Missing the Signs - Direct Sales recruiting

by Robert Middleton
of Action Plan Marketing

Annette's quick comment - I love everything Robert Middleton has to say and even though his articles are not specifically direct sales focused, they can be applied to our business perfectly.  When he speaks about various prospects, think of your Noah's Ark Workshops potential recruits.  You'll see how what he's saying fits perfectly with our business.  There's a lot to be learned here...read carefully!

Now...on to the article:

I have a little quiz for you.

You have connected with some prospects who you think look like
very good potentials; you see the following as good buying signs:

 Prospect one has lots of problems in their business and are
 missing all kinds of opportunities, so you see huge potential.

 Prospect two is a careful listener, eager to see more
 information and asks you to leave materials with them.

 Prospect three is sent to you by their boss to engage you
 and perhaps start a project.

 Prospect four has big plans and goals for growing their
 business and their excitement is contagious.

Annette's comment - the above categories can be either potential recruits or even current crew members on your team... think through your members and see if any fit...

At first glance you'd think these prospects were ideal. They have
needs, they have interest, they want to grow. The question is:
"What's not to like?"

The answer is: A LOT!

In fact, the prospects I've described are demonstrating the initial
warning signs of the four WORST kinds of prospects you could
possibly work with! These people will waste your time, steal your
ideas, take forever to implement, or never get started.

Annette's comment:  Phew.... I believe him!  Think about it!!!

They'll leave you frustrated and confused.

"But they look like ideal clients," you say! Yet if you dig a little
deeper, you may find that the way they initially present
themselves is nothing more than a smokescreen.

But when we are looking for more business, we fall for this
smokescreen almost every time. We make the decision that they
are good prospects, so we go about the work of trying to turn
them into clients.

That's when it gets hard.

They show a lot of interest and meet with us for hours on end,
not making a decision. We prepare proposals that meet their
needs and yet they stop returning our phone calls. They commit
to a project but move at a glacial pace. They get excited about
turning around their business, but before you know it they are
focusing on the next "good idea."

But do we think that these are bad prospects? Not on your life!
We just think that "marketing and selling is hard." We feel
discouraged, but keep plugging away, hoping that one of these
prospects will ultimately turn into a good client.

But they almost never do. Why?

Because they were never good prospects in the first place. You
read the signs wrong. What's worse, you've been doing this for a
long time - maybe years. You have been spinning your wheels
trying to sell to prospects who will never buy.

This also leads to another problem.

You fail to notice the buying signs of a good prospect. You don't
see how they are different, so you treat them the same as any
prospect. You miss opportunities that are right in front of you.

When you do get a client, you often don't know why. It seems to
be a random process that you don't have a lot of control over. At
this point it's not unusual to get discouraged about marketing
and just decide to "wait for referrals from satisfied clients."

I'd like you to imagine the following fantasy scenario:

You meet a lot of prospects in the course of your business. And
on the shirt of each prospect is pinned a magical "prospect
qualification badge" that only you can see.

Good prospects would have a badge that said "good prospect" and
bad prospects would have a badge that said "bad prospect."

Annette's comment - oh wouldn't that be so NICE?????

Can you imagine how that would impact your approach to
marketing and selling? Of course, you'd ignore the bad prospects
and put all your energy and attention on the good ones.

The thing is, this really isn't a fantasy scenario!

Every prospect you meet actually does wear an invisible "prospect
qualification badge" that simply takes a little understanding and
study to learn how to decipher.

Until you learn how to read these "prospect qualification badges"
you will waste enormous amounts of time and energy. As a result,
your business will never grow the way you want it to grow. And
that, my friends, is a tragedy.

To be continued...

Annette's comment - now Robert, that's just mean!!!!  I'll post his follow up when it comes I promise!!!

                                       *
The More Clients Bottom Line: The inability to distinguish bad
prospects from good prospects may be the biggest liability in your
business. Until you understand this, you'll unnecessarily waste
time and energy chasing clients who will never do business with
you.

© 2007 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved.
By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site Action Plan Marketing for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses.