Finding new customers must become a conscious, yet automatic skill to assure that you’ve always got a pipeline of new business coming in. Those of us in sales are unemployed if we don’t have someone buying from us. How we prospect will determine how much money we make and how much we enjoy what we are doing.
So HOW does one prospect? And WHEN does one prospect? In a simple phrase…All Ways and Always! Prospecting can mean reading labels on your favorite foods and products to determine where the company is headquartered. It can mean speeding up to read the address on the door of the eighteen-wheeler with the interesting product graphics on its trailer. It means keeping your eyes wide open and being constantly curious.
The number one top secret of prospecting however is a simple one. Have a plan. Whether you’re going hunting, fishing, looking for a date or trying to find your next great client, the rules are the same. You need to have a plan and work the plan and not get distracted or tempted away from your plan. A hunter going after big game who starts shooting at rabbits and squirrels is not going to have much luck bringing home a trophy buck. The bass fisherman who puts a bobber on the line and a worm on the hook may catch a few pan fish but isn’t coming home with a lunker.
- Know what you’re looking for? What kinds of clients make your day? Who do you love working with? Profile your current clients by their demographics — age, gender, interests and values. This is a relationship business. Know what your great relationships look like and look for more just like them.
- Know what you’re not looking for! What types of people do you hate to be around? Why would you want them for customers? Don’t waste your time chasing a big budget account that would make your life miserable. If you’ve been burned by people who don’t respect the value you bring, who don’t value your ideas, who don’t share the same core values that you do — run away from them!
- What do you love to do? What do you love to talk about? What are you passionate about? If you love - Love – LOVE golf, why not track down the names and contacts of your favorite equipment manufacturer, accessory supplier or resort course? Your passion will shine through in every communication that you have with them. Too far away, you say. Why not position yourself as the expert from afar? Doesn’t it drive you crazy when your local client is buying from somebody from 150, 300 miles away or more? If you love a business and want to make them your client – GO FOR IT. Make them one of your BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals in the words of “Good to Great” author Jim Collins).
Create your plan and work it. Figure out what the ideal clients look like, so you’ll know them when you see them. Find people that you love to be around, and your work won’t seem like work and you’ll be amazed by the opportunities that come your way. Get clear on whom you don’t want to work with as well. Much ado has been made in business about having a “to-do” list. I’ve learned that it is as important to have a “stop doing” list. And in that vein, become clear about the people that waste your time, steal your ideas or worse steal your soul. There are energy suckers out there and some of them control some pretty tempting budgets. Don’t make a deal with the devil. Save your health, your wealth, and your identity by making a conscious decision to focus your efforts where you can make a difference and your clients will value the value you bring. Pick your clients like you pick your stocks. Give yourself the opportunity to live out your values and your mission with companies that share those values and your passions. You’ll be happier, make more money and be healthier.
The promotional products business gives you the opportunity to make new friends every day. You can do something different every day. You can solve problems, exercise your creativity, help your clients become more innovative and make a difference in the lives of your co-workers, your suppliers, your clients and their employees or their customers. You get to have an impact. You can live a life of meaning and create meaning for those you touch. Grasp your higher calling and recognize the gift that you have. Then go out and find people to share that gift called YOU with. When you do that, you are no longer a product salesperson. You are a person of value who is creating value by living out your values. And that – THAT – is the secret of prospecting.
Paul Kiewiet MAS+ is an industry speaker, writer, consultant and coach. He serves as the executive director of MiPPA. Kiewiet was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame and the MiPPA Hall of Fame. He served as Chairman of PPAI in 2007. A former distributor, he founded Promotion Concepts, Inc in 1982 and worked with some of America’s most valuable brands including Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, and Whirlpool.