WAY 52

Be a Super-Sleuth

You can never know too much about a prospect to whom you'd like to sell. The more you learn, the more likely you are to win over that potential account. There is no excuse for being uninformed in today's information-rich society, where you have resources like your local library and the Internet.

ACTION ITEM

Think of yourself as a detective building a case. You must convince prospects to become customers, so be sure to do your research first!

When a consultant was invited to meet with Flagstar Bank to consider doing promotional work for them, he downloaded every page from the company's web site and learned everything he could—from its mission statement to its philosophy of customer service, from its growth plans to its financial performance in recent years. When he walked in to meet with Flagstar management, he was armed and ready to discuss where they'd been and where they were going.

TAKEAWAY

Knowledge is power. If you don't know enough
about your prospects, the only reason is
because you haven't tried hard enough
.