Prospecting Refresher: Prospecting is the process of looking for prospects among a sea of suspects.

Everyone is a suspect until proven as a prospect. When prospecting, we are looking primarily for those who are RWA (ready, willing, and able)

• Ready – They are ready to consider our solutions and can make a decision relatively quickly
• Willing – They are willing to allocate money to use the types of solutions that we offer
• Able – They are able to pay us and have sufficient money or access to credit

Woman working on her computer.

RWA example: A firm that is ready to consider new solutions and has an existing budget that is sufficient for our offering and has the cash flow or access to funds to pay us.

If one of these characteristics is missing after initially qualifying them, it is initially best to put them on a tickler and move on to the next suspect.

Not Ready Example: We are speaking to a regional or national firm with healthy financials and great cash flow. They have a substantial budget for our solutions, however all of it has been allocated for the current year and the client will not be ready to consider new solutions for several months.

Not Willing Example: We are speaking to a business owner who can make a decision quickly and runs a successful business with great cash flow. However, their firm is unwilling to spend money on our offering because they feel that our type of offering is not of benefit to their organization.

Not Able Example: We may be talking to a business owner who is ready to consider new solutions and are willing to allocate capital to this endeavor, however they are experiencing cash flow problems and do not have the needed funds to proceed. They also lack access to credit. They are a suspect, not a prospect, until they have the funds.

Once you identify a true prospect, the sales process begins.