prospecting guide
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Te Miller HeimanProspecting GuideBest Practices for Maximizing New Business Development
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How oten do you spend time prospecting or new business opportunities?
Consistent prospecting is vital to a sales proessionals success and the success o the whole sales
organization. I youre not paying proper attention to the sales that need to be closed, the sales that need
urther development, and the new opportunities available to be plucked rom the universe, your unnels
health will decline and youll never make your quota.
The most successul sales proessionals are those who are really efcient at prospecting. All activities
within the sales process are important, but to reduce how low you go into the valleys o your sales cycle,
prospecting must be a top priority - right behind closing business. You cant leave it on the back burner.
Good prospecting techniques can impact your number o qualifed leads and directly translate into increased
revenue and a higher commission check. Because its such a crucial part o the sales process, how do you
make sure you are identiying those prospects that will produce a win or both your organizations?
Weve compiled resources that address this challenge to help you master the techniques that will maximize
your prospecting eor ts. This guide presents a number o articles that will help you improve your prospecting
skills and achieve top-perormer status.
Time is valuable your clients and your own. You dont want to waste it chasing opportunities that have
no real chance o closing. Read on to learn how you can identiy ideal prospects, manage your time more
efciently, and expand your prospecting universe.
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Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Calls ....................................... 2
What is a Valid Business Reason
Its About Solutions
Mastering Proper Prospecting Timing ...........................................2
Time Zones
Time Courtesy
Time Expectations
The Right Timing
Maximizing Your Time by Deining Your Ideal Customer ...............4Selling the Cultural Similarities Between YourProspects Company and Your Own
Theres No Such Thing as a Perect Fit
Find Hidden Revenue by Cross-Selling and Up-Selling ................5
What is Cross-Selling & Up-Selling?
The Best Time to Cross-Sell/Up-Sell?
Can I Reactive Dormant Accounts?
Social Networking Etiquette: Finessing One o the
21st Centurys Most Powerul Tools or Prospecting ..................... 6Social Networking 101
Finessing Your Network or Prospecting
Securing Time with Key Decision Makers .....................................9
What Research Tells Us
Whats a Howdy Call?
Crating a Valid Business Reason
Design Your Marketing Vehicle
Market Targeting
Hypothesizing
Having a Framework or Discussion
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2 2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272
Three Ways to ImproveYour Sales Calls
Youve got a hot prospect. You need a ace-to-ace
opportunity to sell your product and services. So you
stop by, without an appointment, hoping to make it past
the receptionist and catch the decision maker in a rare
unscheduled moment. I was in the vicinity, and thought Id
just stop by to say hello. Well, at least you tried.
O course, there is a place or pleasantries and the social
aspects o business, but lets not conuse those with a sales
call. Many salespeople ocus on their own comort area, on
social calls and lunch dates or the product pitch. And as a
result, the sales process never gets o the ground.
Beore you try to call someone or meet with them in person,
you must ask yoursel one question: What is the reason
this person should be speaking or meeting with me?
The answer to this question should be the reason a potential
buyer will spend time on the phone or in person with you
your Valid Business Reason. Most importantly, the answer
should highlight the value provided to the customer or
engaging in conversation with you.
Having a Valid Business Reason or every sales call,
whether in person or on the phone, is the considerate
way o doing business. It tells buyers, no matter how long
youve known them, that youve given some thought to their
current challenges and that youre looking or solutions that
are valid to them.
What is a Valid Business Reason?
1. Its Valid: Its all about the customer. Valid to customers
means its worth making time to hear about how you can
help solve a problem that keeps them up at night.
2. Its Business: Research shows that many sales calls
are too general and unocused to be useul to buyers or
sellers. Do your homework and manage your selling time.
Understand their business. What are their challenges?
What are they trying to fx, accomplish or avoid?
3. Its a Good Reason: Not your reason - the customers
reason. Be prepared to explain why taking time out o a
busy schedule or you rather than spending it on other
priorities will beneft them in the long run. Tell the customer
what youd like to meet about and why you think this could
be o value.
Its About Solutions
How can your solution help what they want to fx, accomplish
or avoid? Doing your homework will allow you to be more
specifc. The more accurate and detailed you can be, the
more concise your message will be. Remember it has to
be quick and to the point so it can be let on a voice mail or
with a receptionist. It must always be rom the customers
point o view.
