PHASE 2 OF PROSPECTIVE CLIENT PLAN – Directly from our seminars.
The Closers Group 4-Phase Prospective Client Plan.
To make sure your firm’s representatives are ready to meet with a client, you’ll want to implement the following 4-phase preparedness plan:
Phase Two: Make a Connection.
• Make sure there are clear lines of communication between your company and the client. Assign internal contacts to appropriate people within the company.
• Communicate with management to learn about additional opportunities.
• If you already have a relationship with the company, reinforce it in a positive manner with regular, open communication.
Meeting with your prospects takes you a step closer to the heart of the CLOSING ZONE, so ensure you and your colleagues are prepared. The more that you know about your prospects, clients, and what to expect, the better your chances are of locking up another win by securing new business.
To achieve victory, a meticulous 4-Phase Prospective Client Plan is essential. Thorough research, clear communication, impactful presentations, and diligent follow-up are the keys to success. Combine this with the Closers Group’s 4-Step Approach, differentiating marketing, business development, business generation, and client retention, to dominate the competition and secure a prosperous future for your professional service firm.
# Sales Acceleration # Building Relationships # Entrepreneurship
The “game” you play with a prospective client isn’t much different from a sports game. Closing the deal – securing the win – is all about successfully executing a strategic action plan. Just because you might be the best for the job doesn’t mean you’ll win the business. Preparedness matters and planning ahead is vital to the success of presenting yourself and your company to a prospective client.
How can you prepare? How can you know that you’ll be able to answer each and every question that may be asked? Start by trying to find any business-related literature about the prospect that you can get your hands on and determine how your firm stacks up to their needs.
To make sure your firm’s representatives are ready to meet with a client, you’ll want to implement the following 4-phase preparedness plan:
Phase One: Do Your Homework.
• Define your current relationship with the company.
• Review the company’s recent history, policies, business ventures, lawsuits, products and services, and any possible openings within the company for additional work.
• Find out which companies and competitors the company has currently engaged and how you measure up against them.
• Learn who makes the major decisions in the company: the direct customer, the financial officer, an executive, or someone else.
Podcast of “Get Down To Business with Shalom Klein” – 11/27/2022 – Amy Mednick, Allan Colman, Tom Miroballi and Itamar Shafir by Get Down To Business with Shalom Klein
5 tips for a new startup to market and build it’s presence. A big hurtle I see often is making the leap from a new product to selling it.
My personal favorite is Number 2, branding. Your brand is not simply a logo, a brand is what describes you. It’s what people remember about you or your company after you leave the room. #tipsforsuccess#branding#marketingadvice
Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is at the heart of all your marketing and sales efforts. It distinguishes you from the competition. You can use it as a slogan, or you can expand it into an elevator speech to succinctly capture the essence, strengths, and uniqueness of your product or service in no more than 20 seconds.Mickey Marraffino, owner of MMMarraffino Marketing, told me in a recent interview, “Make adjustments based on your audience but feed it into your brand.”
To help you build a powerful USP, answer these five questions:
What is it that makes your company, firm, or consultancy stand out from your competitors?
Why do your clients/customers continue doing business with you?
What is it about your company that makes it unique?
Why should customers/clients come to you?
What do you have to offer that they cannot get anywhere else?
When the public hears the name of your company, firm, or product, what adjectives come to mind? How are you and other colleagues known throughout your community? If you don’t know, I strongly suggest you ask… today.
OK, let’s say you have a proposal that was not accepted. Don’t just discard their decision. Instead, simply put them on the lower end of your priority list.Think about it this way. With your client/customer acquisition effort, you have already made the investment of time and money and were close to getting a deal. The person or people you were meeting with have actually done the same thing with their time and investment. They cared enough to meet with you, exchange ideas, perhaps even look at a proposal.
