To use the prospect board, create a card for each prospect. Begin by placing the card in the left column and then move it to the right as the sales process moves forward. There will be fewer cards as you move from left to right across the board. To keep the board active, you have to keep adding cards to the left (Opportunities) column.
| O (Opportunities) | FA (First Appointments) | 25% | 50% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead or referrals yet to be called | Appointment set but prospect has not yet been met | Met at least once. 25% chance of closing deal within a month or two | 50% chance of closing deal within a month or so | 90% chance of closing within one or two weeks |
Every card should be dated, and the status of each card should be reviewed on a daily basis. If a prospect makes it clear that they are not going to buy your product, remove their card from the board. To be effective, the prospect board must reflect realistic chances of making a sale.
The reason that the prospect board works is because it gives a live demonstration of where the chances of a sale are. Therefore there should be traffic through the different stages of the board on a more or less daily basis. As sales are made, their cards are taken off the board. As sales are missed, those cards are also taken off the board. These cards should, in any successful sales office, be replaced with new prospects.
When new cards are added to the left-hand column, there should be a lot of effort made to get them into the neighboring column as soon as possible. The traffic through the board will be monitored on a daily basis, and if there is any sign that a card has remained too long in its present column it will be the source of questions from management. The message for salespeople with regard to the board needs to be “keep the cards moving”.
Salespeople watching the prospects board know which prospects belong to them, and what is required of them to get the cards to move from left to right. It is a way of knowing how much has been done and how much remains to do, and prevents them from forgetting about a prospect who may have gone slightly “cold”. Sales is a process that requires constant effort, and with the financial rewards available to a good salesperson it is important to maintain your concentration on every live lead you have.
