Good prospects are precious. Many of them develop into excellent accounts. And, each good prospect represents considerable economic value. Some of that value is the investment your company has made to identify the prospect. Their business potential, however, represents a far greater value. And when a good prospect falls through the cracks, all that value evaporates.
A good prospect is someone who buys what you are selling, has an awareness of your company and, perhaps, has shown some interest in doing business with you. This person may have received some of your mailings, visited your trade show booth or maybe even made an inquiry. So, how do such valuable opportunities fall through the cracks?
The best time to contact a good prospect is when his/her awareness of your company is at its peak. This could be immediately after a mailing campaign, trade show contact or inquiry. Most motivated salespeople do attempt a contact at this time. What happens, however, is that frequently the salesperson is unable to reach the prospect. The prospect may be on the phone, out of the office or otherwise unavailable. The salesperson then relies on a tickler file, or memory, to prompt another call a few days later ... then another call ... and another.
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After two or three weeks, the salesperson realizes the peak awareness period has passed. At this point his/her interest wanes and another good prospect has fallen through the cracks. Two things have happened here. First, the prospect's awareness of your company has faded. Secondly, your salesperson has lost interest. Deal with these two issues and you will stop your prospect leakage.
The solution, I think, is quite simple. Maintain prospect awareness and you will maintain your salesperson's interest. An easy way to maintain awareness could be to have pre-printed post cards saying something like "I called today, but couldn't reach you. I will try again next week." The salesperson could hand address and mail a card after each attempt at contacting the prospect. A better approach, perhaps, might be to automate your sales process using a Closed Loop concept to maintain continual contact with your valued prospects. Whatever you do, don't let another good prospect fall through the cracks.