By defning your Valid Business Reason, youll improve your
ability to get ace time dramatically.
Timing is crucial in all parts o the sales process, but it is
most vital when prospecting when a sound understanding
o how its executed can aect your chances or developing
prospects into opportunities.
Plenty o questions arise in sales representatives day-to-day prospecting eorts, too.
Consider the ollowing to build a check list or mastering
the oten glossed-over basics o timing in prospecting.
The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide
Mastering ProperProspecting Timing
Questions that Surace in aGiven Sales Process:
Howlongdoesitusuallytaketodevelopa
prospect into a well-qualifed lead?
Howlongshouldthetypicalsalesprocess
take?
Whenisagoodtimetoapproacha
prospect with a proposal or your solution?
Ismysellingprocessinstepwiththeir
buying process?
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3 2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272
Time Zones
Eective prospecting requires research and discovery
to determine whether the candidate could be eventually
developed into an actual customer. When identiying initial
company contacts, be certain to note their geography.
General research may turn up important specifcs on a
companys oerings, mission, and employee build-up. But
neglecting to identiy such a crucial piece o inormation
like location and time dierence can instantly derail your
chances or credibility.
Would you call someone back i they called outside o
ofce hours? Lack o regard or regular business hours
can convey to a prospect that a salesperson lacks
proessionalism.
Calling an east coast prospect while working rom the
west coast? You dont want to miss out on your best
opportunity to talk with them during their legitimate ofce
hours while they have business on their mind.
With every sales call you make, determine where the
contact is within the organizations geography. Are they in
the corporate ofce in New York, working remotely while
traveling in Europe, or positioned at a company branch
in Asia? Confrming your prospect companys location
shouldnt stop at headquarters consider the time zoneo each individual to start o on the right oot.
Time Courtesy
How many times have you launched into your opening
statements on a prospecting cold call only to hear they
dont have the time to talk? Sometimes it may be hard to
suppress the initial urge to launch into conversation, but
always ask whether a prospect has a ew moments to talk.
It sets the precedent that their needs are most important.
Assumptions can be dangerous, especially on the frstopportunity or discussion with a potential candidate
or new business. Oer your prospects the option to
politely decline and propose a time to reschedule the
conversation.
Time Expectations
Once youve confrmed with a prospect that they have a
ew minutes to talk, be courteous enough to tell them how
long the call will take. Clueing them in to the time it will
take rom their day allows them the opportunity to decide
whether now is appropriate.
Prospects may decide they dont have time at the moment
to talk to you but it reinorces your credibility by ensuring
you have their interests in mind. Remaining completely
ocused on the prospects needs continually supports
your selling initiatives as it portrays your entire organization
as one that is geared, not toward revenue, but toward
customer solutions.
Be sure they understand that, within the call, they will have
time to voice their concerns and business issues and will
receive answers to any questions they have. Dont orget
to reiterate that the phone call can always go longer i the
customer needs to urther discuss what they are trying to
accomplish.
The Right Timing
Remember that not all prospecting calls outbound or
inbound - need to result in an immediate conversation.
Setting an appointment to discuss items at a later date
can begin the process or prospecting.
Even in ideal market conditions, when your calendar just
cant seem to calm down, dont be araid to reschedule
inbound calls or a later time. You can devote greater
energy and resources to the prospect. Voicing that you
simply dont have the right amount o time to address
the customers questions at that moment isnt rude, nor
is it the mark o a poor salesperson. So long as relevant
inormation is collected frst, it can give you a distinct
advantage.
With the added time, you can research the prospect.
Preparation illustrates to prospects you have taken the time
to get an understanding o their company, industry and
competitors. A word o caution: dont orm preconceived
notions o what their solution should look beore the call
leave it to them to articulate.
The bottom line remains: timing can aect a sale in any
stage o its process. Mastering the essentials can ensure
your prospecting eorts remain grounded in the actions
that deliver results.
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The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide
Maximize Your Time byDefning Your Ideal Customer
When we use the term Ideal Customer, were not reerring
to an actual, real-lie customer. The Ideal Customer is
a standard that you identiy to help you measure your
prospects against to see i they are a good ft or your
companys solution. Why? So you can ocus on the
good ones, get rid o the truly bad ones, and anticipate
problems with those who all in the middle. Take a hard
look at your most proftable customer in order to produce
the hypothetical perect customer youd like to have. This
will become the defnition o your Ideal Customer.
