Unless you’re the only funeral home in a small town, you can rest assured ‘everyone’ is not your client. It’s imperative you take this to heart and understand you must be selective in how you spend your networking time.
Make no mistake, the time you invest attracting clients is very expensive. Most solopreneurs, entrepreneurs and small businesses have a very limited budget they can commit to advertising and promotion – networking included. You must focus all your marketing effort on a particular type of client so you don’t waste time on suspects.
You’ll notice I mention 'suspects' in several of these articles. It’s important to note suspects get in the way of prospects and it’s critical to know one when you see one. Suspects are people who will never be your client. Suspects steal precious time and effort from your sales process and, ultimately, keep you from closing other, potentially profitable prospects.
In order to be a true prospect, the person has to qualify in three specific areas. First, they must have stated they NEED your product or service. Second, they must have the means to pay for your product or service. And, third, they must be the decision maker. If the person does not meet all three criteria, stop wasting time on them.
I go into a lot more detail about ‘Identifying Your Perfect Client’ in another article (click here). After reviewing that article, please contact me if you’re ready for additional help learning where to find those clients. I can show you what to say to them so you turn casual contacts into profitable prospects.
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