Ten Clues you are doomed to the salt mines of sales prospecting….
NOTE: The biggest clue is last.
Uh oh.
Those are the words I utter whenever someone identifies themselves as destined to toil in the salt mines of sales prospecting low-productivity land. Working very hard for too little. They are missing out, and will continue to miss out on meetings with qualified prospects….simply because their thoughts and activities are misdirected.
How do I know?
Here are 10 clues. If too many apply to you, nothing will change unless you do.
You can choose high probability sales beliefs, strategies or practices.
You can choose low probability sales beliefs, strategies or practices.
Your choice.
The clues…
10. You prospect using a spreadsheet or paper system. Would you run a road race carrying a bowling ball? That’s what you are doing if you don’t use a contact manager. You can’t win.
9. You think everyone is your client. You spend too much time with low-probability low-volume prospects. When asked to define your best prospects you typically start by saying… “You never know.”
8. You don’t write down best words to use in repetitive situations because you don’t want to sound scripted? What has that got to do with being prepared?
7. You are obsessed with being “too pushy” or sounding “too salesy.” What’s pushy to you is just being direct to someone else. People who express this are typically not doing or saying what they need to do to make a sale.
6. When asked what the benefits are of your offering… you hem and haw. If you don’t have a firm grasp on your benefits, how do you expect to sell?
5. You contact and communicate with suspects/prospects at random. You have no real process for prospecting. Catch as catch can and hit or miss. Why? You are busy. Doing what? No excuse.
4. You let your prospects control what you do. When asked to send info or call back, your typically response is “Um, OK.” Go buy an “I am a wimp” T-shirt. You should never lose control.
3. You spend more time concerned with those who will never buy, than you are being laser focused communicating benefits and moving to the next step with those likely to buy. Don’t wash-down or soften your best approach to appease those that have no immediate needs. Assume everyone you speak to has a need you can fill. Say what is necessary to move them to the next step. Forget the rest.
2. You begin “set the appointment” phone calls with “Have you got a minute” or “Is this a good time?” Success ratios plummet with this approach. Why not just say “Hi, I’m going to hang up now.”
And drum roll please….
The #1 clue you are doomed to the prospecting salt mines.
You think you are different.
When presented with proven high probability sales strategies and methods you dismiss them quickly with… “But my product is different, my industry is different, my company is different, my area is different, my clients are different” or some other similarly ridiculous thing.
If you think this way the only thing that is different is the results you get vs. the results of the top performers.
The best sales strategies and practices for your industry, company, etc. are not totally different from the strategies and practices being used by other top performers. That makes no sense.
You can choose high probability sales beliefs, strategies or practices.
You can choose low probability sales beliefs, strategies or practices.
What’s your choice.
Best wishes for sales success,
Scott Channell
