Who are you going to sell your products or services to? Who is likely to buy your product? Who are your potential customers? It has two elements:
Need it.
Affordable
First of all, you need, or you need such consumption. Not everyone needs your product, but it must be a group with certain characteristics. For example, users of small switches are organizations such as groups, societies and enterprises. Who would 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 make a deal in the end. Even in the insurance industry, everyone wants to buy insurance, but insurance salesmen are engaged in the most difficult job of finding potential customers. The groups buying 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 a difficult task, especially when you are just starting to engage in this industry. Your resources are just your knowledge of the product. You will find potential customers in many ways, and you have spent a lot of time on it.
In terms of prolonging the life of enterprises, developing new customers has great influence on the operation, financial resources, management and quality of enterprises.
Customers can influence the operation of enterprises. In order to retain new customers, enterprises must strive to gain the trust of customers.
According to statistics, under the law of market competition, manufacturers will lose at least some 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 expand in a planned way, it will be difficult for our customers to operate in the future.
Principles of finding potential customers
In the process of looking for potential customers, you can refer to the following principles of "being a man":
M: Money stands for "money". The selected object must have a certain purchasing power.
A: authority stands for the "decision-making power" of procurement. The object has the power to decide, suggest or oppose the purchase behavior.
N: Need stands for "demand". This object has this demand (product, service).
"Potential customers" should have the above characteristics, but they will encounter the following situations in actual operation, and should take specific countermeasures according to the specific situation:
Purchasing power, purchasing decision, demand.
M (yes) a (yes) n (big)
M (none) A (none) N (none)
These include:
M+A+N: It is a promising customer and an ideal sales target. M+A+N: Contactable, skilled in sales technology and hopeful of success.
M+A+N: You can contact, and try to find A's people (people with decision-making power).
M+A+N: You can contact them. You need to investigate their business and credit status and provide financing.
M+A+N: You can contact, and you should observe and cultivate for a long time to make it have another condition.
M+A+N: You can contact, and you should observe and cultivate for a long time to make it have another condition.
M+A+N: You can contact, and you should observe and cultivate for a long time to make it have another condition.
M+A+N: Non-customer, stop contact.
It can be seen that potential customers sometimes lack certain conditions (such as purchasing power, demand or purchasing power), but they can still be developed. As long as they use appropriate strategies, 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 customers' purchasing desire.
Concerns about products: such as the size of the purchased house, the way of dividing the room, public facilities, orientation, etc.
The degree of concern about the purchase: for example, whether the purchase contract of the house is carefully studied or whether the terms of the contract require increase or decrease; The interior compartment of the house needs to be remodeled.
Whether it can meet various needs, 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 quiet expectation; Whether the neighbors have noisy business premises, etc.
Trust in products: 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 income sources such as occupation and status.
Payment plan: whether the customer expects to pay cash in one lump sum, or requires installment payment and the amount of down payment can judge the purchasing power of the customer.
After judging the two factors of 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 for finding potential customers. Once you follow the plan step by step, you will get closer and closer to success.
1, the method of exploring potential customers
There are generally two methods to mine potential customers, one is data analysis, and the other is general method.
Data analysis method
"Data analysis" refers to the method of finding potential customers by analyzing various data (statistical data, catalog data, newspaper data, etc.). ).
Statistical data: statistical investigation reports of relevant state departments, statistical investigation data published by the industry in newspapers and periodicals, and statistical investigation data published by industry groups;
Directory information: customer directory (existing customers, old customers and lost customers), classmate directory, member directory, association directory, employee directory, who's who, telephone yellow pages, company yearbook, enterprise yearbook, etc. ;
Newspaper materials: newspapers (advertisements, 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, relevant personal news, etc.). ), professional newspapers and magazines (industry trends, peer activities, etc. ).
universal method
:: Active visits;
Introduction of others (customers, relatives, friends, elders, alumni, etc.). );
Various groups (social groups, clubs, etc.). );
Other aspects: mailing publicity materials, using various exhibitions, family, often going to scenic spots, entertainment places and other crowded places to walk around.
2. Find channels for potential customers.
From people you know.
Your daily activities will not be carried out in isolation, which means 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 familiar circle who need your product, or they know who needs it. In the process of searching, your task is to communicate. Let others know you, know you, this 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? It is undeniable that even a person with little social activities has a group of friends, classmates, teachers, as well as his family and relatives. These are your resources. One with a circle, which is the quickest way for salespeople 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 soon find your potential customers, because people around you will help you and are willing to help you.