Step 1. List best and worst. Its up to you. Start with
those companies with whom youve done business.
Just customers, not prospects. Limit yoursel to those
accounts where youve already done some business. List
the best and list the worst. The best will include those
that have given you the maximum number o wins and the
least trouble. Then list those accounts that are the worst
possibly because even though youve closed the deal,
either you or the customer eel that youve lost. Remember,
you set the criteria.
Step 2. Next, list the characteristics o both the best andthe worst.
Ideal clients may possess such characteristics as:
Willingtopayforvalueadded
Committedtohighquality
Goodproximitytomysupportcenter
Sizeofend-usergroup
Unavorable clients may possess such characteristics as:
Inexibleonprice
SlowtomakebuyingdecisionsSecretiveandunwillingtocooperate
Outsidemyindustryexpertise
Step 3. Now combine the two lists. List the positive
characteristics, then add the opposite o your negative
characteristics. For example, slow to make buying
decisions becomes has a process or making buying
decisions quickly. Youve now created a profle o your
Ideal Customer. Youre ready to evaluate the account to
which youre trying to sell, against your defnition o the
best. Measure that account against each o your Ideal
Profle characteristics.
Identiy accounts within your total prospect population
that share a similar cultural value. How would you know
this? Do your homework. Research available inormation
on the company. Listen to the kind o messaging used in
annual reports, press releases, and client success stories.
Search or press coverage on the Internet. What are other
people saying about them? Aligning your selling eorts
around common characteristics establishes a connection
bound by a mutually respected value-system.
I expediency was a common characteristic how would
you use it as a strength?
Emphasize what the experience is like when someone
does business with your company. Perhaps client
communication is streamlined using a single-point o
contact or resolving customer issues or challenges.
Highlight the optimization o delivering the product or
service to the customer. Can you do it aster than your
competitors?
Theres No Such Thing as a Perect Fit
Defning your Ideal Customer Profle is highly eectivein identiying your best prospects and separating them
rom the ones that could potentially become liabilities.
Most likely, the prospects youve identifed to pursue dont
entirely match every standard o your Ideal Customer
Profle. They rarely do. But you will fnd that some potential
customers match up a lot better than others.
What do you do with prospects that are not a ft, but
still reectsome characteristics outlined in your Ideal
Customer Profle? You can do one o two things:
1. Stop pursuing specifc sales oppor tunities within
these accounts because they represent a low
probability o generating a win-win outcome.
2. Careully pursue those that arent a great ft, but
anticipate what problems will likely arise and devise
strategies or overcoming them.
2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1.877.678.0272
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Use your Ideal Customer Profle as a baseline test. Then
weigh the inormation it gives you against everything else
you know about the account. This balanced approach
will ocus your time, energy, and resources (both your
own and those o your company) on the right sales
opportunities.
Not all prospecting eorts need to be net-new. Oten,
cultivating the relationship with a current client can result
in a prospect or uture business.
In addition, it can cost our times as much to sell to a
new customer compared to an existing one. By taking
advantage o existing relationships and ongoing contact
with customers, companies can sell more products and
services, reduce the cost o sales, enhance customer
loyalty, and drive revenue.
Cross-selling and up-selling techniques can be
legitimate activities or prospecting when used correctly,
and may be able to bring dormant accounts back to lie.
Read on or requently asked questions to this eectiveprospecting activity.
What is Cross-Selling & Up-Selling?
I you are not currently engaging in cross-selling and up-
selling, you may be leaving money on the table every time
you close a sale. Whats worse, your customer is leaving
some o their ROI there as well.
Lets start with how Miller Heiman defnes cross-selling
and up-selling.
Cross-selling (verb)
(1) Expanding the number and quality o relationships
between key people in the buying organization and the
selling organization.
(2) Making additional relevant solutions available to the
buying organization (e.g., new products).
Up-selling (verb)
Converting an initial order into a more proftable order.
Typically maniested by the customers commitment
to (1) additional units o the sellers solution or (2) a
premium version o the sellers solution. This doesnt
mean selling ones customers something they dont
need; it does mean selling ones customers more o
something that they do need.
Why dont these two selling activities happen more
oten? Fear. Fear caused by the misconception that
asking or more raises the risk o losing the sale.
