Have you ever had to sales prospect in person? Such a thing occurs when you meet someone new face-to-face who may turn out to be a prospect for what you sell. Such interactions can be tough because you may be uncomfortable asking about business from a person you’ve just met.
Possible venues for prospecting in person:
- Trade shows
- Seminars
- Business expos
- Personal acquaintances
- Volunteer groups
- Civic organizations
- Social gatherings
One way to open the door to a business dialogue that doesn’t feel like you are hammering the new person over the head, is to simply ask for permission to send information in the future. Possibilities include plain old direct mail or, perhaps, asking for permission to send something via email. If you can’t be that bold, maybe just plan to add that person to your regular mailing list later.
Because you’ve met the prospect already, he or she may be a little bit more receptive to what you send. If the person is not currently interested, no big loss. If you stay in touch with this person over time, his or her circumstances may change and an opportunity may open up. Therefore, keep such a person on your mailing list as it will leave the door open to business in the future.
Making the Most of Having Met
Imagine if you sent direct mail to 1,000 people who never met you versus sending 1,000 letters to people whom you’ve both met and qualified to be decent prospects. The latter list would very likely be much more productive. A mailing list of a 1,000 people you’ve met can be a tremendous asset to you over the long run.
It may take you a while to put together a large list, but if you can supplement your prospecting by reaching out to people you meet directly, you can gain some prospecting momentum. Ease any pressure you feel when prospecting in person by focusing on adding new folks to your mailing list and following-up later.
