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.
Prospect Board Layout:
| 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
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Column descriptions:
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O (Opportunities): People you are about to call, or people you have tried to call but haven’t spoken to.
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As the card moves across the columns, it provides a document of how well the sales force is doing. From the beginning you can see how much work needs to be done. If there are a lot of cards in the left-hand column it is certainly not a sign that work has not been done.
Rather it is a demonstration of how many opportunities there are to be taken advantage of. Then in the First Appointment column you should always have a certain number of cards, demonstrating that calls have been made and encouraging early feedback has been gained. For any salesperson or sales-force, the important thing to look out for is a lack of movement. If a card stays for too long in one of the middle columns, it is a sign that not enough is being done to bring a sale to its conclusion.
All sales forces will be keen to move the cards to the right as efficiently as possible, and by looking at the board they can see what they have to do. Just like with any stats board, the prospects board will alert both the sales force and the management to what needs to be the area of focus for a given week.
If sales are in the pipeline but yet to be completed, the prospects board will give a clue as to what the next step should be in order to advance things further. The prospects board encourages competition among the sales force, and allows individuals to motivate themselves. When you can move a card to the right, it will show you that you have made significant progress in a deal.
Just as in sport, when a competitor has had difficulty in scoring, winning or doing what they need to do, a bit of positive news can inspire them towards putting good results together. The same thing is true of sales prospects – if you have found that there has been some difficulty in advancing prospects, and then when you get one positive result you will find that others follow on from it due to the boost in confidence.
