Prospecting Against the Clock

For managers, sales representatives used to short sales cycles, and organizational engineers in charge of making detailed long-term decisions, the decision process can be compared to a working day: let's call it the prospecting hourglass.

In this race against time, researchers identify each phase in the purchasing process and adopt the appropriate strategy. They have to juggle roles as diverse as that of doctor, consultant, strategist, negotiator or even trainer. They can influence the contacts they make. They must be careful not to overstep the boundaries or make a slip that destroys the relationship and erases all the efforts on which it was built. They might be the first to arrive or may come in a little later. Their duty is to fit in.

On your marks! Get set! Let's prospect!

We have identified five key phases for each stage of prospecting. These should be strictly followed.

• 1- What the potential client says or thinks
• 2- The most useful influence factor at that moment
• 3- The role of the sales person
• 4- An appropriate sales plan
• 5- Some advice on what we should do and what we should avoid

It's 8am: there are no needs at all

At this time of the morning there is a total mismatch between the sales person and the potential client. While the sales person is intent on selling to his or her targets, the client is very satisfied with the current supplier and doesn't see a need to disturb the status quo. This satisfaction creates an equilibrium, hence there are no needs.
However, the champions of prospecting consider early arrival to be an unquestionable advantage in discovering a possible buyer and creating the framework for a relationship.

What the client says or thinks: Why change?

"I don't need anything."
This simple phrase sums up the situation. The potential client perceives an equilibrium between past needs and the chosen supplier's solution. What sales person hasn't felt torn apart by this phrase? It's like trying to sell a new fridge to a family of Eskimos. Some do succeed, however, where others have failed.

• "Is it worth going ahead with this problem?"

This question reveals a different state of mind. Buying is a difficult process. This time the potential client's true motivation is to minimize their efforts. Of course the solution put in place back then isn't perfect, but change insists that you go back to square one of the consultation process, not to mention all the consequences within the company.

For example, when manufacturer Intel launched its Pentium processor, more than 65% of French companies still used 386 processors - obsolete technology already outdated by 486 processors. The market coexists happily with its problems.

• "Change? What do we stand to gain from it?"

Some sales people have confessed that they came up against opposition, even though they offered a better and sometimes cheaper solution than the established competitor. In spite of appearances, it's a very hard sale. For example, the deregulation of the telecommunications market hasn't always led the former monopoly holder to lose some of its market share, as some had predicted. Sure enough, too often in such cases a change of supplier can be seen as the confirmation of failure. Changing nothing seems to be the sensible solution, since that way you don't risk eventually revealing an error from the past. It's also the easiest solution if you want to avoid taking sole responsibility for a failure with the new supplier.

• "How much does it cost?"

When a potential client asks prices right out of the starting gates, they're trying to save time either because they know what they want to buy and from whom, or they just want to check that they made the right purchase. In both cases, the individual buyer is trying to reassure himself of his choice and isn't ready to listen or enter into discussions. He won't show his hand: he'll list facts and give general information, but try not to enter into the possibility of a new purchase process. That is unless he asks the following questions:

• "What if nothing changes?"

When faced with a question like this we must stop and think. If the potential client asks himself this, then we can be sure we're on the right track from the outset. It's really the customer himself who doesn't mind breaking the status quo. A good sales person is one who can bring the customer to ask himself this.

At 8am the customer isn't aware of his needs and isn't responsive to a proposal. He's already made the choice between needs and the ease of not changing anything. However, he's prepared to talk and, at the very least, wants to reassure himself that he made the right choice: Was it a good buy? Is the solution he chose back then still the best value or the most appropriate? Is the current supplier still better than its competitors? He's with us to make sure.

For many sales representatives, winning the potential client's trust is the true priority, since this is an extremely delicate phase which calls for business flair and social skills to win trust and begin building your relationship.

If we start up a dialogue and the right atmosphere is established with the client, we might think the hardest part of the job is already done. But we still have to be sure the customer is willing to act and follow-up with our involvement. So at 8am we find four types of customers, each of which demands a particular relationship strategy.

• Indifferent: no dialogue, no action
• Vindictive: no dialogue, but does take action
• Uncertain: dialogue, but no action
• Open: dialogue and action.

Indifferent
Doesn't need anything and doesn't react to our questions. Gives little away and simply lets you know he's satisfied with the current situation. It isn't worth wasting our time with a potential buyer of this type unless we're very patient or there is huge potential. The only thing we can do is ask if they are interested in receiving regular information about new products (mail, phone) and to specify areas that may be of interest. Another technique is to get him to speak in detail first about the current situation and all the reasons he's happy with it. These matters sometimes open up a dialogue when the apparent indifference was in fact merely a defensive strategy.

Vindictive
This type of customer is the sales person's worst nightmare. No welcome is offered and the discussion consists of a string of accusations and grievances from the past. This is often the behavior of a former customer that followed through on his threat of switching to a competitor. Or it could be someone very sure of himself and of his choice, who meets us to explain why his choice is better than our solution. This type of customer has a bone to pick. Often the best way to put an uncooperative relationship behind you is to set up a new one that plays out well. The ability to manage conflictive situations is very useful for bringing the relationship back on track. The practice of "getting it off his chest" where the customer expresses all his bitterness and we reformulate his observations in a positive way ("I understand you" or "I would've done the same in your situation"), is aimed exclusively at establishing dialogue. For the potential client this is also a means to put the sales person to the test. Too many potential buyers and clients complain of only seeing the sales person when there are deals to be closed, and complain that their calls go unanswered when there are problems or sensitive situations to resolve. The sales person who knows how to stand up to the hesitant potential client's ‘attacks' sets himself apart from the competition by managing to set up a dialogue.

