How do I create a new prospect?

Summary

The following article explains how to create a new prospect.

Additional Information

In Platinum, sales prospect information (name, address and telephone number etc) is stored against a prospect code. Contact details, interests and other relevant information are then stored against this for reference.

To create a prospect in Sales Prospecting

Go to "Sales Prospecting" -> "Add or Edit Prospects".

• Click [Add]. The prospect code will be generated automatically with the next available number.

Duplicates: While entering a new prospect, the software will check against existing prospects to see if you are entering a duplicate. If any possible duplicates are found you will be asked to confirm you still wish to create the account. If you are entering in a duplicate and want to use the existing prospect, then select the existing prospect in the "Duplicate prospects:" list.

It is important for you to fill in as much information on the first tab of the prospect details as possible to make your prospecting database as useful as it can be.

• Basic Information
  • "Name, Address, Telephone Numbers:" Fill in the relevant information for the Prospect.
  • "E-mail:" Enter their E-mail address.
  • "Website:" Enter any applicable Website.
  • "Contact:" Enter the name of the person you deal with. This can later be quoted on letters to the prospect.
  • "Type:" Is the prospect an Individual or part of an Organisation? This flag also effects how the Account Code is Auto-Generated if the Prospect is converted to a Sales Account at a later date. e.g., If this is an Individual, Platinum will create an Account Code using the first 3 characters of the surname, whereas with an Organisation, an Account Code will be generated using the first 3 characters typed.
  • "Notes:" Enter any brief notes associated with the prospect e.g. Manager – Tom, Accounts – Mary, Opening Times, best contact times etc. To enter more detailed notes tap <Ctrl+F8>.
  • Sales Person: Enter the sales person connected with the prospect.

Next Contact

This section is used to log how you're next going to contact the Prospect.

• Date: Enter the date for the Contact.
• Type: Enter the method to be used when next contacting this customer for example this could be by 'telephone', 'letter', 'visit' etc.
• Notes: Record information relating to the next contact.

Interests

Interest Categories are a way of recording a particular characteristic of a prospect e.g. Honda Owner, met at Trade Show, Has a Family, Harley Davidson Enthusiast etc. Prospects with particular interests can then be targeted using the mail shot program, e.g. to inform them you will be attending a show, to let them know you are having an open day, to inform them of new products etc.

• To assign an Interest Category to a prospect, select the "Interests" Tab.
• In the Un-Allocated section, Double-Click the relevant Interest Category. n.b. If the Interest Category you want doesn't exist, it can be created by going to "Maintenance"->"Add/Edit Interests" from the main menu in Sales Prospecting.
• If you select one by mistake, then simply select it in the right-hand pane and click [<-] to remove.
• If a particular Interest doesn't exist, it can be created by going to "Maintenance Options"->"Add or Edit Interests" from the Sales Prospecting Main Menu.

Vehicle Interests

• This tab is only available if you have the Vehicle Sales Module.
• Enter the vehicle Model Code if you know it, tap <F1>/<Shift+F1> to scroll through the Models or tap <Ctrl+F1> to search for a Model.
• If you want to add a code that does not yet exist, tap <Shift+F10> on the Model field. Enter the model code (max 15 characters) and a description (max 30 characters). Make sure you follow the standards laid out by the Vehicle Sales department when creating models i.e. particular fields must be filled in to avoid future confusion. Tap <Esc> and <Enter> to accept the new model code.
• You may specify a level of interest by entering a code e.g. '001', '002'. To create a new interest code tap <Shift+F10> on the Interest field. Enter the code to use (max 3 characters) and a description (max 30 characters). Tap <Esc> and <Enter> to accept the new interest level.
• "Date of Interest:" Enter the date of the Interest.
• "%age Sale Probability:" Is the sale likely to proceed, enter the percentage probability of this.
• "Anticipated Sale Date:" Enter the date on which you expect the sale to be completed.
• "Upper Budget:" Enter the maximum amount the prospect is prepared to spend.
• "Type:" Is the prospect looking for a new vehicle?
• "Year Range:" Enter the date range of the age of the vehicle the prospect is interested in.
• "Stock Vehicle:" Is the prospect considering a particular vehicle in stock, if so enter details of the vehicle that matches the prospects interest.
• Click <Add> when done.
• You may carry on down the screen adding other model interests to the list. Tap <Esc> and <Accept> to save the changes and return to the Add/Edit Prospects Menu.

Editing a Prospect and other Functions

To use any of these options you need to be in the record for the particular prospect. You can be on the Prospect Number field or anywhere on their details. To find a prospect:

See also

• How do I Find a Prospect?
• How does Prospect Contacts Due Work?
• How do Interest Categories Work?
• How do Vehicle Interests Work?

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Keywords AND Misspellings

prospecting, new, create, prospect, creating, interests