To eliminate this ear, it is critical to leverage quality
business inormation. By taking the time to gather in-
depth inormation about customers and prospects,
salespeople can gain a greater insight into their
accounts, uncover new business opportunities, andavoid many o the ears that get in the way o perorming
cross-selling and up-selling activities.
How do I cross-sell?
Selecting the right customers who present the greatest
need or a certain product or solution is the key to
eective cross-selling. This may be a new product
added to your portolio, but keep in mind it could also
be an existing product. Certainly there are customers
who are a good ft, but which customers present the
greatest need or this particular solution? Leverage the
inormation you have gathered to determine who are
proper candidates or this activity.
Step 1: Identiy Cross-Sell Opportunities. Make a list
o your top customers. Next to each customer, list the
products or solutions they have purchased rom you.
What do you see? Most likely this exercise will uncover
a large area o opportunity with certain customers who
have purchased only one or two o your solutions.
Step 2:Develop the Key Characteristics o Your TargetCustomer. Once you have a product in mind that you
want to cross sell, create a list o key characteristics
o your target customer. Consider the ollowing when
creating your list:
Itsnotwhohasaneed,butwhohasthegreatest
need or this product.
Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development
Find Hidden Revenue byCross-Selling and Up-Selling
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Itsnotwhowillbuy,butwhowillbuyquickly.
Quick wins help reduce fear and add to your
credibility as a salesperson.
Write down ve characteristics of your target
customer. Examples include company size, risk-
taking culture, recent merger or acquisition, etc. One
o these traits may outweigh all the others. So, i the
customer doesnt present all fve characteristics,
but has one very important one, you may still want
to pursue that customer.
Step 3:Compare and Select Key Customers to Pursue.
Go back to the frst list you made o your top customers.
Which o these customers present characteristics o the
target customer or your new solution? Which o these
customers present the greatest need or your new
product and are willing to buy quickly? These are the
customers you should spend the time and eort with to
build a strategy to cross-sell your product.
Each o these steps demands increasingly deeper
understanding o the customers key initiatives and the
big issues that transcend all the potential buyers within
the organization. That means taking the time to become
inormed on selected targets, their issues, and the
business reasons that will motivate them to schedule ameeting or make a purchase.
When is the best time to cross-sell/up-sell?
The worst time to start thinking about cross-selling
and up-selling is at the end o the sales cycle. By that
time, its too late. By incorporating the steps above into
your sales strategies, you will be continually looking or
ways to get the most out o every sale, while giving your
customers the greatest value in return as well.
Can I reactivate dormant accounts?
Its a common situation - you have completed a project
or engagement but you see lots o potential to oer
other services to the client. Sadly, you ailed to leverage
that frst sale toward more business so the account
became dormant.
Cross-selling is selling additional complementary
solutions, or expanding the initial engagement to other
locations or the same client. Any frm could increase
their revenues by improving the management o their
current clients in this manner. But some executives may
tell you that cross-selling doesnt work. Why? Perhaps
there is a lack o understanding by the client o your ull
suite o product or services. Maybe your organization
lacks internal teamwork, or incentives or cross-selling,
or the account manager ears losing control o the
account. But, to say that cross selling doesnt work is
the wrong mindset.
The key is to orget about other products or services you
hope to sell the client, and to concentrate on what you can
contribute to their business and organizational issues.
The more you demonstrate to prospects how much
you know o what is publicly available, the more theyre
going to share with you the things that are not publiclyavailable, this according to Miller Heiman sales vice
president Rich Blakeman.
The notion is a powerul one. Choosing to lead by
example, Blakeman is charging orward in his eorts to
leverage social networking as an emerging, continually
evolving and sophisticated technique or prospecting.
With the advent o numerous social media vehicles,
there is no denying the advantage sales proessionals
can gain by researching a prospect beore making initial
contact. By increasing his proessional network in anonline environment, Blakeman keeps a close eye on
business contacts to improve existing client relations
and stay alert or new business opportunities.
Networking isnt new, Blakeman says. This isnt a
new idea. The online practice is just a new way to do it.
The same people that were e ective beore are eective
now, but these new tools make it easier.
2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1.877.678.0272
Social Networking Leverage:Finessing One o the 21stCenturys Most PowerulTools or Prospecting
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Blakeman is convinced that tools such as LinkedIn
are already becoming an integral par t o how eective
sales organizations can improve results by gaining
urther visibility into key accounts and developing
prospect contacts into possible new business. Theres
a dierence between managing your relationships and
leveraging your network. The key to leveraging your
network is to use it to help you mine the data that is out
in other peoples network to your advantage.
