use this spreadsheet to evaluate prospects

get your a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. in order.

by martin bissett

there is a difference between a pipeline and a simple list of prospects.

more on business development: consider hiring a sales director | understand the dna of business development success | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | lowballing is undervaluing yourself | appraise your prospects | the science of pipelines | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | develop the habit of consistency | prepare your next generation of professionals | overcome recurring fee apathy | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

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a true pipeline grades prospects, works out the value of each prospect and determines where they should fit in your business development efforts. you can use this process to create a mathematical equation that scores how likely you are to win the work.

appropriately, the mnemonic i use to describe this process is a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. each letter in the acronym represents a qualifying question that must be asked and answered to arrive at the appropriate score. let me show you how it works, using the following spreadsheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

each answer has two possible scores: 10 or 0. if all conditions are in place, that answer gets a 10; if not it’s a 0. there is nothing in between.

a stands for answer. based on what you know about this client’s needs, do you have the answer for them? a yes answer gets a 10, a no 0.

c stands for cash. can they afford you? simple answer, yes or no. 10 or 0.

c stands for convince. other than the person you have just talked with, is there anyone else in the business you need to convince to move to your firm? no gets a 10, yes a 0.

o stands for objections. do you perceive any serious objections that would stop them from coming over to you? this time a yes gets a 0, while a no is a 10.

u stands for undertake. do you want to undertake this work? is this your sort of engagement? your sort of client? your sort of project? if yes, score 10. if no, score 0.

n stands for necessity. this is not about your necessity, but the client’s necessity. does this client see a necessity to change accountants? is there a need to do something quickly, a sense of urgency? if so, that will give you an advantage, but if they are somewhat indifferent that can work against you. so if there is a perceived necessity on the client’s part, score 10. if they have no sense of urgency, score 0. remember, you can only score 10 or 0, nothing in between.

t stands for timing. is the time of your next meeting scheduled in your diary? for this purpose, a phone call or an email or anything other than a meeting does not count. so if you have the next meeting in the diary, score 10. if not, it’s a 0.

s stands for signatory. whether or not anyone else is involved in the decision to move to your firm, are you talking to the person who can sign the check? if a signatory is in the meeting, score 10. if not, score 0.

now, add up your scores. whatever the total is, that represents the percentage chance you have of winning the work. so if your total score is 40, you have a 40 percent chance of winning the work. with a total score of 60, you have a 60 percent chance of winning the work.

there are not 10 criteria to give us 100 percent, because there is never a 100 percent chance of winning the work. something can always crop up unexpectedly, so you will use a maximum of 80 percent, i.e. an a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. total of 80.

this formula lets you see whether a given prospect is worth pursuing. if it’s below 40, you might choose not to go after it. if it’s 70 or 80, you know this client is on the verge of coming on with you as long as you keep control of the process.  when you know these two things, you can begin to accurately forecast new business income from your proactive efforts.

business development task

schedule specific, non-interruptible time in your diary to make your pipeline look something like this:

posted on april 30, 2016