Case background: Pete Townsend has been in the food and beverage industry since he was a little boy. His father owned a restaurant/tavern where Townsend spent many hours working. At age 21, he began as a bartender. Later he developed firsthand experience ordering food, hiring, firing, and running the entire operation. By the time he was 30, he took over the business from his Dad. During the next 10 years, he opened 3 more restaurants/bars. But Townsend's first love was experimenting with recipes. His chili won competitions, his spaghetti sauce was world-class. His garlic bread and garlic cheese bread were legendary. So Townsend next opened several Spaghetti Shops where he sells his products. . He has seen his sales grow by 18 percent per year over the past five years, and the trend is expected to continue for at least the next three years.

The Challenge:

Townsend is convinced that a good market exists (e.g., groceries, restaurants, gas stations) for his food products. He's started to put together a business plan to move in that direction.

One of his first problems is to obtain a list of prospects. You and your classmates (depending on the class size your facilitator may break you into teams for this discussion exercise) are a B2B sales consulting company. Townsend finds you through Algonquin College and asks you to meet with him to explore how he should proceed to develop that all-important list of initial prospects.

To prepare for the meeting with Pete Townsend you've identified the following 3 questions that you and the team will brainstorm to form the core of your presentation on Sales Prospecting and Qualifying.

1. What prospecting methods should Townsend use?
2. How can Townsend qualify the leads he receives? What qualifying factors will be most important?
3. What pre-call information is needed by Townsend? How will he collect this information?
4. Take the initiative to summarize the key points to bring forward to your presentation to Townsend