I am in advertising sales. Now I will give you some information:
Finding potential customers is the first step in the sales cycle. After determining your market area, you have to find out where the potential customers are and get in touch with them. If you don't know where the potential customers are, who will you sell your products to? In fact, salespeople spend most of their time looking for potential customers, and you will form a habit. For example, after you sell your product to a customer, you will ask, "Your friend may need this product. Can you help me contact or recommend it?"
Who are you going to sell your products or services to, and who is likely to buy your products, are your potential customers. It has two elements:
Use
Affordability
First of all, you need it, or you need such consumption. Not all people need your products, but they must be a group with certain characteristics. For example, the users of small switches are groups, societies, enterprises and other organizations. Who will buy a switch and put it at home? Secondly, you can afford it. For a potential customer who wants it but can't afford it, no matter how hard you try, you can't finally close the deal. Even in the insurance industry, everyone wants to buy insurance, but insurance salesmen are engaged in the hardest job of finding potential customers. The groups who buy insurance must have the same characteristics. If you sell insurance to a family that maintains a minimum standard of living, it is reasonable to say that they need insurance too much, but no matter how clever your skills are, your ending is generally negative. Even if there are successful examples, it is not enough to explain the problem.
Finding potential customers is an arduous task, especially when you are just starting to engage in this industry. Your resources are only your knowledge of products. You will find potential customers in many ways, and you will spend a lot of time on it.
in extending the life of the enterprise, developing new customers has great influence on the operation, financial resources, management and quality of the enterprise.
customers can affect the operation of enterprises. In order to keep new customers, enterprises must work hard to gain the trust of customers.
according to statistics, under the market competition law, manufacturers lose at least a few old customers every year, but at least they will develop new customers every year. Under the balance of the two, there is little change; If we don't take planned expansion, it will be very difficult for our customers to operate in the future.
principles of finding potential customers
In the process of finding potential customers, you can refer to the following "MAN" principles:
m: money, which stands for "money". The selected object must have a certain purchasing power.
a: authority, which stands for "decision-making power" in purchasing. The object has the power to decide, suggest or object to the purchase behavior.
n: need, which stands for "demand". This object has this demand (product, service).
"potential customers" should have the above characteristics, but in actual operation, they will encounter the following situations, and should take specific countermeasures according to the specific conditions:
purchasing power, purchasing power, demand
M (with) a (with) n (large)
m (without) a (without) n (without)
where. M+A+N: Contactable, with skilled sales technology, there is hope of success.
m+a+n: You can contact and try to find the person with A (the person who has the decision-making power)
m+a+n: You can contact, and you need to investigate their business status and credit conditions to provide financing.
m+a+n: it can be contacted, and it should be observed and cultivated for a long time to make it have another condition.
m+a+n: it can be contacted, and it should be observed and cultivated for a long time to make it have another condition.
m+a+n: it can be contacted, and it should be observed and cultivated for a long time to make it have another condition.
m+a+n: non-customer, stop contact.
It can be seen that potential customers can still develop even if they lack certain conditions (such as purchasing power, demand or purchasing decision power). As long as appropriate strategies are applied, they can become new customers of the enterprise.
1. Accurately judge the customer's purchase desire
There are five key points to judge the size of the customer's purchase desire.
degree of concern for products: such as the size of the house to be purchased, the way of compartment, public facilities and orientation.
the degree of concern about the purchase: for example, whether the purchase contract of the house is carefully studied or whether the contract provisions are required to be increased or decreased; Require the interior compartment of the house to be modified.
whether it can meet various requirements, such as whether it is convenient for children to go to school and adults to go to work; Whether there is a supermarket nearby; Whether it meets the expectation of quietness; Whether the neighbors have noisy business places, etc.
whether you trust the product: whether you are satisfied with the brand of materials used in the house, whether the construction is careful, whether the foundation is stable, etc.
Do you have a good impression on the sales company? The customer's impression of the sales staff affects the purchase desire of potential customers.
2. Accurately judge the purchasing power of customers
There are two key points to judge the purchasing power of potential customers.
credit status: you can judge whether you have purchasing power from the status of income sources such as occupation and status.
payment plan: customers' purchasing power can be judged from whether they expect to pay cash in one lump sum, or whether they require installment payment and the amount of the down payment.
judging from two factors: customers' purchasing desire and purchasing ability, we can decide the purchasing time of customers and make the next plan.
how to find potential customers
I recommend ten strategies to find potential customers. Once you follow the plan step by step, you will get closer and closer to success.
1. Methods to explore potential customers
There are two general methods to explore potential customers, one is data analysis, and the other is general method.
data analysis
"data analysis" refers to the method of finding potential customers by analyzing various data (statistical data, catalogue data, newspaper data, etc.).
statistical data: statistical investigation reports of relevant state departments, statistical investigation data published by the industry in newspapers or periodicals, and statistical investigation data published by industry groups;
directory information: customer directory (existing customers, old customers, lost customers), classmate directory, member directory, association directory, staff directory, who's who, telephone yellow pages, company yearbook, enterprise yearbook, etc.
newspaper materials: newspapers (advertising, industrial or financial news, retail news, relocation news, promotion or appointment news, engagement or marriage news, factory building news, birth or death news, accidents, criminal records, related personal news, etc.), professional newspapers and magazines (industry trends, peer activities, etc.).
general method
active access;
introductions from others (customers, relatives, friends, elders, alumni, etc.);
various groups (social groups, clubs, etc.);
other aspects: mailing publicity materials, using various exhibitions and exhibitions, family, often going to scenic spots, entertainment places and other densely populated places to walk around.
