5 Questions You Need to Answer Before Getting a Prospect on the Phone by lisa

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5 Questions You Need to Answer Before Getting a Prospect on the Phone
by lisafugere

Has your prospect ever been in your database before?
Find out if your prospect has had any relationships with your business in the past. Have they ever been a prospect before? How far into the sales cycle did they get, and why didn?t the deal close? For example, you may have sold products to a prospect in the past, but you haven?t sold them anything in a while. Use this information to inform your sales strategy; if a prospect has bought from you in the past, they may still have similar needs.

Does your prospect know anyone within your organization?
Is your prospect connected to anyone you work with in any capacity, regardless of position? Uncovering a connection to a prospect can drastically speed up the sales cycle, and is much more likely to get a prospect to respond to a sales outreach than a cold call or generic email.

What needs can your products or services fulfill?
In which area of your prospect?s business will your products fit? How will prospects use them? Which employees within their organization will use them? What will be most attractive about your product to your prospect? An answer to any of these questions will guide your sales approach. It is more important to know what a prospect needs than it is to know what a prospect wants. As Henry Ford put it, ?If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.? You?re the expert. Go into a call knowing what their problems are, and tell them how you can solve them. Offering them what they want will only narrow their view of the possibilities.

How much can your prospect spend?
Sales aren?t usually black and white. If your prospect has a strict $100,000 budget and your product costs and unflagging $500,00, they?ll probably turn to your competitors. Find out how much they can stretch their budget, if at all, and work to create clever solutions for how your product can fit into that budget. For example, if your prospect needs to buy two solutions with the same budget, find a way to work with the other solution rather than giving up because the prospect can?t spend the entire budget on your products. In some cases, you can make a push for an upsell in the future.

What do you and your prospect have in common?
Find out anything you can about your prospect?s personal or professional life. Knowing that they?re a San Francisco Giant?s fan during the World Series opens a door for communication. If your prospect hires a new team member, you have a chance to reach out. If your products can help onboard that team member, you have an increased chance of selling more. Any chance you get to make a connection with your prospect could keep you top of mind and help you win their business.