Prospecting - Building an Advocate Army

The single greatest concern facing all salespeople is
prospecting for new business. As a commission salesperson, your
livelihood is directly dependent on your ability to prospect
effectively. Do you consistently ask for referrals? To be
successful in the sales profession you need assistance from your
clients in the form of referrals. Average salespeople do not
invest their time nor spend their money developing clients into
advocates. An advocate is a person that will go out of their way
to recommend you to their friends and associates. Obviously the
more people that are saying good things about you and your
company in the marketplace, the more sales you will make! I have
never seen a salesperson leave the profession because they had
too many qualified prospects to work at one time. Building an
advocate army doesn’t happen over night, but the time, money and
effort required to develop advocates is certainly worth it. Most
clients are initially reluctant to provide referrals and need to
be encouraged and trained. Cows don’t give milk; you’ve got to
work for every drop. To become effective, advocates need to be
trained and motivated. Advocates aren't born they're developed!

How do I go about finding my advocates?

· Begin by creating a list of your existing advocates. Clients
that have already referred prospects to you, automatically
become part of your advocate army. 

· Review your client list for potential advocates. Identify
those clients that have purchased multiple orders or large
single orders but have not yet referred a prospect to you.

After I've identified my list of advocates and potential
advocates, what do I do next?

· Let your existing advocates assist you in training your
potential advocates. Develop an action plan to contact your
potential advocates and invite them to a breakfast or lunch
along with one or two of your best advocates. This low-pressure
approach is effective because you merely guide the discussion
and allow your advocates to share their referral techniques. 

· Stay in contact. Put your advocates on a suspense list to
contact them quarterly. Consider calling or mailing them
something of interest, such as an article or newsletter.

How do I train my advocates to prospect effectively?

· Teach your advocates how to approach a prospect. Be careful
not to let them overeducate their referrals. Role-play the
actual words you would like them to use when they introduce you.
I suggest that you coach them to say what it is that you do -
not how you do it. Keep it simple and short. 

· Prepare them for the standard objections that they may expect
to encounter from a prospect. If they are not prepared to deal
with the typical objections, they will be less effective and
will potentially be discouraged from future prospecting attempts.

How do I reward my advocates after they have provided me with a
referral? 

· Send them a thank you card and or call them to thank them for
referring a prospect to you. Keep them informed on the status of
their referrals. You must have a system in place to provide
feedback to your advocates or they will not feel appreciated and
will loose interest. 

. Consider giving them a small gift for their involvement, such
as a gift certificate to a local restaurant.