N5 Sales Management 1.4 Business leads 1.4.1 Business records
Information stored in the business's records and on its computers can provide valuable information in connection with previous sales to specific customers. The salesperson must analyse this information and try to derive a so called itch cycle with each customer.
Activity 2 What can a salesperson do with this information about a customer’s so-called “itch cycle”?
Records such as service reports from the service staff also help. For example, a salesperson for Land Rover must stay in close contact with the business's mechanical staff who service the vehicles, because these service staff can give the salesperson some excellent leads on which customers will need new vehicles within the near future.
Activity 3
How can the technical staff from Nashua dealers supply the business's salespeople with leads of potential customers?
The accounts department has records of inactive accounts/customers that didn’t buy from the business for quite a while. The salesperson should phone these customers and find out why they are not buying from the business anymore.
All of these can provide excellent prospects. 1.4.2 Business leads and aids
Inquiries by letter, telephone, e-mail and coupons are given to sales staff to follow-up. These inquiries are “hot” prospects because by making an enquiry that person will already have realised that a need exists and that he or she is interested in the product.
1.4.3 Referrals by other salespeople These can be obtained by salespeople in your own business who:
• Sell other product lines – You are a salesperson for Samsung selling their televisions but you are aware that one of your customers wants to buy a fridge for his daughter, so you refer him to your colleague who is selling the home appliances.
• Work in other areas – You are an estate agent in Cape Town, and you are aware of a customer who is moving to Pretoria, so you refer this customer to your colleague in Pretoria.
Non-competing salespeople (selling related products) of other businesses are also good sources of leads: • Salespeople selling paint, carpets, blinds and cupboards (all of them have the same target market, for example customers who are building a new house, or renovating their existing house), who visit customers often hear of products he does not sell, but that the customer needs. A practical way of handling these cases is to organise a meeting once a week with
58 DEFINITION
Itch cycle: From the different previous purchasing dates, the salesperson can derive a specific cycle, say every two years that a specific customer “itches” to buy a new bike.
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