Who are your best prospects? 

The quick answer is that they are those who can benefit most by doing business with you and who are prepared to move forward with their purchase in a timely manner. 

Quite a mouthful. Let’s break it down. 

You could fool yourself into thinking there are prospects everywhere you look. But the reality is that suspects – not prospects – are plentiful. Prospects aren’t prospects until you spend some time with them learning about their businesses, about their problems and about their wants and needs. Before you learn about them you must first identify them. That takes marketing, time, effort and resources that add to the cost of the sale and lengthen the sales cycle.  

Prospects could be anyone who is a consumer, or potential consumer, of your products or services. But not all prospects are created equal. Some are better than others. They deserve your full and immediate attention. What makes those prospects special? 

Unlike garden-variety prospects, your best prospects are those who see the value to them in what you offer. They have analyzed and prioritized their needs (hopefully with your help) and have come to understand the benefits your products or services deliver that your competitors’ cannot. They see that your offering will produce results for them, solving their problems, relieving their pain. 

So far you’re only about one-third of the way to describing your best prospects. There are probably many prospects who can see the light at the end of the tunnel that your solution provides. But most of those aren’t prepared to take the next steps. 

In order for any prospect to fully realize the benefits of your offering they need to buy it. Not every prospect who sees the benefits in theory is prepared to make that commitment. Before you can count any prospect among your best prospects you need to find out if they have budgeted for the type of products or services they need and expect. For example, if a prospect has budgeted $100 for $10,000 worth of results they’re clearly not one of your best prospects. Sure, they want the $10,000 solution, but they’re not ready or able to spend the necessary dollars. This may be because they don’t truly see the value in your offering or that they haven’t prioritized and placed a value on solving their problems. You have some work to do. 

The final third of the description of your best prospects is that they have a plan, and are making an organized effort, to buy within a specific, targeted time frame. They’re not just out there “kicking tires.” They’re taking specific steps to identify a solution to their problems; that will provide the results they need and want. And they have a short time line to completion of their search. 

So, where do you find your best prospects? 

You can start by casting your line among the suspects in your market, slowly working your way through them until you have identified those who have potential to be prospects. Then you can work each of those to build trust, determine needs and wants and propose a solution to their problems. If they accept, you have a new customer. But they weren’t your best prospects to begin with. And you’ve spent considerable resources to make the sale. In fact, it costs more than five times as much to land a new customer as it does to sell additional products or services to existing customers. 

Or you can go back to a familiar well – one in which you and your prospects are already familiar with each other – your current customers. 

Rule of thumb: 20% of the prospects in your market will account for 80% of your sales. Some of that 20% may become first time customers if you qualify them properly. But the majority of them will likely be existing customers. This makes them by far your best prospects. 

You’ve already courted them and won their confidence by producing the results they desired. You have proven yourself as a trusted advisor. They see the value in doing business with you and are generally receptive to doing additional business with you as their needs dictate. You already have a relationship with someone who has authority and a budget. And you have confidence that their buying process is well organized and deadline specific. 

It makes sense, then: your current customers are your best prospects. Keep them happy by delivering results and you’ll keep them coming back for more. 

Ó 2005 Patrick A. Hassett. All rights reserved.