Develop business contacts
Whether you are new to sales or not, you may be selling. Business contact is easier than social contact. With the help of contacts, you will make business contacts faster.
Consider not only people you know in the business world, but also industry organizations, such as associations and clubs, which bring you a huge group of potential customers.
Know a salesperson 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 and get along well with them, and you will gain a lot of experience. When the other party visits a customer, he will remember you. If you have a customer who is suitable for them, you will remember him. Not to mention the extra achievements, you have a very effective business partner.
Let your experience as a consumer add value.
If you spend money in a restaurant, the waiter will provide excellent service. Let's assume that you are in chain marketing, and you are looking for someone else to be with you, not for you. If this person has excellent interpersonal skills and is very competent for his job, they may be excellent candidates, start their own businesses and become a member of chain sales.
Pay attention to this work and don't go near them while they are working. You can leave a business card and tell them how to contact you if they want to change jobs. This will not cause resentment, but also get enough attention.
What would you say to them? Here are some effective dialogues in specific situations:
"I noticed that the way you work is very good. I wonder if you have 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 exactly is the situation?" , you say:
"According to the truth, because you are at work, 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 can arrange the telephone contact time, or at least have the business card and contact time you want.
Another way to look for it in other industries is to send a letter to thank them for their excellent service. Many businessmen display these thank-you notes in the workplace or print them on marketing materials. If they get your permission to use your name in the promotion, they will probably list your occupation and business name at the same time. When others read your letter and need your products, they will look at your occupation and remember your name.
Profit from a short period of desire
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 20 years. No matter how long the service life of a product is, it has its own cycle.
The key to this strategy is: it doesn't matter how long the use period is, what's important is that you know what the psychological craving period is. Once you know, you will find the gold mine to be developed. If you are not familiar with the product, you will look up the information or consult others in the same industry. If 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 about when people start thinking about new products. To prove 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 first determine whether they are still using 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 are using your products for the first time will such an investigation fail. If this is the second or 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 4 transactions have taken place in your company. As their current machine has been used for four 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, thank them and keep in touch.
When the old product is about to be eliminated, the salesperson who contacts the customer in time wins. Make plans early and you will achieve fruitful results. Remember, the early bird catches the worm.
Use customer list
An enterprise that has been in an industry for at least 3 years should have a complete customer list. You should ask the boss or manager of the enterprise how many people have entered and left the sales team during this period. Even if some salespeople have not left their jobs, 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 don't put other salespeople in charge, you can ask for authorization to contact them.
Because there are many changes in the enterprise during this period, managers can't have time to deal with such things. If everyone is busy and the enterprise grows rapidly, some customers will be ignored. Why is nobody in charge of them? Do you know that they have ever bought your products and services?
If the enterprise earnestly fulfills its promise, customers are willing to continue to deal with you. If they haven't bought recently, it's only because no one 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.
Grasp the trend of technological progress
As we said before, people have their own "craving" cycle for various commodities. Why? Sometimes, just because the goods are worn out; In other cases, it is more personal, which benefits salespeople a lot. Commodities are sometimes a symbol of status. They hope to have the latest, most exciting and dazzling top-class commodities, because such commodities will win people's admiration and attention, and owning them can show their good condition.
Few people really want to own secondhand goods, unless they are collectors, and the secondhand goods are antiques or classic styles. At present, most enterprises sell or provide high-tech equipment, peripheral equipment and support services, so understanding and applying this strategy will ensure success to a great extent.
When you have a new product, a new look, or just a price change, you have every reason to contact your old customers again. Naturally, they want to know the latest developments and changes. The key to the success of this strategy is to know how to contact old customers.
Mr. Li recently bought a new sound system for his family, and now the products have been improved. Don't just call and say, "Hey, I have a better product for you." This offensive language is likely to have the opposite effect. Because you belittle his system, he hates listening to your introduction and even hanging up.
Instead, I called Mr. Li and asked him what it was like to listen to his favorite music through the system. Before you provide the latest product, it is very important to confirm whether it still likes its own system. If you don't understand this and talk about your new product, you will lose Mr. Li as a customer forever.