With such a wealth o inormation available, its difcult
to choose rom the variety o venues with which to
harness it. The numerous eatures and applications in
the social media environment arent necessarily sel-
explanatory. A bevy o tools are available to users on
social networking sites, ranging rom search options,
news alerts, resume-like career histories, reerral or
introduction capabilities, and limitless varieties o
exclusive groups based on interests, associations and
proessions. Recognizing that the technology exists is
crucial, but Blakeman emphasizes the importance o
understanding that it isnt about the tool itsel, its about
how you use it.
Its absolutely vital or improving the level o prospect
research, Blakeman says, mentioning he touches his
preerred social network site, LinkedIn.com, close to
three times a day. I youre looking to make a call toa new contact at a senior level, you want to do some
homework frst. The people most likely to return calls to
provide helpul inormation are easily identifable inside
a proessional networking site.
Social Networking Etiquette 101:
To help illustrate how to increase the quality o leads,
Blakeman oers a ew guidelines that can help sales
proessionals incorporate social networking into their
prospecting eorts.
Engaging in social media vehicles like online
proessional networking to improve your prospecting
eorts is one thing, Blakeman says. Running rampant
with the technology is quite another. Credibility and trust
are the keys to being eective in social networking
Because prospecting hinges heavily on the impression
you make with clients, it is important to understand what
sort o social networking usage is appropriate and what
is not. Blakeman insists that, to stay credible in the eyes
o possible prospects, how and when you use your social
network to stay connected should remain closely tied to
those contacts purposes, not yours. We all have people
that only reach out to us when they need something rom
us. Its imperative in social networking to demonstrate
you operate responsibly and with integrity.
Ensure you dont jeopardize credibility by:
Understanding the difference between research
and stalking. Persistence is an admirable quality
or a sales representative, as consistent contact
with your connections lends credibility but there
must be a purpose behind the contact. Sales reps
who position themselves in ront o a client merely
to accumulate ace time convey a lack o regard
or the clients business issues. It can also come
across as intrusive.
Exercisingdiscretion.Whilehavingalargenumberof
contacts increases the power and pull o your network
and opens connection possibilities, dont add just
anyone. A proper balance o quality versus quantity
must be achieved. Having a stronger relationship
with your contacts allows you to introduce others
with better chances or acceptance, demonstratingto both connections that your contacts network is
valid and can be trusted.
Staying involved with your contacts networks.
Social networking shouldnt muscle out the other
priorities o the day, but keeping a consistent
awareness o who is being promoted, relocating,
or changing jobs increases your visibility o the
business environment. Blakeman advocates
tracking the pulse o work activities to highlight
the interests and priorities o your connections andclue you in to updates that may provide valuable
insight. One o the absolute critical actors in social
networking is being timely, he says. I can track
people that I knew at a given company and note
where they go. Following their career highlights
opportune times to approach them at their new
company or leave a message regarding something
they may fnd valuable.
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The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide
Rolling with the punches. Blakeman notes that,
much like on the ront lines, sales proessionals
must grow a thick skin. Dont let unapproved
requests or rejections get to you, he says.
Finessing Your Network or Prospecting
Maximize your prospecting eorts through social
networking:
Look for coaches. Proles of individuals within
companies can indicate their interests, feld
specializations, and work history outside the
current company. By doing a bit o digging, you
may identiy individuals previously employed with
companies your organization has done business
with. These candidates can evolve into advocates
or your companys solution, clue you in to proper
proposal timing, help pinpoint proper buying
inuenceswithinthecompany,andadviseonhow
best to approach them.
Findlevelsofinuence.IfAcme,Inc.hasanewsales
vice president who brought 17 employees with him,
chancesarethereissignicantdegreeofinuence
among the band o newly instated employees.
Leveraging a relationship with those employees
may provide an opportunity to connect upwards in
the organization to support your initiatives.
Search like a professional. Several social
networking sites have search applications that
can provide insight on numerous topics. Refne
searches by job title, company name, company
geography, and keywords to unearth available
inormation. Validate company headquarters and
get a better understanding o what a prospects
feld organization looks like. Where are sales leaders
located? Where are company engineers located?