Think about maximizing rejection this way. If you stay in touch with those “nos” on a regular basis, you might ultimately win 10% of them for new business in the future.Additionally, because you have already made the primary investment with them, this revenue will go directly to your bottom line, to your company’s ROI. For these reasons, you should always keep maximizing any rejection. #maximizerejection#learning#progress#mistakes#business
Funding College Scholarships
for 2020 Tax Deductions
Revenue Acceleration Course by Dr. Allan Colman
Scholarships in your name or company name
will be awarded to the college or university of your choice
WITH YEAR-END TAX PLANNING strategy upon us, we present an opportunity to choose an institution to offer scholarships in your name. A college scholarship for students at your alma mater or school of your choice will be issued by Dr. Allan Colman, Professor of Marketing at California State University Dominguez Hills. Eligible students will receive a $497 training course on how to accelerate sales, for according to Dr. Colman, “Sales education is the single most underrepresented topic in America’s business colleges and universities.”
The 90-Day Revenue Acceleration course will equip business students with the tools, resources, training, best practices and mental strategy to holistically understand the sales process. This training will positively change their business careers and equip them with real-world skills to bring to employers.
The Issue
SURE, STUDENTS MAY BE ABLE TO analyze a financial statement, prepare a marketing plan, calculate projected ROI, or even plan for product sales channels. But are they being taught how to sell the product or service that is actually supporting their income?
WE ARE SOLICITING SCHOLARSHIPS from business owners to provide business school college students the opportunity to take the 90-Day Revenue Sprint course at no charge. 101 training licenses have been set aside for eligible students who must be entering or are currently enrolled in college and university business schools, valued at $50,000. The recommended “donation tiers” let the donor chose levels from $250.00 (donating one course, in their name) to $5,000.00 (donating 20 courses in their name of the name of their business).
About the 90-Day Revenue Sprint Course
WHETHER TO BE USED during the current pandemic or to actively pursue rapid revenue growth for an organization, this program contains 20 video-based lessons. Each lesson ranges from 5 to 8 minutes in length and can be viewed inside of 2 hours.
For Colleges and Universities interested in providing this for students, each lesson contains a PDF with a series of questions to aid student retention.
“So ask already” is the advice we give to clients who are too timid to ask a client for assistance. “Do you have core clients?” and have you reached out to them for a recommendation? If indeed your clients are receiving excellent results, they should become your best referral source. Remember, according to a recent Harvard Business Review blog,
at least 50% of your new business every year should be coming from clients and referrals.
Ask those core clients to introduce you to others in the company or agency who are handling top level matters. Test drafts of new materials, speeches, articles, presentations, etc. with current and recent clients. This can be a good relationship builder and “invisible marketing” opportunity.
Invisible marketing can be a great relationship building opportunity. Instead of saying “I get good results, what else is needed?” (a client quote), ask them to introduce you to others in their organization or in their field. If indeed they like your work, they will be marketing for you.
Have you considered testing draft articles or speeches with current and recent clients and prospects? Here again, even if they do not respond, you are showing them your skills.
And where you are involved in pro-bono or charity events, invite your clients and prospects. Another invisible marketing tool for a very good cause.
YES, SPEAKING TO YOU!
The “game” you play with a prospective client isn’t much different from a sports game. Closing the deal – securing the win – is all about successfully executing a strategic action plan. Just because you might be the best for the job doesn’t mean you’ll win the business. Preparedness matters and planning ahead is vital to the success of presenting yourself and your company to a prospective client.
How can you prepare? How can you know that you’ll be able to answer each and every question that may be asked? Start by trying to find any business-related literature about the prospect that you can get your hands on and determine how your firm stacks up to their needs.
To make sure your firm’s representatives are ready to meet with a client, you’ll want to implement the following 4-phase preparedness plan:
Phase One: Do Your Homework.
• Define your current relationship with the company.
• Review the company’s recent history, policies, business ventures, lawsuits, products and services, and any possible openings within the company for additional work.
• Find out which companies and competitors the company has currently engaged and how you measure up against them.
• Learn who makes the major decisions in the company: the direct customer, the financial officer, an executive, or someone else.
PHASE TWO — NEXT POST —
#Sales Acceleration, #Business Advisors, #clientacquisition
www.closersgroup.com