Prospecting The Brooks Group
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools There is, perhaps, no single effort more important to your retention career than the science and art of prospecting. Prospecting is a science because there are certain principles that guide and define its success. And prospecting is also an art because it requires a carefully defined set of skills to succeed. One of the key principles that guides your prospecting efforts goes like this… The better job you do of serving unit members, particularly qualified unit members, the higher your retention rate will be. On the surface, that sounds pretty obvious. However, there are some things here that aren’t so evident. For example, what does “qualified” really mean? Simply this: People who possess all five characteristics of a qualified unit member. And in case you’ve forgotten what those five quality characteristics are, let’s review their common traits:
The have a need and are aware of it.
They have the authority to make the decision and the ability to qualify for the Air National Guard retention opportunity.
The have a relative sense of urgency about the decision.
You have or can develop trust with the unit member.
The unit member will listen to you.
The more of these five characteristics you can uncover in each potential loss you find, the more of a qualified unit member the person becomes. As an Air National Guard retainer, your niche is potential losses – people currently serving in the Air National Guard who might consider leaving at the end of their commitment. In turn, your niche can be broken down into segments, based on category – officer or enlisted – and career status. Here are the segments Air National Guard retainers work:
Officers
Career Airmen Page 1 of 6
Prospecting The Brooks Group
Mid-term Airmen
First-term Airmen
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
That’s four different segments in two different programs – officer or enlisted -- and each has its own unique qualifications and challenges that a retainer must take into account when trying to penetrate each segment. And if you’ve been a retainer any length of time, you’ve probably discovered that retention into some segments is harder than some other segments – a lot harder, in fact. To be successful with any of the target segments you choose, we strongly recommend you take the “Parthenon approach to prospecting.” The Parthenon approach requires you to establish multiple strategies for each segment you are attempting to penetrate. This approach is sometimes called the “multiple pillar strategy” because a Parthenon building contains at least five or more columns to help hold up the roof. Building a Parthenon is not difficult. At the top of the Parthenon – or the roof – you should put the target segment you’re going to attempt to retain. For example, First-term Airmen. Next, each pillar holding up the roof of the building should represent a prospecting strategy you are going to use to look for potential losses in the segment you are working. In the case of First-term Airmen, you could identify several strategies you will employ, such as phone calls, base newspaper articles, CMP interviews, networking, unit visits, etc. Under the base of each pillar, you write in the tactical activities you need to do successfully implement that particular strategy. For example, if your prospecting strategy is making unit visits, you would need to make an appointment with the unit commander or first sergeant, prepare some handouts, determine the target audience you want to speak to, visit the unit, make your presentation, follow-up, and conduct one-on-one appointments, etc. You will need to repeat this process until you have a complete Parthenon for each of your four segments. As you begin to prospect in each of your target segments, you will soon discover some of the segments are harder to crack than others. Do you know why that is? Page 2 of 6
Prospecting The Brooks Group
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
To understand why retention is not the same in all target segments, we can turn to the research conducted by the late Peter Drucker who wrote many books on sales and sales management. One of his most powerful observations concerned the probability of success when dealing with current customers, former customers and new customers.. In private sector selling, Drucker said salespeople have a far better chance of selling current customers more of their products – about a one in two chance. Drucker also stated that if you’ve done business with a customer in the past, but are not doing business now, you have about a one in four chance of earning the business. And lastly, Drucker believed that if you’ve never done business before with someone, your chances of gaining the business are about one in fourteen. Now those statistics will not match up exactly with the way Air National Guard retainers do business, but there are similarities. For example, if you are trying to retain a Career Airman with a good record, they would most closely match up to the one in two success rate. Why? They are already fully qualified -- mentally, morally and physically -- and have already bought a military commitment a couple of times before. Furthermore, they have invested the most years of any of your enlisted target segments. For many of the Career Airmen, the thought of earning a retirement check for all their service is closer to becoming a reality. Granted, some of these Career Airmen might be disgruntled or not interested in continued service, since they could already have more than 20 years of satisfactory service and they might not want to run the risk of another deployment. Indeed, they might opt not to remain in the Air National Guard; however, statistically, retainers working with Career Airmen see higher retention rates in this segment. In short, this is the easiest enlisted segment to retain. Mid-term Airmen – unit members nearing the end of a second enlistment contract -- probably fit in the one-in-four category. They are the next easiest enlisted segment to retain. Mid-term Airmen haven’t invested as much time as Career Airmen, but they may be halfway or more toward completing a 20-year career in the Air National Guard, so they are probably more inclined to remain, unless personal circumstances override their desire or need for staying in the Air National Guard. Page 3 of 6
