Prospecting for sales is a process, an ongoing process. Many sales people get caught in a trap of filling the sales pipeline only to watch it dry up at the most inopportune time. Typically, as the pipeline fills we begin to concentrate on closing activities versus prospecting activities. This creates a roller coaster effect when 30 – 90 days later we suffer from depriving our prospecting activity.
Jeb Blount, author of Fanatical Prospecting says “the more you prospect, the luckier you get”. Top sales people spend as much as 80 percent of their time on prospecting and qualifying activities.
Here are some tips primarily highlighted from Blount’s book:
• Never stop prospecting! You must continually replace attraction in your sales pipeline. When you don’t think you need to prospect, or don’t think you have time to prospect; that’s when you should be prospecting.
• Don’t rely on one channel for prospecting and don’t rely on the channel you feel generates the least amount of resistance and rejection. Telephone is often the most effective, but most despised.
• Keep in mind the four objectives to prospecting
· Set an appointment
· Gather information and qualify
· Close a sale
· Build Familiarity
• Organize your prospects, calling those that you think are most likely to buy first.
GAD can help you organize and implement a well thought out prospecting strategy to keep qualified leads in front of your team. Don’t wait, your success depends on it.