Once you know that he is still satisfied, you should say, "Mr. Li, I know you did a thorough investigation before buying the system." I agree with you. What do you think of our company's new products? "What's Mr. Li's reaction? You admire him, admit his cleverness and ask for his advice. You make him feel important. Of course, he will be happy to see the new product. And if the new product is really better, I bet Mr. Li will want to upgrade his system.
If you take some time to understand the use of products by your current customers, you will know exactly when and how to contact them and tell them about new products and innovations, which will definitely help you increase the sales of new products.
Read the newspaper
Perhaps the most effective tool for finding potential customers is the newspaper you put there every day. I am used to marking all the opportunities of discovery at the same time when reading. Unless you do international trade, you may like to watch the local news, business and statement pages. Unless you like it, you will stay away from the latest crime statistics. The part that is beneficial to most people is the part that describes the life of ordinary people.
It only takes a few days to learn to read newspapers. Once you start, you will be surprised to see a lot of valuable information. Pay attention to marking and recording.
Take today's newspaper, read every front page news, and tick off the statements that are of certain commercial value to you. Just like an excellent salesperson tries to contact the relevant people, keep a copy for himself, and then send a short message: "I saw you on the news, I am doing business locally, and I hope to know you." I think you may need to have a copy of the news to share with friends and family. "And attach a business card.
People like to appear in the news themselves, and they like to send copies of articles to relatives and friends who are not local. By providing this small service, you can get a lot of big business.
Understand products, services and technicians.
Other people in the enterprise will think of you when they hear valuable information. For example, someone in the finance department knows that one of your customers has delayed delivery several times recently, which is valuable information in sales. Now that you know the client, you can rearrange him. Maybe the growth rate is not as high as expected, or your products and services are too expensive for them.
Instead of letting customers slip away, it is better to help customers cut equipment expenses or make other financial arrangements. They won't forget you and will become your long-term loyal customers. If you don't take action, you will lose this customer, just because the burden of unnecessary equipment investment is too heavy, and they may be embarrassed to come to your enterprise again.
Develop the habit of regularly checking the service and maintenance records of enterprises. Ask the customer service department how many consultation calls your customer has made. If it is repeated, you need to pay a return visit to them. Maybe they are in the growth stage, and you can help them win new services. Maybe it is difficult for them to use this unique equipment. If they don't understand the new situation, they buy a lemon and help them make lemon juice before they ask for a return.
Try to provide services beyond those provided by ordinary salespeople, which will help you establish long-term relationships, establish credibility and get recommended business.
Practice the five-step principle
Have you ever tried talking to people around you in an elevator, on a bus or in a restaurant? No matter what business you do, you will find it very interesting to talk to people close to you. How to know strangers around you is a skill that professional salespeople must train.
How to consciously deal with the encounter with others? First of all, we admit that not every opportunity will bring sales performance. Even so, why don't we try and let this opportunity slip away?
When you meet someone who walks into your five-step range, you should introduce yourself in a friendly and enthusiastic way and ask them about their work and why they are here. Good-natured dialogue makes the other side respond positively. When they ask about your job, your task is to hand them your business card. Few people will refuse your enthusiasm and business card, and then you will find that the other party has started asking a series of questions about your work and your products. Isn't that what you need? You smile and tell each other, "I guess I may have the opportunity to serve you or your friends one day, so thank you in advance."
Match these words accurately with your atmosphere at that time. "I guess" sounds like everything is natural "Thank you in advance" means that you are very polite. "Possibility" shows a humble attitude. "One day" will prevent your product or service from being prevaricated into the distant future. "Serving you" puts potential customers in an important position. They feel that they are important to you and are likely to take action to help you.
There are usually three situations, which action is good for you.
They agreed to call you for further discussion.
I agree to let you call them for further discussion.
They are not interested, but they will recommend you to people who are interested.
What do you have now? Get to know someone you hardly know, get a potential customer and be recommended to other potential customers.
Find and contact people who are most likely to become potential customers.
When we do product analysis, we make some simple descriptions of the distribution of potential customer groups. In any case, those things are written on paper, which is the starting point of your preparation. You haven't touched your core-the customer group you need most.
"Where are the potential customers?" With luck, your appointment or company will give you a list, but it may be more difficult for a newly opened market area. Fortunately, we already know how to know people and analyze products. At least we already know where the potential customers should be, although we haven't confirmed yet.
Use the English letters "PROSPECT" and "prospect" to explain how to develop potential customers:
P: provide yourself with a list of customers.
R: Record the "records" added by customers every day.
