At Sharpenz we believe there are five skills critical to a sales professional’s success in this economy, and the first is prospecting.
Prospecting is the activity of proactively initiating contact with prospective buyers. The types of activities can include gaining referrals, cold calls, networking, trade show work, and so much more.
Today we’re observing several things regarding prospecting: sales teams don’t prospect enough; sellers do not have enough prospects in their current pipeline; or they give excuses and exhibit stall tactics to avoid prospecting.
Plain and simple: prospecting is a necessary part of sales success. Here are 5 tips to have you prospecting like a pro.
- To be successful, ongoing prospecting – or initiating contact with potential prospective buyers – needs to be built into your weekly plans.
- A recent study found that most sales people “give up” after 2-3 contacts with prospects. In today’s world a minimum of 5 contacts is what it takes to get them to pay attention. Don’t give up.
- Making contact alone isn’t the whole story – you must prepare, have a value proposition for this prospect and be able to succinctly explain how you can help them.
- Discipline is one thing top producers have that many others don’t. It doesn’t matter what system they use, top-producers follow through and are consistent.
- Be clear about what you want from your prospect – be purposeful with your plan and you will have better outcomes.
What other actions do you take to prospect like a pro? Let us know in the Comments section.
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