SALES - Finding the Right Prospects

SALES

Finding the Right Prospects


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting  July 2009.

As much as you need to have a really intimate knowledge of your product/service, so to do you need to know who your prospect and/or target market is.

Many small business owners like to think that their particular product and/or service is something that every single person on the planet has to have!  Well as much as that may be true in a Utopian world and as much as they would like to think that, the reality of the situation is that that is simply not true for a number of reasons.

There are those that will not see the value of what it is that you are offering, those who just cannot afford what you are offering, those that are just not in the right demographics to know what you are offering  and of course those who have no clue what you are offering.

Then from your side, you have to actually understand who it is that you need to target.

Think about sitting in a restaurant – the place is packed, waitrons are rushing around trying to get everyone fed and watered.  Some people are upset because they have been given the wrong food or it has not been cooked to their specifications, others are tired of waiting and are ready to walk out – on the other hand there are those who have really enjoyed their meals or are enjoying their meals.  Some have finished and are leaving, others are arriving.  Some are young, some are middle aged, some are grannies and grandpas.  Some are European, some are oriental, some are from right here in South Africa, some are from other countries.  Some come from rich homes and others from poor homes, some are male and some are female.  Do you get the picture yet?

You see, even though the restaurant’s target market are ‘hungry people’ there are different kinds of hungry people.  People who have different tastes and have different expectations.  Some who want fish and others who want meat or chicken and then of course those that only eat vegetables.  The chef has to understand all these different variables and ensure that he can accommodate all the different taste buds.  The restaurant manager has to make sure that his/her waitrons are properly trained and that they can handle the pressure of serving difficult clients as there are patrons that enjoy being fussed over and others that don’t, but still want good service. There are diners that want ice in their drinks and others that don’t and still some that want a single ice cube or two – the waitrons have to remember all of this, get the orders right and delivered on time to the correct person and so on.

Understand a little better now?

So, make a list of who your target market is, then for each target market that you have listed, draw down and make a list of all the sub-groups.

Once you have identified all of your sub-groups, make a list of the best prospect or the person that you would most like to deal with and why you would like to deal with them.  Once you have done that, make a list and select the top three things that your product/service has that would win them over and another list and select the top three problems that they may encounter that you would then be able to resolve. Don’t try and fix things that you have no control over – focus on what you can fix.

The list with the things about the product that would win them over becomes the focus of what you sell to your target market and the list of problems will ensure that you are ready to respond to any problems that you may encounter.

Do you see how you have narrowed your prospects down?  If you have followed these suggestions, in all probability you have found the target market that is most right for you.

Now all you need to do is get selling – and remember, always have fun!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za