Prospecting for new business

Frank Furness

Wherever I speak in the World, one of the areas that sparks most interest is where and how to find new clients and prospect for new business. In the next few issues I will be addressing many ideas and techniques on how to find new business. Whether you are in sales, speaking, training, coaching and have a large or small business, you need to analyse where your new business is being found and how much activity and effort is being channeled into this area. If you are not constantly marketing, prospecting and introducing new clients, your business will be going backwards.
There are so many areas of finding new business: cold and warm calling, referrals, social and business networking, the internet, exhibitions, speaking engagements (most of my conference speaking engagements now come from speaking to decision makers groups), periodicals and magazines, centres of influence, observation and marketing yourself. Right now, take a pen and paper and make a list of where you can prospect more.
Let’s start with warm and cold calling. To me cold calling on the telephone is still as daunting now as it was 25 years ago, but it is the price I have to pay for not doing all the other activities and having a diary with gaps. The only difference now is that if the occasion ever now arises for me to make those cold calls, I do so with passion because I know they will result in engagements or sales. Most of the time these are as a result of obtaining referrals and this makes calling so much easier. On my sales programmes I tell people to phone when their energy levels are highest, but the truth is that I will phone anytime of the day now because I have the confidence and attitude that the call will have a positive result.
If you face a phoning session with a bad attitude and body language, you are throwing away potential new clients. All great sports people warm up before they start; we need to do the same in phoning. Make your first couple of calls to existing clients who you have a great relationship with. This will do three things: keep you in touch, put you in a positive frame of mind and warm up your voice. Have an objective for every call: is it to sell an appointment, or to follow up with a prospect. If you try to start selling your product or service over the phone, you will meet with many objections. If this is totally a cold call, they don’t know you, might not trust you and may dislike a pushy person on the other side of the phone. You need to develop rapport, trust and credibility and I find that this can be done far more easily when I am face to face with a prospective client. All I try to do on the phone is sell the appointment.
I was fortunate enough early in my career to hear possibly the best speaker on telephone technique in the world. Many of you may now own his books as Alan and Barbara Pease are best selling authors. After hearing Alan speaking 20 years ago, I bought his telephone programme and my ratios and sales increased dramatically. Alan has analysed the exact words and the psychology of the call and this resulted in him making 954 appointments out of 1,000 cold calls, pretty impressive!! His script for overcoming objections helped me to use only this technique and even now I use it to overcome any objection. Over the years I met Alan and got to know him and Barbara and have asked him a big favour for all my subscribers.
Click here to order 'How to make appointments by telephone

Customer Service and sales - the vital connection

Frank Furness

I'm always on the lookout for good and bad service wherever I speak in the world. For me the best service is experienced in Asia, the Middle East and the USA. With great service, your sales increase and your clients become your biggest source of advertising.
I speak in Dubai at least twice a year and the service and hotels are always superb. Last year I decided to take Candice for a two week vacation in Dubai and we stayed at the 'Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa.' We had booked on a bed and breakfast basis and were planning to spend around $100 at different restaurants in Dubai each evening.
When we checked in we were told that all our evening meals were included (underpromising and overdelivering) and we could eat at any of the 8 restaurants, one of which had just won an award for being the best steakhouse in Dubai. The restaurants were so good that we ate all our dinners in the hotel and spent our $100 budget on great wines, cocktails and liqueurs each night. Where do you think the hotel makes the most profit, of course, alcohol.
All the staff knew our names within hours and it was a memorable experience where we were pampered and treated to outstanding customer service. I met with the manager who had turned this into one of the best hotels in the group and she shared her plan of action. All the points covered are just as relevant in your business. See how many would apply to your business
The action plan:
Treat everyone as an individual
Remember names
Customer first, tasks second
Fun focus on everyday things
Commitment to excellence scheme
Teambuilding for staff
I have shared this story with thousands of people around the world in my talks and I know it has generated many bookings for the hotel. You see, having had a brilliant experience, I am now a walking, talking advert for the hotel. Are your clients doing the same for you?
Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa

WINNING - How to Achieve Your Goals and Dreams
by Frank Furness CSP

Why do a small percentage of people qualify at a top level every year while others sit back and wonder how they could ever achieve it.
There are many reasons, including Knowledge, Good Habits, Positive Mental Attitude and Excellent Skills, but research has shown that these top producers have definite goals and a detailed plan of action for attaining their targets.
So, why not you? It's the ideal time to set up your Goals Programme and detailed Production Plan.
Start by setting up a Goals Programme (maybe the first time you've ever done this). Guidelines for setting goals are as follows:
a. Goals must be written
b. They must be your goals.
c. They must be achievable.
d. You need to stretch yourself to reach the goals.
e . You need goals in every area of your life.
f. Set yourself short, medium and long term goals.
g. Be prepared to change and pay the price of reaching your goals.
h. Realise that goal setting is an ongoing process.

