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9 Developing and Qualifying Prospects and Accounts

A photo shows a business person walking with a file and a phone. — Source: Michael Ahearne

Learning Objectives

When you finish reading this chapter, you should be able to

9.1 Discuss the importance of developing a prospect or account
9.2 Identify and assess important sources of prospects and accounts
9.3 Describe criteria for qualifying prospects and accounts
9.4 Explain common methods of collecting and organizing prospect and account information
9.5 Describe the steps in managing the prospect or account list

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Over 10 million students improved their results using the Pearson MyLabs. Visit mymktlab.com for simulations, tutorials, and end-of-chapter problems.

Reality Selling Video Series—Dave Levitt/Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com offers hosted applications that manage customer information for sales, marketing, and customer support, providing clients with a rapidly deployable alternative to buying and maintaining enterprise software. The company’s applications are used by approximately 80,000 clients for generating sales leads, maintaining customer information, and tracking customer interactions. Dave Levitt (pictured above) joined Salesforce.com as a regional sales manager, leading a team of six sales representatives.

With prior experience as a direct salesperson in the enterprise software industry, Levitt has profound knowledge about how to prospect, approach and qualify prospects in his business. For his sales representatives, there are various ways to build a prospect database: Some prospects will inquire at the company’s website, and that will be forwarded directly to the sales representative so that he/she can follow up. Direct-response advertising, trade shows, or customer referrals can also be important sources of new accounts. Besides having the customers reach out to them, salespeople at Salesforce.com also try to utilize the knowledge on the company’s 80,000 customers. For example, if the sales representative has a chemical company as one of his prospects, he/she will take a look at the CRM system and ask: What other chemical companies are current customers, and how did they benefit from using our services? Then the representative could use referral selling and thus demonstrate credibility with the prospect.

According to Dave Levitt, the key to successful selling is empathy; that is, the ability to understand the customer’s business so that the sales representative can identify areas where he can add value. Levitt points out: “We cannot count on the customer to know what we offer, because our services can be applied in many different ways. The burden is on the sales representative to use his industry and product knowledge to probe and uncover opportunities, and then to qualify and pursue them accordingly.” Hence, the salesperson has to be able to look at accounts holistically, understand what the real business drivers are at a company, and then apply Salesforce.com’s service solutions in different areas.

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Table of Contents for 9 Developing and Qualifying Prospects and Accounts

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Table of Contents for
9 Developing and Qualifying Prospects and Accounts