Stage 1 Finding prospective buyers (customers)


Good points by 1 person so far, Miss Ella Chen. The others are just trying to make their presence felt, while yet a bunch of advert-addicts trying to promote their merchandise. This participation is heart-wrenching, and I sense the problem lies with the inept command of the English language, which shy away many participant, or could it be due to the prizes that are not attractive or tangible enough.


It is total unbelief to me that many people can still carry on as Sales people without knowing the fundamentals of sales, and finding customers is the most important one. I am tempted to use quotations of management gurus like Kenichi Omae san, the greatest Japanese strategy guru of our time, where he advocates that "Customer is the very reason for the existence of all businesses", in other words, without the customer, there is no business. This is true of every form of business and society, the people-based activities, profit, or non-profit, Government or non-government.


Use common-sense thinking, and ask yourself this simple question: Why will someone buys something from you? Who are they and what benefits will your products bring to them, and how much value do you add into the product so it has your part in it? The steps to take finding your prospective customer (prospects) are:


1. Searching, looking and finding them. Agree with Ella Chen, that you first have to set your objective / criteria before searching. You have to make clear of your target market. Kenichi  mentioned: Selectivity and sequencing. Some people called it focus, while others called it single out the problems and solving it one by one. In the animal world, the fish swam in schools and the predator is confused by the so many of them, that the baracuda cannot concentrate on anyone prey for its meal. Same as the Zebra came in herds and its black and white stripes confuse the lions.