You think you’re not in sales, but everybody is in sales. Everyone is selling something, and everybody has to find new customers. I’m sure you know a small business owner who says, “I need to find more customers. How do I go out and do that?” Let’s walk through The Top 10 things that you can be doing right now to be prospecting for the non-sales person.
From the Home Office in Chugwater, Wyoming, Here are The
Top 10 Tips for Prospecting for the Non-Salesperson
10. Relax, it’s only a conversation.
You are not solving world hunger. You’re not creating perpetual motion machines. No, you’re just having a conversation. Whatever means you use to reach prospects, just relax and dial it down.
9. Leverage your network.
You already have relationships out there. Use them. Talk to them. Have them become your supporters. They probably know customers who could benefit from your service. They may even be people who could benefit from your service. As I work with non-salespeople in helping them sell, they find a tremendous amount of business just from their existing network.
8. Find your fans.
This is a subset of your network because you probably know hundreds of people. But who are those five or ten fans of yours who can help you by talking you up to other people, or introducing you to other people. You want to find raving fans because they’re going to give you the best advice and input. They are a huge source of new opportunities.
7. Your current customers.
Just because you’ve served your customers once doesn’t mean it’s over. Go back and talk to them again. Your current customers are a tremendous source of referrals—that means new business! You may have customers from two or three years ago. Pick up the phone and call them, “Hey, we haven’t talked in a couple years. How are things going for you?”
6. Focus your effort.
Don’t try to boil the ocean. What are the outcomes that you can create for customers? Look at your current customers, and how you’ve been able to help them. Now, who are other people like that?
When you realize the outcomes you create, it’s going to make you more knowledgeable. As you have those conversations, as you leverage your network, you’re going to be able to be more confident and competent about talking and asking questions and getting conversations going.
5. Give referrals to get referrals.
Many non-sales people are afraid to ask for referrals. Referrals are the easiest way to get business! One of the easiest ways to get referrals is to give referrals. How many referrals are you giving?
I take every opportunity to give out referrals—I don’t know if it’s going to be a straight line back to me, but I have noticed that the more referrals I give, the more referrals I get.
4. Share information.
You have knowledge about something—just share it with other people. Share it with other people in your network, your fans, your customers. Share it with anybody and everybody because it allows you to be seen as an expert. It raises your confidence level, and raises your competence level as well as that of the individuals you share with.
3. Treat your prospects like a customer.
If there’s information that you give to customers, send it to your prospects. Treat your prospects exactly like your customers, and it’s amazing how very quickly they will become your customers.
2. Think vertically.
“If anybody calls me and anybody talks to me, I’m going to try to sell them what I have.” No, think vertical. Not everyone is your ideal customer. Know exactly who you can really help, who you can benefit, and stay tight in that lane. Stay within the companies you’re already prospecting. There are probably other customers you can ask, or maybe another division, another company, another person they know, etc. For example, let’s say you provide a part or a service that gets used on a production line. Tell people, “Hey, I want to go out and look at the production line, see how it’s being used.” Talk to other people. Think about how your product or service helps people do their job. When I go downstream, I may find other customers, other people who I should be talking to.
And the #1 Tip for Prospecting for the Non-Salesperson is …
1. Never forget your goal is to help them.
So many people who are in a non-sales role think, “I can’t prospect because I’m selling.” You’re not selling, you’re helping them. Remember, the objective of prospecting is very simply this: if you know you can help someone, you have an obligation to reach out to them.
If I had a problem and I knew that you could help me, I would want you to reach out to me. Of course, when you call me, I don’t know who you are. You’re right. But you know what? You’re interrupting to help me. That is huge. Always remember your objective for every communication you have is to help others. You’re going to help them see and achieve what they didn’t think was possible.
Have a great weekend,
David
