Prospecting: Are You Hunting or Farming?
What are your sales personnel doing to drive business? Are they showing up to work and standing at their post ready to greet everyone who arrives as walk-in traffic? What do your salespeople say when the day produces one or two walk-ins, and those are people looking for parts? If the phrases “it is the inventory — we simply do not have what people want,” or “it is slow due to lack of advertising” sound all too familiar, please read on.
In today’s market, sales professionals must take the initiative to drive their own appointments. The typical approach is to hunt for them. Although this sounds reasonable, consider that when you go to the woods to hunt for elk, you can fire only one bullet at a time. Whether you hit or miss your target, what do you do next? You look for the next one — perhaps next year.
Now, should you be among the brave who begin to farm, your harvest will be in direct proportion to the labor invested. Just as a farmer must weed, fertilize, and tend to the fields, prospectors must make their presence known by cultivating a pipeline of customers.
A pipeline produces a steady stream of customers from the same source. What might those sources be? Find out what your customers like to do. Then establish your presence, wherever that is. Here is a list of sources to get you started:
1. Golf and Tennis Pros – They meet people every day. These pros not only talk with their customers about grips, swings, and follow-through, they also talk about work and vacations. Make certain every pro at your local golf courses and tennis clubs has a ball cap with your name on it.
2. Horses – Tack shops, rodeos, round-ups, and trail rides. All these activities include people who spend a lot of money on things they love. Since horses do not fit into a condo, portable housing seems to fit the bill. RVs and horses go hand in hand.
3. Fishing – Tackle shops and sporting good stores. Are you showing your fold- downs nearby? Those who fish need somewhere to come in from the rain. An RV could come in handy. Which tackle shops know you?
4. Campgrounds – Traveling people like to stay at the same campgrounds, and most likely, the same campsite. They feel like they are home no matter where they are. Who manages the campgrounds? Do they know you? Sometimes RVs are traded in and upgraded when people are on the road.
5. Associations – for firemen/police/doctors/ teachers/home schooling. Are you a member? Do you have a client who is a member? How can you become involved? Get your name out to these groups and keep it there. The more people who know you and what you do, the easier it will be to fill your appointment book with people who have income-producing jobs and a desire to take a vacation from work.
6. Volunteer Groups – Charity work is a great place to meet people who are motivated. Many who volunteer hold middle or senior management positions and need a vacation away from the computer/telephone/pager so they can reconnect with those who mean the most to them — their families. Could an RV be the answer for someone who is overworked, overstressed and gives to everyone else?
7. You say you like people? Join Toastmasters. They have lots of people with jobs and the income to purchase an RV so that they can travel around in style to the competitions.
8. The fall brings football. Tailgating anyone? What are you going to be seen in at the stadium? Serious tailgaters do so in an RV with all the latest conveniences. Are you showing your local team colors? Become a fan, to show other fans how to enjoy the tailgating season in style, in your RV.
9. Insurance Agents can also be a great pipeline source. Accidents do happen. And just like riding a horse, those who fall off get right back into the saddle ASAP. Where will the agents’ customers go to get their next RV?
10. Place business cards with your checks in your bill payment envelope. The card should read: “The payment of this obligation is made possible by the proceeds of an RV sale. What are you doing on your next vacation?” Leave a business card everywhere you go – with drycleaners, restaurants, cashiers at the grocery store. Everyone you come in contact with should know what you do.
11. Visit the local waiting rooms. Ask the office manager or storekeeper for permission to leave a brochure in doctor’s and dentist’s offices, nail and hair salons, and barber shops.
Farming for customers can also be done in your very own service department. One morning every week or every other week, depending on your sales staff, someone from sales should be in charge of pouring the customer’s coffee while they are waiting for the service advisor to get to them. A warm cup of coffee on a chilly morning says more than any words could about your business. While their unit is in the shop, the customer might want to find out about upgrading. Who better to do that than the salesperson with the smiling face who offered them coffee?
Prospecting is not something you do “in season”. It must become a part of what you do each and every day. Do not wait for the hunt; farm for appointment opportunities instead.
RV Executive Today, November 2006