Sales Prospecting:
You Won't Be Found If
Your Name's Not Around

In days gone by, car sales prospecting was all about calls to recent walk-ins, orphan and service customers. Some of that still exists. A few brave souls would even pick up the phone and call people who had their vehicle listed for sale in the classifieds. Today the pros still do this as well as monitor the for sale sites on the internet. Working these will result in sales. But they do require work.

What holds true is that if the sales person is not known to the buyer, it is much more difficult to secure an appointment to discuss a vehicle. It makes no difference if one is selling million dollar widgets, high end pots-and-pans, RVs, automobiles, insurance, financial services, or whatever. All things being equal, people prefer to do business with sales people, and car stores, they know, like, trust. And, if a buyer has had no previous interaction with you, she will look to do business with someone a trusted associate, friend, or colleague recommends.

Auto and RV sales professionals understand that "closing the Sale" is not the end of the relationship, it is the beginning. When the prospect signs the bill-of-sale, leaves a deposit, or whatever it is that signifies the deal is solid, high income car and RV sales people start coaching their new customer on how to become a sales prospecting agent for them.

Some auto sales people feel asking for referrals is something you do after the vehicle is delivered. Not so for the most successful car sales professionals. After is too late! The excitement wanes. Appreciation for the great sales service fades. Top drawer sales people plant the referral seed in sync with the close. One author put it this way, "Consider the sale as the launch of a relationship that will deliver repeat business and valuable word-of-mouth."

The purpose of farming that relationship is to cultivate sales leads. Sales prospecting is all about referrals. The same holds true for networking. Whether it be a cross section of business people who meet specifically to exchange leads or the Saturday night bowling team or a BBQ with friends, everyone is a potential lead generator for you.

And let's clear this up right away. It is not unethical to let your friends, neighbors, church group, girl guide troop, grandmother, or anyone know what it is you do and what a good prospect would look like. Your role, as a car or RV sales professional, is to help people who have a need find a suitable solution. What better way to be a friend than to help one of your friends.

Bill Cates in his book Get More Referrals Now writes, "To achieve sustained success in sales, you must become a master prospector. A well-executed marketing plan will bring clients to your door (or phone). But that's not always enough. Sometimes the clients that come to you aren't always the clients you want. Sometimes the volume isn't enough to build the level of sales you desire. You must always be proactive toward making referrals happen."

A phrase I often use is "Don't keep me a secret." Unfortunately, for many sales people that is exactly what happens. They fail to plant the referral seed and their new customer refers a prospect to the business but forgets to mention the salesperson's name. That prospective customer buys from or is assigned to someone else. Ouch!

By-the-way, if you are serious about establishing a strong auto or RV sales prospecting process, write me. I'll send you a list of methods that work - FREE. No catch. No gimmick. FREE.

Why is it important to have an effective process of requesting sales leads? Barry Faber explains it in his book The 12 Cliches of Selling, "People who are satisfied with your product and service can be the best kind of advertising you'll ever encounter. But unless you ask them to, they won't necessarily think of spreading the word about you around." That, unfortunately, is the headline and message. For sales prospecting You Won't Be Found If Your Name Is Not Around.

Remember: Nothing happens until someone sells something.

Sales Champions Make It Happen!


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