Uncertain
Unwittingly, this is the darling of the sales person: there's good dialogue. Everything has been discussed: the company, potential needs. The relationship seems warm and tolerant. It's so nice to have a welcoming potential client, particularly if the previous meeting was with an indifferent one! The sales person's enthusiasm reaches its peak and this type of meeting always ends with an encouraging "make us an offer, you never know..." But there was too much focus on creating the right atmosphere and the sales person sometimes forgets to select the right contacts. This type of potential client can raise many hopes but in fact wastes time. Every time the sales person comes back to the proposal they're told nothing has changed and our hopes are dashed. That's why it's a good idea to propose only an outline plan of action for the next stage, with the sole aim of making further contacts or meeting the real decision-maker. This type of strategy allows us to unmask the "false decision-maker/account handler," or reveal some of the objections that then need to be discussed. ("What's making him uncertain?")

The most useful influence factors: liking
At this stage the quality of the relationship is crucial, as the client still hasn't managed to express his needs. In fact the potential client is looking for someone able to listen to him, understand him and help him to evaluate his particular situation.

The priority is to build the relationship, to establish dialogue with the contacts that have agreed to meet us. If a person seems friendly, we're inclined to discuss, listen, and eventually place our trust in him. How do we generate this liking?

Beyond the obvious like arriving on time with a smile, so many companies or sales reps work on this critical moment when we make contact. The priority is to get the possible client to first like us and later trust us. A certain number of factors generate liking:

• Physical appearance
• Similarity
• Evaluation
• The customer is always right

Physical appearance
Research has shown that we tend to attribute qualities like talent, kindness, honesty and intelligence to individuals with a harmonious physique. What's more, we make this judgment without realizing just how much physical appearance influences us.

Using this as a starting point, the advertising industry drew up its golden rule that even the smallest detail is important in evaluating the product.

While the saying goes ‘you can't judge a book by its cover,' we are still quick to judge others by their appearance. Certain companies have taken this reasoning to extremes to reinforce its brand image. At Disney, there is no such concept as recruitment but rather ‘casting'. Also not leaving anything to chance is Xerox France, whose ‘uniform' (blue or grey suit and white shirt) was once considered de rigeur. Now, though, new sales recruits are given image courses to determine which colors and styles of dress are most flattering depending on their complexion - they acknowledge that it's difficult for students who've spent most of their lives in jeans and T-shirts to suddenly take on a professional look. Politicians and directors regularly do likewise. Without wishing to be seen as extremists, let's ask ourselves: what head of marketing would refuse to recruit Miss Universe?

At the same time, though, it's a good idea to meet expectations of what our appearance should be. There are dress codes and norms in every profession: if we're prospecting to farmers and we're selling tractors, then a suit is a must - you're there to sell an investment that is trustworthy and long-lasting. But this same suit wouldn't be suitable for selling fertilizers, and you should go out with the farmer into the fields. Some stereotypes make life difficult: a banker is expected to wear a sober suit and someone in a creative profession (advertising, architecture etc.) to wear designer clothes.

Similarity
We like what seems similar to us. Similarity is manifested in opinions, personality, the environment, or in lifestyle. A large company that did a survey to understand the key factors of the success of the best sales made over the last several years came to this worrying conclusion. When major commercial successes were achieved, the buyer and the sales person had found they had something very strong in common: passion for a sport, political or religious convictions, cultural affinities, closeness of geographical origins, etc. Therefore, beyond all prospecting techniques, an obsession of the market researcher should be to quickly find common ground with his contacts to facilitate their relationship and gain the customer's trust.

Some are pretty obvious. We walk into a biker's office and see a helmet and leather jacket. As we're bikers we've already found our topic of conversation. It's essential not to lie or snoop. You have to really be crazy about bikes.

Others can be drawn out. For example, one technique is to surprise our contacts at the first meeting, by giving away some personal details: for example our career, where we're from, our hobbies, etc. If we give four or five pieces of information about ourselves that are different and out of the ordinary, we're putting out feelers in hopes of finding common ground with the contact. In the same way, when we give a presentation on our own company, we must first highlight similarities with the customer's: we're from the same region, we're the same size, etc., differences give rise to fear while similarity attracts.

Later on, all opportunities are good and the circumstances will be more relaxed, as VIP outings or lunches are excellent opportunities to search for this common ground.

Think global, act local! This strategy, the initiative of large multinationals, sums up the importance of all these aspects. Cultural similarity is essential and involves melting into the economic fabric to achieve greater efficiency. A few specific terms (professional slang), vocabulary on the same level, tailored to each individual, or accent, are other points in common that should be developed.

Here are some question we should ask ourselves to help cultivate similarity.

• - What do we know about the sector of the potential client? (leaders, key figures, news, etc.)

• - Do we know any specific key words used in the profession?
• - What do we know about the company and how do we present our own in a similar light?
• - What makes our clients tick? (values, leisure activities)
• - What do we have in common?

 
This research on similarity is ultimately a sign of true respect for this unknown potential buyer; even before we've met him, we're seeking to build a good relationship with him. So much comes between us as individuals, and our aim is to break down these barriers. Let's observe, for example how certain people need to be very close to others to communicate, while others keep their distance. Respect for the other means not judging them immediately (He's too close - what does he want from me? / He's very far away, he must be cold), but adapting to him at that moment, respecting their way of doing things. NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) talks about synchronizing gestures when we first try to adapt to others instead of judging them.

In the same way, we should be careful with the way we express ourselves to a potential client, because the flow of conversation and choice of words is important. We've all felt irritated at some time by someone that speaks slowly and carefully if we ourselves speak quickly and with wild gesticulations.

This irritation translates into a perceived difference and becomes an obstacle to good communication. It's the sales person's job to adapt to the potential client and not the other way around. If we adapt our language, our body language and our rate of speech to that of our customer, we will make them perceive similarity.