Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Winning That Perfect Prospect

Stay in touch; you have what they need, they just don’t know it yet.

An interesting question: When do you stop calling a prospect? Well, it depends on the prospect. If, for example, you have done your homework and you know for sure that you have exactly what he wants, then the answer is never stop calling. Or perhaps don’t try to see him every single week. But you want to make sure that you have some sort of lead generation system where you will stay in touch. By the way, “touch” is the operative word here.

First of all, let’s get rid of those prospects that you are not getting anywhere with; in other words, they are not a good fit, so move on. Yes, they might buy from you some day but even if they do, their needs are just not in your wheel house. I would take things to the point where you ask them if they want to receive your newsletter on a regular basis or if they want you to reach out once in a great while, but as far as spending a great deal of time and energy trying to get them to buy something “once in a great while,” call it a day and stop wasting your valuable time.

Now for that prospect who is perfect— that company that uses exactly what it is your company sells. Never ever give up on those guys. Look, they are not going to make it easy for you. They are going to tell you that they have all of the suppliers they need and that those suppliers are doing a great job. They are going to tell you they don’t need another company that supplies what you supply. They are going to tell you that corporate is demanding that they cut their vendor base. They are going to tell you there is no budget or no time to develop another source. They are going to tell you all of those things…but if they use what you supply then just keep at it.

Now, I don’t mean making a complete pest of yourself. Nor do I mean bugging them to the point where they are ready to issue a restraining order on you, no—not at all, that is not what I mean. Remember that operative word, “touch.” The key now is to stay in touch with your perfect prospect so that you will only be a phone call or an email away if they need you.

Here are a number of ways to stay in touch with your perfect prospects on a regular basis without bugging or offending them: Get permission to send them your value-added newsletter…even if you don’t really have one in your company, make one. Develop a short, value-added newsletter that is filled with tips and tools and other information custom made for your perfect prospect. In fact, if you are that kind of a salesperson you will have a number of perfect prospects in your pipeline and you can send this personalized newsletter to all of them, thus staying in touch.

You can also stay in touch by sending that hard to know buyer something that is of particular interest for him or her. It can be business or personal appealing to something that pertains to her company or something that pertains to a hobby or interest he told you about.

Here’s a good idea that every salesperson and more importantly, every company should seriously consider: buying some promotional items that will keep you in front of the customer at all times. It can be something as simple as a really cool coffee mug with your company’s logo on it, or some kind of desk tool, a memo pad, or a pen or a clock—anything that has your company’s name and contact information on it. If it is cool as well as useful, the buyer will keep it on his desk instead of taking it home to his kids. Calendars are a great idea. Either a large twelve-month wall hanging calendar or one of those cool 90 days at a time calendars. You can even design your own custom made twelve-month calendar that is filled with your company’s information and dates.

And finally, the good old well-paced and well placed touch through a phone call or an email that just lets the perfect prospect know you are still out there waiting to provide him with the perfect solution to his exact needs.

These are all ways you can stay in touch with your perfect prospect by doing it the right way; providing her with something so useful it will always be a positive reminder of you and your company for that special day that finally happens, when one of her cherished suppliers screws up or goes out of business, or when they need to expand their database or better yet, when they are in trouble and need a favor fast…who are they going to call? You, that’s who. So my advice is to consistently, politely and repeatedly stay in touch. Its only common sense.