by Guy-Michael Homa

Created on: November 23, 2009

Identify Real Opportunity

Never confuse activity with productivity. Make the most out of your sales calls by identifying qualified opportunities among your prospects. Identifying prospects that are willing and able to buy will make your sales activity far more productive and successful.

By far, the most common mistake made by sales people in cold call prospecting is not qualifying the prospect. All sales effort is a waste if your prospect is not in a position to buy. You worked hard doing market research, developing a good prospect list, prepared a good value proposition, and created a great sales pitch. Contacting prospects for your solicitation is next on your agenda. Preparation before and during your sales calls is critical to uncovering more opportunity and closing more sales. Only qualified prospects are worth your effort - otherwise, what is the point of the call?

What can you do that will increase chances of success for closing more deals? How do you know if a prospect is a real opportunity? Following is a guideline and summary of vital steps required for every business solicitation.

Pinpoint the Decision Maker: This is the number one rule before proceeding with your sales pitch. Learn who the decision maker is before doing anything else. What is the point of your presentation if the person you speak to has no authority? Identify all the decision makers because sometimes there may be more than one involved. You also need to know their decision-making procedures - learn how buying decisions influenced. Ask for direction to the right person if your first contact is not a decision maker. Decision makers are the people you need to establish a rapport with in order to create a successful sales transaction. Never bypass identifying decision makers as your number one step. If you do, you will set yourself up for disappointment. The next steps involve probing questions during your presentation once you have identified the decision maker.

Pain-Points and Buying Motivation: What will make your prospect buy from you? How you perceive a prospect's need is not always what they want. Understand what the prospect wants out of your offer from their perspective instead of trying to push the sale. Your value proposition must demonstrate real benefit as a solution to a problem faced by your prospect. Do not focus on features at this stage - this is about benefits and solutions. The buyer must view you as a valuable resource. What are the prospect's pain-points and how

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