O: Organization "Organization" customer information
S: Select "select" real potential customers.
P: Plan "Plan" the customer source to get countermeasures.
E: exercise "using" imagination
C: collect "collect" the data of changing hands.
T: train "trains" the ability to choose customers by yourself.
P: personal "personal" observation
R: record "record" information
O: information about occupation "occupation"
S: spouse "spouse" assistant P: public "public" display or explanation
E: Establish a "chain" development relationship
C: cold "cold" visit
T: with the help of others
I: influence "introduction of people"
N: Information found in the name "Directory"
G: group "group" sales
To develop new customers, we must first find potential customers, which must be found in many ways.
1, between friends
Do you find that when we study with potential customers, we always list our friends, and friends are inevitably related to potential customers? That's not true. What are friends for people who work in sales? Your former colleagues, your classmates, people you know at parties or clubs may all be your friends. In other words, people who know you know their contact information, and they are also willing to know about your work and life and pay attention to your career. These people are all your friends.
If you are sure that the products you sell are what they need, why not contact them? And most of them have no time limit and can be done after work. Selling to friends or relatives will probably not be rejected and failed. Rejection and failure are the fear of novices. They like you, trust you, hope you succeed, and they are always willing to help you. Try to recommend the products you are sure of to them, and they will respond positively and become your best customers.
Contact them and tell them that you have started a new career or a new venture, and you hope they can enjoy your happiness with you. Unless you do this every day for six months, they will be happy for you and want to know more detailed information. You will use them to test your interpretation and presentation skills.
If your relatives and friends won't be your customers, contact them. The first rule of looking for potential customers is not to assume that someone can't help you establish business relations. They may not be potential customers themselves, but they may know people who will be your customers. Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations. When getting their permission to share your new products, services and ideas with you, the key sentence is: "Because I appreciate your judgment, I want to listen to your opinion." This sentence will definitely make the other person feel important and willing to help you.
After contacting the closest friends, turn to acquaintances. If the method is correct, most people will not only give you some, ask appropriate questions, but also talk to a big customer.
2. With the help of professionals.
Just entering a new industry, many things can't be done at all. You need people who can give you experience and get advice from it, which is of great value to you. We might as well call him a mentor. A tutor is such a person. He is more experienced than you, interested in what you do and willing to guide your actions. Mentors are willing to help people who are facing difficulties and help others gain knowledge from their own experiences. You can find a tutor from the Association of Marketing and Sales Managers or some local enterprises that are good at marketing.
Most enterprises will form a group of novices and experienced veterans to work together and let the veterans train novices for a period of time. This enterprise tutor system works well all over the world. Through this system, the knowledge and experience of established enterprises are recognized, which is also helpful for the cultivation of novices.
Of course, you can also entrust an advertising company or other enterprises to find customers for you, which requires the support of enterprises. There are many kinds of agents and they can provide many kinds of services. You should seek a suitable agent according to your own strength and needs.
3. List provided by enterprises
If you serve a company, the company will get the best performance through the details of advertising and marketing. Many companies provide sales staff with performance lists. In order to become an excellent business expert, you also need to find your own potential customers from them. In this way, even if you get nothing from the list of enterprises, you are prepared. If you are always looking for potential customers, you will encounter the least setback and make great strides.
Step 4 clean the street
Sweeping the street means that sales people have a wide range of business objects, such as insurance. By contacting all the objects that may become potential customers, everyone may become potential customers. There are also businesses targeting the catering industry, and they also need to sweep the streets for search. The existence of such potential customers is not very regular. For example, how do you know which street will open a new restaurant? There is a great possibility of failure when sweeping the street, but by sweeping the street, you can learn more about the market, and some of them may be valuable.
5. Wider scope
If the products you sell are beneficial to the enterprise, you should start with the local yellow pages phone book. The willingness to list the enterprises they invest in in the telephone book shows that they take enterprises seriously. If your product or service brings them more business or makes them more effective, you should contact them. If you want to expand the range of potential customers, you should look for at least 800 directories with names and addresses.
If you are familiar with computers, you may find potential customers online. Many classified goods on the Internet can help you find groups that may become your customers in a short time. If you are unfamiliar with the Internet, you need to get in touch with it now, because its development will bring us many new business ideas and future development directions. I won't introduce the knowledge of the Internet here. You can go to the bookstore to buy some suitable books or ask others for help.