5

Strategic
Prospecting and
Preparing for
Sales Dialogue
 The Strategic Prospecting Process
5

A process designed to
identify, qualify, and
prioritize sales
Sales opportunities.
Funnel or
Pipeline:
A
representation
of the trust-
based sales
process and strategic
sales prospecting
process.
 The Importance and
Challenges of Prospecting 5
• Customer-bases are not permanent, salespeople may
lose customers due to:
– Low satisfaction
– Competition
– Economic fluctuation
– Other forms of attrition
• The prospecting process can be long
– It may take weeks to replace a lost customer
with a new one
– Revenue streams can fluctuate if “pipeline” isn’t managed
• Prospecting isn’t easy
 Strategic Prospecting Process
5
Sales Leads or Suspects
• Generated from Internal or External Sources
• Lead Generation Methods Should be Managed

Qualifying Process
• Need?
• Financial Resources
• Authority to Make Purchase Decision

Sales Prospect
Ideal Customer • Prioritize Prospect List
Profile: • Initiate Pre-Call Planning
The characteristics
of a firm’s best
customers or the
perfect customer.
Popular Prospecting Sources & Methods
5
Prospecting: Advantages of Retail Sales
over Cold Calling 5
Prospecting: Advantages of Retail Sales
over Cold Calling 5
 6
Planning Sales
Dialogues and
Presentations
Sales Communications Formats
6
 Components of a Written Proposal
6
• Executive Summary
• Customer Needs and
Proposed Solution
• Seller Profile
• Pricing and Sales Agreement
The quality • Suggested Action and Timetable
of a
salesperson’s
written
document is a
surrogate for that
salesperson’s
competence and
ability.
 Executive Summary
6
• Succinctly demonstrates understanding of
needs and how solution addresses them
– Customer’s problems
– Proposed solution
– Benefits to the customer
• Must evoke interest in reading proposal
• Two pages max
 Why written proposals fail?
6
• Customer does not know seller
• Proposal does not follow set format
• Executive summary is not geared towards customer’s needs
• Seller’s company or industry jargon used
• Another customer’s name
• Proposal not convincing
• Grammatical errors
• Does not address key decision criteria
• Value proposition not persuasive
 Organized Sales Dialogues
6
• Several sales conversations over multiple encounters
– Sales calls (e.g., Need Discovery, Presentation of Solutions, Follow-Up)
– Other communication (phone, email, etc.)

• Conversations are
customized based on
each customer’s unique
characteristics (e.g., needs,
communication style, etc.)

• May include standardized

sales and marketing communication
materials (e.g., videos, brochures, etc.)
Sales Dialogue Template
6
 Customer Value Proposition
6
Customer Value Proposition: A statement of how the
sales offering will add value to the prospect’s business by
meeting a need or providing an opportunity.
Sales Dialogue Template (cont.)
6
 Buying Motives
6
• Rational
Typically relate to the
economics of the situation,
including cost, profitability,
quality, services offered, and
the total value of the seller’s
offering as perceived by the
customer.
• Emotional
Includes motives such as security, status, and need to
be liked; sometimes difficult for salespeople to uncover
these motives.
 Features and Benefits
6
• Feature
A quality or characteristic of a
product or service that is Fuel Efficient V-6 Engine
designed to provide value to
a buyer.
• Benefit
The added value or favorable
outcome derived from Higher miles per gallon
features of the product or reduces fuel costs.
service seller offers.
Sales Dialogue Template (cont.)
6