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Where Did All the Prospects Go

Sell by understanding what the prospect really needs

How often have you met someone or had a prospect for your business and found that the promising prospect or lead just went nowhere?  I believe this has happened to most of us, whether it was a possible new client, a new position in a company, a new company itself or even launching a new service or product for an existing company.

Often we assume we know what is needed or wanted from us and, unfortunately we act on that wrong or slightly “off” misconception of what the other is interested in or wants from us.  It often happens in sales, especially when we have so much to offer that we just tell the prospect what we will do for them instead of finding out what they are looking for.  Just as often it happens in our public relations and marketing activities where we promote what we think our prospective clients will respond to instead of finding out what they really care about.

When it comes to starting a new venture, company, product or service, we need to find out what our prospects care about, need, want or will respond to.  Just as it is important to us to know what the other person needs or wants from us, we also have the responsibility to help a prospect to find out what we need or want from them.  Unfortunately, skipping this step when starting a new project is bound to end in a disastrous experience for both us and our clients.

Rather than guessing or assuming what will create the successful marketing campaign, sale or project we need to find out by asking the appropriate questions and then really listening to what the individual or group is telling us