Where is product development located?
Expand the quality contacts within your network
through reerrals and introductions. Insistent that a
balance between quality and quantity o contacts
must be kept, Blakeman does not deny the power
o numbers. The bigger my personal network is,
the more likely I can leverage it to fnd a connection
that will introduce me avorably to a prospect I want
to meet. He mentions that a larger proessional
network increases your ability to eectively search
or data. Simply put, you dont get enough return
out o a social network i you dont have enough o a
network. But i you only pursue quantity, youll end
up adding people you dont really know, diluting the
efcacy o your network.
Relaythevalueofproposedconnections.Muchlike
a sales representative must understand the issues o
a prospect in order to o er a comprehensive solution
that will address their needs, imparting the value o
a proposed proessional relationship is necessary to
bolster your acceptance rate. Provide those contacts
who would be introducing you to others with valid
reasons. This lends you credibility with them, and
ensures they have a solid reason or introducing you,
which in turn lends them credibility.
Watch prospects and clients for better visibility
o company actions. Look out or prospecting
opportunities through the people in your sales
channel and identiying their customers, competitors,
and suppliers. You may fnd a pattern in which
companies are connected to each other, as well
as good ideas or how to expand your companys
solution into that territory, Blakeman says.
Online proessional networking is becoming a
mainstream prospecting activity within the sales
proession. Building your oundation now may give you
the step up you need.
You never know, Blakeman says o the part social
networking plays in prospecting. I you keep an open
mind to what youre going to fnd and what value it will
provide, you may be surprised where your next source
or business comes rom.
2008 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272
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Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development
Securing Time withKey Decision Makersby Eric Wasser
I selling time was characterized as time spent meeting
withkey inuencersdiscussingtheir challenges, issues,
and trends, most sales proessionals would agree that it
is small percentage o the time they spend working their
respective jobs. Statistics indicate that with all other job
responsibilities considered, it can be less than 10 to 15
hours per week on average.
Having more and better time with important buying
inuencesisakeytosuccessfulsellingintodayscomplex
environments. With multiple decision makers involvedand oten lengthy sales cycles, it is important to have
enough time engaging with those key decision makers to
understand their businesses while establishing rapport
and credibility.
A ocus in increasing selling time can lead to better
understanding customer environments, stronger
relationships and more opportunity to connect value
propositions to client needs.
What Research Tells UsThe Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study reveals what
top-perorming sales organizations are doing dierently
rom everyone else. The organizations designated as
top-perorming did signifcantly better than others in
key metrics including average account billing, account
acquisition and revenue.
Top-performing organizations were 90 percent
more likely than other organizations to rely on
comprehensive prospecting plans.
Top-performing organizations were 110 percent
more likely than other organizations to leverage the
best practices o top perormers to improve the
perormance o everyone else.
Additional studies have identifed the disappointments
o key senior-level decision makers with their sales
proessionals:
Too many salespeople are just trying to push
product rather than attempting to identiy and ulfll
organizational needs. They rarely do their homework
to understand business issues and challenges.
A large number of outbound contacts made by
salespeople today are nothing more than Howdy Calls.
Whats a Howdy Call?
A Howdy Call is defned as an outbound contact made with
no clear understanding o the clients need - what problem
the client is trying to fx or avoid or what goal the client is
hoping to accomplish. The Howdy Call is connected to the
common idea that sales is a numbers game; contacting
more clients will provide more opportunities.
Although there is some validity to the idea that businessdevelopment is about volume, successul sales
proessionals know that taking the time to choose the
right people to meet with and ocusing on what is o
key interest to them dramatically improves the quality o
meetings and yields.
Crating a Valid Business Reason
Letting the decision maker know why youre contacting
them ensures that discussions are productive or both
the sales proessional and the client. At Miller Heiman, we
advocate that you should never contact a decision makerwithout a Valid Business Reason. Presenting a solid Valid
Business Reason to the contact allows sales proessionals
to demonstrate an understanding o the clients business
and the challenges aced by executives. Beore making
the contact, the sales proessional should have answers
to the ollowing questions.
DoyouhaveaValidBusinessReasonforcalling?
Doesyourstatementof the reasonforthecallhelp
the potential buyer understand who you are and thereason or your call?
Doesyourstatementconveythevalueofsettingan
appointment?
Doesitestablishacommonfoundationforexploring
how to resolve an actual or potential problem or
achieve a specifc goal?