You're now ready to set up your own Goals Programme, so get some paper and start writing, following these steps.
1. Write out your Master Dreamlist. Open your mind and don't limit yourself. Write everything you've ever wanted (Red Porsche, house in Spain, small waistline, 22-inch biceps, having dinner with Tom Cruise/Julia Roberts).
2. Copy your Master Dreamlist into the following categories and add to the list.
a. Family and Homelife
b. Financial, material possessions and professional.
c. Social and recreational.
d. Physical and sporting and health
e. Mental and learning goals
f. Spiritual and ethical.
Make sure you have goals in each category to lead a happy balanced life.
3. Now edit your lists and remove any goals that are not realistic or achievable (beating Linford Christie in a 100-metre race).
4. What you now have left are your realistic and achievable goals. Now for each goal, set a time limit
5. For each goal, identify any obstacles you may have to overcome or new skills you would need to acquire.
6. Make small (business card size) affirmation cards to review constantly. The goal must be stated positively
7. Visualise yourself achieving your goals (Every great sports person does this, they've run the race 30 times in their minds before they reach the track).

Example of a Master Dreamlist

Buy a Mercedes 500 SL
Family holiday to Hawaii
Buy a holiday home in Spain
Help my children achieve their University degree.
Spend 20 minutes each day with my children, playing the games they want to play.
Example of the Financial and Professional Category
Buy a BMW with Monthly payments plan to suit me Silver with leather seats

Insanity = To keep doing the same things and expect different results.

Learn more from our great resource 'It's all About You'

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free 'Sales Tips & Ideas' newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com
NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm
About the Author
Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free 'Sales Tips & Ideas' newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

Making Money on the Internet

It's amazing how many people have great sites, but very little traffic. There are many ways to drive more traffic to your site and one of the easiest is have a linking strategy. The more links you have, the more the search engines love you and promote you.
For me the easiest two ways of developing link strategies are through articles and links with people I know and other sites that have high rankings.
Here are some effective ideas for writing articles:
Keep it short and to the point – don’t ramble.
Pace and balance - Write a quick summary of each paragraph, then develop each one with three or four supporting sentences. Close with a motivating call to action.
How-To, "7 Tips" and Q&A are immensely popular. Use sub headlines in bold type to help guide their eyes down the page.
Focus on the customer.
Include a call to action - "Visit us today to find out how great prospecting ability can make a world of difference for your business!"
If you have written any articles, finish them with your contact details which includes a link to your website. You now submit these to article directories for others to download and put onto their websites. Because there is a link in your article, you have an automatic link back to your website. Just imagine if you have 20 articles which have been downloaded and linked 200 times, your traffic will soar.
Submit your articles to this new directory where there are not yet thousands of articles there where yours will get lost amongst the many.
I also swap links with everyone I know, so if you have a website and would like to swap links, drop me an email with the details to frank@frankfurness.com

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Speaking Tips

At last I have completed my speaking series 'Speak for High Fees in Many Lands'. It has taken 3 years, but the end product is great.
One of the great advantages of my occupation, is that I get to visit fantastic countries, eat excellent food and get paid for doing it. Here are some tips that work a treat:
Find the other offices When speaking internationally, find out where the International client for whom you are speaking has other branches around the world. Find out who you should contact at the other offices to do the same talk. In January I spoke at a large software company in Dubai. The CEO from London was in Dubai at the time and heard me speak. After the talk he asked me to contact him to replicate the talk to their other international offices. They have offices in 33 countries.
Identify clients you have spoken for in the past that have international offices. Get a referral to the decision maker in the overseas office. Email or send a letter and follow up with a phone call.
Add on an extra day to meet with potential clients – Wherever I speak in the world, I add on an extra day to see potential clients and bureaus. I can normally fit in 5 appointments for the day and this always results in at least one extra booking. On a recent trip to Singapore, I managed to give a keynote speech to a large Insurance Company and in the same day have five meetings with potential clients. One of these meetings was a cocktail party where I met with twenty of the most influential business leaders in Singapore. This was only achieved because I had developed a center of influence in Singapore who had arranged the talk and all of the meetings. He is rewarded with a percentage of the fee, which makes it a win-win situation for everyone.
For the next two weeks, there is a special offer to all my subscribers - a 40% discount on 'Speak for High Fees in Many Lands'. As an added bonus for those who invest, you get 500 contacts of Bureaus, event planners and associations in the UK, USA, Asia and Australia. These will be supplied at 125 every quarter, the first batch in an excel worksheet with the programme.
My challenge to you is to make ten times the investment in the next six months.
Listen to three tracks from our new programme...click here
Invest at a 40% discount for the next 10 days - click here

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.comNOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

10 steps for effective referral prospecting

• It's the start of the New Year and time for all of us to be looking for more clients and prospecting more effectively. One of the most effective forms of prospecting I have found over my sales career has been to always ask for referrals, This way I always have a professional introduction and there is credibility from the outset.
  The easiest script I have used over the years when asking for referrals is this - 'If we had to swap jobs today, who would be the first three people you would call'
  Here are my 10 steps for effective referral prospecting:
  Ask for specific referrals to narrow the customer’s focus.
  Gather as much information about the referral as possible.
  Ask your customer for permission to use his or her name.
  Ask your customer for help in obtaining an appointment with the referral.
  Contact the referral as soon as possible
  Inform your customer about the outcome of the contact.
  Build referral alliances (this can be through sources such as clubs, centres of influence, key people in the industry).
  Prospect for referrals just like you prospect for sales leads
  Rank your referrals as you do your customers:
  Seek internal referrals (other departments, locations, divisions, branches and subsidiaries).
  Click Here to listen to a cut from the CD
  Click here to order 'Sales Success Success Strategies'

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm