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There are two things that we are trying to obtain when we are talking with prospects. There are actually many things we are trying to get, but there are two that stand out. The first thing is information. That’s right, just plain information. You aren’t going to sell that prospect unless you know a lot of things about them (e.g., budgets, product fit, decision makers, timeframes, competition, etc.). This is especially true if you are selling in a consultative environment.

My daughter, for better or worse, has followed in my footsteps and has started her career in sales and marketing. She is selling big ticket services to her customers. It was a fun surprise recently when one of her prospects just happened to be a company where I had worked many years ago. She was smart enough to get with me for the “scoop” before her first meeting. She went into that first call fully armed with information that might have taken her months to get through her own efforts. By using good sales skills and the information she had gained she was able to quickly turn that prospect into a profitable customer. The power of information in sales is everything.

What if you don’t have the advantage of “inside information” with a prospect? You will need to gain information about the prospect the old fashioned way, discovery. Researching the prospect, asking good open ended questions and getting to the right people are ways to get the information you need. The more information you have, the better.

The best investment of your time with prospects, at least initially, is getting information about them. Don’t concern yourself too much with things like getting them collateral material and inviting them to your trade show booth, at least not at first. The foundation of a realistic approach to a prospect is information. The salesperson with the most information about the prospect is almost always the one that will win the business.

Tags: Prospecting

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