Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

Exhibit 7.1. Five-Step Prospecting Process
Step 1. Identify twenty candidates
Step 2. Assign one company profile for each organization you have targeted
Step 3. Gather information about each organization electronically and at
libraries
Step 4. Compose a letter to each of the organizations
Step 5. Mail your letter and follow up as promised
Step 1. Identify Twenty Candidates
List organizations that are potential clients for you. Perhaps you do not have specific
organizations identified. You may have an industry or a geographical area targeted.
This is where you may need to complete some investigation. You most likely
have some experience in the targeted area or you would not have chosen to market
to the “Norfolk, Virginia, area” or to the “fast food industry.”
Start by identifying twenty or thirty organizations you wish to target. You will
begin with that many because some may drop out along the way. You may have
difficulty locating information about them or, in some cases, you may change your
mind about wanting to work with them based on information your learn. Starting
with twenty or more gives you some flexibility. If you cannot identify thirty
organizations, check Exhibit 7.2 for ideas of whom to ask.
If you are identifying companies in your area, your banker, insurance provider,
accountant, and attorney are all good places to start. As you continue to compile
your list, remember to ask others in your network for suggestions. Ask people in
your professional organizations as well. Even if they are competitors, you may receive
suggestions that you may not have otherwise considered. Others you could
ask include your mentors or those you have mentored, college contacts, members
of organizations to which you belong, current or former clients, anyone you have
referred, former coworkers, and other family or friends.
If you are identifying organizations in a specific industry, you can check out
trade or professional directories that you will find online or in your library.
Prospecting in All the Right Places: How Do You Find Clients? 141