2. Ways to find potential customers
Discover from people you know
Your daily activities will not be carried out in isolation, which shows that you have met a large number of people who may become potential customers of your products or services.
there may be some people in your circle of acquaintances who need your products, or they know who needs them. In the process of searching, your task is to communicate. Let others know about you and get to know you, which will be the door for you to open opportunities. What you need to do is to start a conversation.
how many people do you know? There is no denying that even a person with little social activities has a group of friends, classmates and teachers, as well as his family and relatives. These are your resources. One with a circle, this is the quickest way for sales people to make friends. One of your friends doesn't need your product, but can you be sure that your friend doesn't need it? Get to know them, and you will meet many people. Tell people around you what you are doing, what your goal is, gain their understanding, and you will find your potential customers soon, because people around you will help you and are willing to help you.
start business contacts
whether you have just started to contact sales or not, you may be in sales. Business contact is easier than social contact. With the help of personal contacts, you will make business contacts faster.
consider not only people you know in business, but also trade organizations such as associations and clubs, which bring you a huge group of potential customers behind them.
Meet salespeople like you
You have met many people, including salespeople like you. Well-trained salespeople sent by other enterprises are familiar with the characteristics of consumers. As long as they are not your competitors, they will generally make friends with you. Even if they are competitors, you can become friends, get on well with them, and you will gain a lot of experience. When the other party visits customers, he will remember you, and you will remember him if you have customers who are suitable for them. Not to mention the extra achievements, you have a very effective business partner.
add value to your experience as a consumer
If you spend money in a restaurant, the service provided by the waiter is excellent. Let's suppose that you are engaged in chain marketing, and you are looking for others to work in your, but not for you. If this person has excellent people skills and is very capable of his job, they may be excellent candidates, start their own business and become a member of chain sales.
We should pay attention to this work, and don't approach them when they are at work. You can leave your business card and tell them how to contact you if they want to change their jobs. This will not cause resentment, but also get enough attention.
what would you say to them? Here are some conversations that are effective in specific situations:
"I noticed that you have a good way of working, and I was wondering, have you achieved all your goals by working here? I ask because the company I represent is expanding, and we are looking for capable people who can take advantage of this opportunity. Are you interested in learning more? "
if they ask, "what's the specific situation?" , you say:
"According to the truth, because you are working, I have no right to discuss these things. However, if you are willing to leave your phone number and the time when I can call you, I can visit you and see if there is any possibility of cooperation. "
You may arrange the phone call time, or at least have the business card you want and the contact time.
another way to find jobs in other industries is to send a letter to thank them for their excellent service. Many businessmen display these thank-you letters in the workplace or print them on marketing materials. If they get your permission to use your name in the promotion, they are likely to list your occupation and business name at the same time. When others read your letter, they will look at your occupation and remember your name when they need your product.
Profit from a short craving cycle
Almost every tangible commodity introduced into the market has a limited service life. At one extreme, the service life of computer software and hardware is about 6 months in the United States and 2 years in China. At the other extreme, the service life of goods such as refrigerators is as long as 21 years. No matter how long the service life of a product is, it has its own cycle.
the key point of this strategy is that it doesn't matter how long the use period is, but what matters is that you know what the psychological craving period is. Once you know, you will find gold mines to be developed. If you are not familiar with the product, you will check the information or ask others in the same industry for advice. When you look at the previous sales materials, you will find many sales opportunities.
if you don't know the craving cycle of a product, do some research on when people began to have the idea of needing a new product. To confirm this, you only need to make a few phone calls to the consumers who are currently using the product. You can think of this as a survey or market research, and ask a few simple questions. If they know it won't last long, they will be willing to help you and answer questions. You can start by determining whether they still use the product (your sales records show that they own your product), and then ask them what products they used before using it. Only when the consumers you ask use your products for the first time will such an investigation fail. If this is the second and third time, you can get the answer by asking how many years the service life of such products is generally.
Let's look at an example like this: If you sell photocopiers, your customers have been using your photocopiers for 17 years, and only four transactions have taken place in your. Since their current machine has been used for 4 years, you know they will need a new machine. You can ask some questions about the current demand and get permission to send some information about the latest machines. If you don't need a new machine in two years, you should thank them and keep in touch.
when old products are about to be eliminated, the salesperson who contacts customers at the right time will win. Plan early and you will achieve fruitful results. Remember, the early bird catches the worm.
An enterprise that has entered an industry for at least 3 years should have a complete customer list. You should ask the owner or manager of the enterprise: How many people have entered and left the sales team during this period? Even though some salespeople have not left, they are now working in other positions in the enterprise. If there are several such people, how do their customers handle them? If their customers have not let other salespeople take charge, you can ask for authorization to contact them.
Because there are many changes in enterprises during this period, it is impossible for managers to have time to deal with such things. If everyone is busy and the enterprise grows rapidly, some customers will be ignored. Why didn't anyone take care of them? You know, have they ever bought your products and services?
customers are willing to continue to deal with you if the enterprise earnestly fulfills its promise. If they haven't made a purchase recently, it's only because no one has asked him. Don't open the door for competitors to seize valuable customers. Check the list of past customers, and you will not only get future business, but also get the business recommended by them.
keep abreast of the trend of technological progress
We have previously talked about people's "craving" cycles for various commodities. Why? In some cases, it's just because the goods are worn out; In other cases, it is more personal, which benefits the sales staff a lot. Commodities are sometimes a symbol of status, and they want to have the latest, most exciting and dazzling top-class commodities, because such commodities will win the admiration and attract people's attention, and owning them can show their good situation.
few people really want to own old-fashioned goods unless they are collectors and the old-fashioned products are antiques or classic styles. At present, most enterprises sell or provide high-tech equipment, peripheral equipment and support services, so it is necessary to understand and apply this strategy.