The lead being a good candidate for marking a purchase. That is, does the lead have a potential need for your product and the capability for making the purchase decision? As will be discussed in detail later in this module, only those leads passing these initial screening questions are true prospects-qualified strong candidates for making a purchase. For example, Wal-Mart and Neiman Marcus are major retail outlets for ready-to-wear clothing and would certainly be found on most manufacturers’ lists of screening criteria for selling organizations such as Tommy Hilfiger and Liz Claiborne, two companies that seek a limited number of upscale retail distribution outlets. On the other hand, the needs of Neiman Marcus are aligned with Tommy Hilfiger and Liz Claiborne, and Neiman Marcus would advance as a qualified prospect with high priority.
Prospecting is extremely important to most salespeople who do not regularly prospect are operating under the assumption that the current customer base will be sufficient to generate the desired level of future revenue. This is a shaky assumption in that market conditions may change, causing existing customers to buy less. Another possibility is that customers may go out of business or be bought by another firm, with the buying decisions now being made outside the salesperson’s territory. The salesperson may simply lose customers due to competitive activity or bought by another firm, with the buying decisions now being made outside the salesperson’s territory. The salesperson may simply lose customers due to competitive activity or dissatisfaction with the product, the salesperson, or the selling firm. Because there is typically a considerable time lag between the commencement of prospecting and the conversion of prospects to customer status, salespeople should spend some time prospecting on a regular basis. Otherwise, lost sales volume cannot be regained quickly enough to satisfy the large majority of sales organizations-those that ate growth oriented.