Prospecting The Brooks Group
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
And your First-term Airmen, you probably guessed, are your one in fourteen potential losses – the most challenging to retain. They’ve invested the least amount of time of any of your enlisted segments, and their initial reasons for joining in the first place – money for college, training, etc. – may have been satisfied during their first enlistment term, and they see no real tangible reason for remaining in the Air National Guard. Furthermore, depending on whether or not they “enjoyed” their time in uniform, that could also be a major factor in their decision to remain or separate. Armed with these statistics, you now have a good feel for how much harder you’ll have to work in certain segments than in others. The nature of the retention business requires retainers to work all their segments on a regular basis. Unlike recruiters who may find great success in working just a couple of target segments, retainers must be effective working all their segments. That’s why they must concentrate their efforts in learning all they can about potential losses in every segment. One way to search for potential losses is by using the Power Prospecting Tools. These Power Prospecting Tools are the who, what, when where, why and how questions within each of the segments retainers serve, and they are derived from the prospecting principle that says the retainer who asks enough of the right questions of the right people in the right places will always find plenty of qualified unit members to stay in the Air National Guard. Let’s start with the Who questions. These are the most valuable prospecting questions you can ask because they identify the potential losses and unit members you want to work.
Who within my program and target markets has the most compelling need or desire to remain part of the Air National Guard right now?
In my program, who are the most ideal unit members for me?
By career field, who can help me retain more unit members?
Who are centers-of-influence for me who are not currently members of the ANG?
Who are some former unit members whom I can contact to help me?
The What questions empower you to have greater impact by helping you focus on your best unit members: Page 4 of 6
Prospecting The Brooks Group
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
What do I believe unit members will find most beneficial about the Air National Guard opportunity?
What are my projected losses going to find most beneficial about remaining in the Air National Guard?
What might they find least beneficial?
What questions will I need to ask in order to determine my unit member’s needs?
What questions are they likely to ask me?
The When Questions are all about timing – the best timing for you and your unit members. When questions help you strike a balance that takes into consideration when you are at your selling best and your unit members are available to meet with you at times that are convenient for them as well.
When is the best time for me to contact unit members?
When can I get the most attentive hearing?
When am I at my personal selling best?
Where Questions help you turn up potential losses by exploring new locations of people who might be considering separation.
Where can I find unit members projected for separation?
Where can I find unit members contemplating separation?
The Why questions are great for helping to prioritize your time expenditure as you determine the process your potential losses use to move closer toward making a commitment. They can also help you decide which approach is best to reach a particular person or group of people.
Why are we able to provide something of value to them?
Why do some unit members resist remaining in the Air National Guard?
Why would my timing be good or poor?
Page 5 of 6
Prospecting The Brooks Group
Prospecting Parthenons and Power Prospecting Tools (Retainer Version)
The How questions are crucial to prospecting success because many of their answers will evolve from the answers to the who, what, when, where and why questions. You cannot ask many meaningful how questions unless you have explored the other five types of questions first.
How does the Air National Guard define an ideal unit member?
How do I follow-up on my prospecting?
How can I find more time for prospecting without cutting into prime selling time?
There you have them, the Power Prospecting Tools that can be summed up in the following two sentences: The most productive sentences in any retainer’s vocabulary always end in with a question mark. And, this is much more of a mindset than it is a skill. Let’s close this session with this piece of advice. Good prospecting is a matter of developing a solid game plan that works well for you and then following that game plan to the letter.
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