELIEVE – if they are going to buy from you?
- Selling is more than 80% emotional reasons – then Logic
- Tap into the emotions of their beliefs
- Customer Experience is important
7. NOW…focus your energy on your best prospects…
- You’ve done all this work – NOW use it
- Before you invest yourself in planting a SEED – examine the soil.
