Sources of Sales 

Overview

This module is designed to give you a structured approach to help you find potential customers and new business. A framework is designed providing you with practical advice on the appropriate sources of sales, such as networking, databases, directories, newspapers and the Internet. There is also a framework which gives you practical advice on how to create the right relationship with potential customers and the importance of the key players or decision-makers in the buying process.

Unit 1: Finding potential customers and new business

A framework is designed to help you create new business. There are guidelines on how to go about finding potential customers, with advice on key research areas. Guidelines are also given on the different roles of those involved in the DMU (Decision Making Unit) and on how to utilise your customer base. Further guidance is given on how to properly qualify potential customers.

Unit 2: Building the right relationship with potential customers

A framework is designed providing you with advice you on how to approach and deal with potential customers. Attitude is everything, and this unit advises you on the importance of using the right manner when making initial contact with potential customers. The unit highlights the importance of establishing the customers' needs and interests and how it is vital to treat all customers as individuals. The unit also acts as a foundation for creating the right relationship with customers.

Introduction

One of your key responsibilities as a sales person is to source your selling possibilities. Your organisation will not achieve its objectives and will ultimately fail if customers are not identified and sales do not occur. The success or otherwise of your organisation depends on a number of important factors. Two of which are:

a. The identification of new customers who are ultimately turned into purchasing customers.

b. The creation of additional purchasing from existing customers.

You need to begin by finding potential customers and knowing those people that make the purchasing decisions. Secondly, to make contact with those customers and begin the selling process i.e. you follow up the selling possibilities.

Your function in this respect can be summarised as follows.

1. Prospecting. This is a term used to define potential customers who have not yet purchased any goods or services from your organisation. You obviously need to find them and this can be done in a variety of ways e.g. carry out research You will also need to verify that they are genuine and real i.e. they want your product or service and have the money to buy it.

2. The pre approach. After finding your prospects you then need to obtain as much information as you can about them in order to be able to approach them e.g. what are their likes and dislikes, their attitudes, their needs. This will allow you to prepare, prior to making your presentation to the customer. In most cases an initial call or preliminary visit will be arranged with the prospect, to ascertain their needs and make an assessment of them

You should approach these activities in a planned and organised way. Effective selling is all about planning and preparation. If you prepare well you will be successful. Take the analogy of painting or wallpapering a room. The preparation of the room can be hard and it can be time consuming. However, the relatively easy part is the actual painting or wallpapering. Without the preparation, the painting or wallpapering would be very difficult and would take longer. This applies equally in selling. The preparation and planning you do is essential. Without it the selling element would be very difficult e.g. you may end up trying to sell to a customer who does not really want your product or service after all. The preparation and planning stage would have highlighted this and you would have been saved the time, effort and money in contacting and meeting them.

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