In order to increase the sales of your business, the main thing you need is to have people to whom you can offer and sell your product. In other words, you need to learn how to prospect and in this article I will tell you how to do it almost effortlessly.
Basic steps to prospecting and obtaining effective results
You have just arrived at a party; in the distance you observe a group of people that you know, but most of them are people that you have never seen before, here you have an excellent opportunity to get more clients. By following these simple steps, you will master the art of prospecting in a short time.
1.- Meet new people
People in this social circle are more interested in telling you about their jobs than yours, take advantage of this to learn more about them, and show interest in what they say.
At this point do not start talking about yourself, much less about your brand. Focus your efforts on identifying what your potential clients' concerns are and how you can help them.
2.- Ask questions and listen
At the beginning of the conversation, you have to keep focused on staying in the conversation, asking questions about the topic that is being generated and having an active listening you will be able to achieve it. This is not engaging in the conversation; once you have broken the ice, go deeper into the topic by asking the right questions at the right time.
"Each of the questions you ask should be an invitation to continue the conversation".
3.- Don't talk so much
At some point in the conversation, people will ask you what do you do for a living and you will have to answer. But remember not to talk so much, because it is not time to sell yet.
Reaching this point is a great success, you have already got people interested in you, however, there is a fine line between keeping people interested and losing their attention completely. Be careful when you are at this step. You should be able to catch their attention so that they want to know more, but it is not the time to give them all the information yet.
4.- Business cards
It is recommended that you always carry business cards with you, believe it or not, it is still a very effective strategy when it comes to prospecting. So, when you finish explaining what you do and if a conversation is generated around the topic, you can schedule an appointment in a cafe to continue the conversation.
5.- The 48-hour rule
Remember after you have given them your card and they have given you theirs, you only have 48 hours to contact those people, otherwise you run the risk of them forgetting about your conversation.
Finally, keep in mind that you are not yet selling your product, only a meeting with you.
And to not forget any meeting with a potential customer, use digital tools to help you with this task, for example Upnify's smart planner!
Por Patricio Peker
Author of the Amazon Best Seller, The Salesman with the Golden Eggs: The Step-by-Step Sales Guide. Trainer of Salespeople and Negotiators in numerous companies in America and Spain.