All customers are not created equal – 7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers

All customers are not created equal – 7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers

Show notes:

If you don’t like your customers, you only have one person to blame.

The topic of this podcast is not about customers – it is about the pre step – the prospect.  Every customer was first a prospect.

Prospecting does not get enough attention – it is an essential activity for every business.

BUT not just an Activity – it is a Skill.  Meaning: You can learn to do it better.

Prospecting needs both attention and intention.

You only have a limited amount of time in the day to do your work of selling – Don’t waste it on prospects that won’t turn into great customers.

How to Do Prospecting BETTER – 7 prospecting tips to create the best customers

• Every time you make a sale, you’ve just lost your best prospect


• Its hard to sell something if you don’t have a prospect to talk to
  
  
  
  • Prospecting Every Day – always planting seeds
  
  
  • Great Business friend:  committed to “5 income producing calls each day”
  
  
  
  

The Goal for this podcast is this:  The Golden Rule for Successful Selling is to spend more time with better prospects.

If YOU ARE a Business Owner, not just a salesperson – REMEMBER it is about better customers too.

Title:  All customers are not created equal

7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers

Prospecting is planting seeds…

Before You START planting the seeds – know the soil

You, Your Business and the Book

LUKE 8:4- 8  The Parable of the Soil

Sometimes Called the Parable of the SOWER

So then the Sales Person is the sower

4 kinds of soil… only 25% of the seed took root and became a huge harvest

It says 100 times harvest.  WOW!

NOT ALL SOIL IS GOOD SOIL.  All Soil is not created equal.  All Customers…same.

That’s what we are doing here – WE ARE EXAMINING THE SOIL

DON’T WASTE YOUR GOOD SEED ON BAD SOIL.

7 Prospecting Tips to Create The Best Customers

1. You have to understand your What it is you sell!  Not just the features – THE BENEFITS.

• The curse of the familiar


• Spend some time with this – really thinking through.


• How awful would it be if you didn’t exist


• YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IT IS THE BEST – if not

2. Understand why your current customers buy

• Ask them


• What do you like – What Frustrates you about our work


• Ask the Key Question

3. Describe your ideal customer – THIS ONE IS BIG!  Dream BIG!

My dream customer:

• I am serving them in a deep and meaningful way – my service is essential to their success!  I am making an impact on them and their customers.  THOSE KIND OF CUSTOMERS NEVER LEAVE YOU


• They are customers for a very long time.  Decades – measured in.  Now you’re talking lifetime value! What is a customer worth?  Not just a one time sale – $500 a month – but 6K a year – ten years = 60K.


• They are in a stable industry – Restaurants are not a good client for us.


• They pay their bills on time – every month.  It’s not what you invoice – Its what you collect!  AR is essential


• They are NICE people.  You like them.  You welcome their call.  They appreciate the work you do.  Some Business people think IT IS THEIR JOB TO BEAT UP VENDORS…


• They are Profitable.  Doing work for them is In Your “Area of Expertise” – your margins are high – – – You are charging them a High Price – and they are totally OK with it.


• They are happy to refer you – or give you a testimonial any time.

4. Focus on Customer Segments –

• This is owning whole industries in your market


• In my neighborhood – Hendry Creek – access to the Gulf of Mexico.  Realtor called – waterfront/authority.com


• For us We Specialize in Hospitality – Country Clubs


• Learn the language and the Hot buttons for that industry

5. Differentiate Your Business

• How is your business different?


• Never apples to apples ALWAYS apples to oranges.


• We defy comparison


• Innovation:  Where is the untapped Secret of my business

6.  What must your prospect BELIEVE – if they are going to buy from you?

• Selling is more than 80% emotional reasons – then Logic


• Tap into the emotions of their beliefs


• Customer Experience is important

7. NOW…focus your energy on your best prospects…

• You’ve done all this work – NOW use it


• Before you invest yourself in planting a SEED – examine the soil.