subject: The 7 Cs Of Prospecting, Your Key To The 7 Seas [print this page] Business prospecting is the key to successBusiness prospecting is the key to success. In todays global economy, you and your people need the business skill of prospecting across a wide variety of cultures without being offensive across the 7 seas.
Prospecting is really nothing more than contacting and inviting. Once you discover the 7 Cs are prospecting keys, contacting individuals has become an exciting adventure in conversation. No more dumping your business on unprepared and unappreciative prospects. Instead you seek a connection through conversation with real people. You will strive to understand their goals and then helping them move toward what they want. This is how the 7 Cs are key to your successful business prospecting. Here are the 7 Cs of prospecting.
1. Contact
2. Converse
3. Connect
4. Communicate
5. Commit
6. Call to Action
7. Commence
Contact - Begin the dialog by asking a question or making a statement. Dial the number, smile, break the silence. Catch the persons eye and wish them a good day. Wave. Do what is necessary. Make contact.
Converse - Talk in terms of the prospects interests. Explore details of topics they mention with probing questions. As the conversation moves forward the prospect is sharing and so are you. By asking good probing questions you are discovering if they are prepared and ready to learn more about you and/or your business endeavors.
Connect - Through the conversation you are seeking to find connections between you and them AND connections between what your business offers and the problems they need solved. Once you find common connections you are ready to really communicate.
Communicate - Once common connections are discovered you can communicate at the next level. There is empathy and understanding beyond just the words. Through this connection and the communication following the relationship of trust is established. There is a level of agreement on the problem to be solved.
Commit - With the problem discovered there needs to be a commitment and desire to do something about the problem. You can share your commitment and ask what they are willing to commit to resolve the problem. They can make commits only when they want to make a change to apply a solution to their problem.
Call to Action - With the commitment made to DO something to solve their problem they are ready for the call to action. The call to action is an INVITATION to explore the solution more fully. This invitation may be to get on a call or watch a DVD or to meet up to discuss the solution to their problem more fully.
Commence - When the prospect actual carries out the action to demonstrate their desire to solve their problem using your solution THEN they are ready to commence on to the next step. It is in their response to the calls for action which qualifies them for your time and attention. It is here they are included the next steps of the process.
These 7 steps flow naturally as you interact with the business prospect. There is no forced script here. Just natural conversation moving toward specific actions as the prospect is qualified. Using good conversation techniques and probing questions you will soon be good at taking the conversation through connections to communications. In the deeper communications you will help the prospect to reveal the real problems they want to solve. They qualify themselves for the solution you have or not. Their commitment to change the situation opens the door for the invitation of a call to action. The prospect then communicates their intentions through their response to the call to action.
You commence in further developing the relationship AND help them with their problem as they full fill the call for action. Prospects will thank you for helping them. We are in the problem solving business. We are master communicators. We help our prospects achieve their goals only as well as we help them reveal their real problem and assure it matches solutions we provide.
Using the 7Cs of business prospecting we are ready to sail the 7 seas!
