8 Tips On How To Improve Your Prospecting

What is prospecting? In my opinion it’s the strategies and tactics you implement to attract and find

your prospects. Effective prospecting is a key success factor for everyone in sales. However, it’s often

ignored and neglected, resulting in inconsistent and unpredictable sales income.

Follow these eight tips to help you improve the effectiveness of your marketing.

1. Put prospecting at the top of your list of daily things to do.
Prospecting is an ongoing daily activity you must set aside time everyday to work on your prospecting

strategies and tactics. A steady flow of prospects is a sure way to boost your sales and earn more

money.

2. Set prospecting goals - How many new prospects do you want to attract or find in a week or a

month? Setting goals and making deadlines to accomplish them will force you to take daily proactive

actions to achieve them.

3. Develop a prospect profile.
In order to be very effective at attracting and finding new leads you must know what type of prospect

you are looking for. A detailed description of your ideal prospect will prevent you from wasting time

and effort on unqualified prospects. And help you attract people who are most likely to become your

clients.

4. Implement your prospecting plan or system
Unorganized, haphazard prospecting will waste your valuable time. To make the most of your time

and leverage your efforts you should develop a prospecting plan. By the way, there’s a lot more to a

prospecting plan than a few phone calls once in a while. It’s best to include 8-10 prospecting tactics

in your plan.

5. Get a prospecting database.
Writing leads down on pieces of paper like post-it notes will not give you your best results. Every sales person should be using contact management software like ACT or Maximizer. This will help you stay organized and make following up easy and efficient.

6. Communicate regularly with your current or past clients.
Your current clients are your best source for new prospects in the form of referrals. Regular marketing communications with your client base develops relationships and greatly increases your opportunities to generate referrals. Provide your current client base with incentives to encourage them to give you referrals.

7. Stay in touch with people who fit your prospect profile.
Research indicates that most sales are made after 6 contacts with a prospect, but most sales people

give up after 1-2 contacts. Follow up and stay in touch via phone calls, emails, in person or

newsletters. Frequent repetitive contacts will move your prospects closer to becoming your clients

and keep your name “Top of Mind”

8. Become a better marketer
This means you will have to continually look for ways to improve your prospecting plan. Read books, industry newsletters and journals. Listen to tapes and CDs on marketing, watch videos. If this sounds like too much work for you, hire a marketing coach like me to help you find new, fresh ideas to attract and find qualified prospects. The bottom line is “the more you learn , the more you will earn”