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B-LIST: ABOUT TO CATCH FIRE
DEFINITION: Anyone who is interested, has a need for the product, is the decision maker or on the team, and is qualified for money now but asks to see more information.
BATTLE PLAN: Send the material today, or tomorrow at the latest. Schedule for a callback in seven clays (if info was sent by mail) or two days (if it was sent by e-mail or fax). Expect that one or two of every five B-List prospects will be white-hot when recontacted; one or two will be duds (they don't answer the phone or return calls); and one or two will be reclassified as C-List (see below).
C-LIST: WARMING UP
DEFINITION: A prospect who indicates interest but who won't have the money or power to decide until a known later time. Example: You're selling financial services, and a prospect says, "Sounds good, but I don't have any money now."
BATTLE PLAN: You respond, "Do you expect to have some funds available to invest or reinvest in the next six months?" If the answer is yes:
1. Send the requested information.
2. Ten days later, send a letter introducing your firm and describing the benefits (not the features) of your product.
3. Ten days after that, send information about yourself (how long you've been an accountant, how long you've been selling photocopiers -- anything to personalize the pitch). Describe still more benefits (not features) of your product. (By sending three letters quickly, you'll have a good chance of being remembered later.)
4. Send a reminder or make a low-key call every month until the money is due or a decision can be made.
5. Call back two to four weeks before the opportunity date -- that is, the given date when the prospect's situation was expected to improve. Determine whether your prospect is now A-List, B-List, C-List with a later date, or downgraded to D (see below).
D-LIST: ON THE BACK BURNER
DEFINITION: A prospect who expresses mild interest but cannot be pinned down as to when funds will be available or a decision can be made. When an attempt is made to qualify for funds or a decision-making opportunity, a typical response is "Just send me the information."
BATTLE PLAN: Follow steps one through three above. Thirty days later, call and requalify. This call is critical; if you don't make it, you can wind up with a list full of duds who are not interested and are unqualified (not to mention unpleasantly rude). If the prospect does not upgrade to A-List in this stage, discard him unless he responds affirmatively when asked whether you should keep sending information. If he opts to remain on your mailing list, call again every 90 days to requalify until he's ready to upgrade.
And what if he asks to stop receiving information?
"Thankyouverymuch; good-bye."
Bill Good is chairman of Bill Good Marketing, Inc., a South Jordan, Utah-based firm that has trained tens of thousands of salespeople in prospecting skills. He can be reached at 800-678-1480 or www.billgood.com.
From Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success, by Bill Good. Copyright [C] 1986, 1997 by Bill Good. Reprinted by permission of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Success Holdings Company, LLC
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
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