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The Miller Heiman Prospecting Guide
Does itestablishtheimportanceofthemeetingfor
the client?
Howwelldoes thereason forcallingt inwiththe
clients interests?
Doesitlettheclientknowwhatsinitforme?
Isitclear,conciseandcomplete?
Applying thought in a ew key areas can help ensure
eective creation o Valid Business Reasons.
Design Your Marketing Vehicle
There are many eective methods or reaching prospective
clients and decision makers. In a recent webcast on
prospecting, Miller Heiman polled a large audience o sales
proessionals on what methods they preer to use to reach
key clients and decision makers when trying to secure
appointments:
Phone - 51.3 percent
Internet/Email - 27.6 percent
Direct Mail - 5.5 percent
Other - 16.5 percent
Decision makers are as diverse in their preerred
communication methods as those in selling organizations;
consequently, securing time with those key decision makers
oten requires using multiple methods. Thinking about whatmethod to use prior to connecting with a decision maker or
client is an important consideration.
Market Targeting
Successul selling proessionals oten have a strong sense
or their own organizations aptitudes. A good understanding
o their Ideal Customer Profle provides a set o sorting criteria
as they consider who they should ocus on during business
development eorts. Organizations that understand their
Ideal Customer Profle have a potential benchmark to
measure against a prospects potential ft and likelihood
o uture success. It is important to consider segmenting
those key decision makers you hope to secure time with
by like characteristics as well. Understanding common
threads that connect buying inuences by segments like
geography, market segment, job unction and title provides
the oundation or thinking about their challenges, issues and
trends those areas o ocus they are potentially interested
in exploring urther.
Hypothesizing
A steadast ocus on clients is good business practice.
Understanding what clients are trying to fx, accomplish or
avoid allows sales proessionals to provide real value by
connecting with those clients on their terms. Selecting a
target audience, either a specifc key decision maker or alarger audience o key decision makers with some common
characteristics, is necessary to eectively think about areas
o interest rom their perspective. There are many resources
available today that provide specifc intelligence on the top
o mind issues acing industries, specifc companies and job
unctions. Online resources like Hoovers provide great insight
into those challenges, issues and trends. Successul selling
organizations are great at capitalizing on the institutional
knowledge possessed by their best perormers and sharing
that knowledge through best practices. Many successul
organizations analyze their wins to determine what thekey areas o interest were that drove initial conversations so
that those ideas might be shared with others. Key decision
makers will always be interested in spending time with
credible resources who can help them tackle their problems
and initiatives, helping them succeed. The key to getting
timewithbuyinginuenceslies inthesalesprofessionals
ability to communicate that message eectively, as early as
possible.
Having a Framework or Discussion
It is important to be clear and concise when communicatingwith key decision makers regardless o the chosen
marketing vehicle. Struggling to deliver the message in a
way that makes sense and demonstrates expertise can be
as ineective as not having a Valid Business Reason at all.
This does not imply a need to script but does suggest a
need to be prepared and practiced prior to connecting with
your audience. The ollowing are business development
best practice suggestions or what should be considered
when designing a ramework or Valid Business Reasons:
Considertheaudienceandyour
expertise in your introduction.
Referenceacompanywithasimilarchallenge.
Explainhowthesolutionworkedforthem.
Sharethemeasurableoutcometheyexperienced.
Beconversational.
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Best Practices for Maximizing New Business Development
Next Steps: Securing Strategic AppointmentsSM
Take your new business development eorts one step arther by attending Securing Strategic
AppointmentsSM, Miller Heimans process designed to improve your ability to secure time with new
prospects and key contacts within a sale.
As customer needs evolve, sales proessionals must learn to better dierentiate themselves rom
competitors to get the high-value, quality appointments they need with potential buyers. Learn the
structure and skills that will help you identiy appropriate audiences and capture their interest through
concise, powerul messaging.
Call us at 1 (877) 678-0272 or visit www.millerheiman.com to learn more.
About the Author
Eric Wasser
Miller Heiman Sales Consultant
A sales practitioner with 20 years in sales and
sales leadership, Erics approach is practical
and real world. He earned his experience in both
account management and business development.
He has held leadership positions or two Fortune
500 companies and was a small business owner.
Currently a consultant or Miller Heiman, Eric is
in tune with many o the challenges acing sales
organizations today.
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