“Fish where the fish are.” - so follow the money even when looking for a loan.
For most of us in the sales and marketing side, prospecting is the
most challenging activity we do.
We hate the thought of picking up the
phone to make a living. No matter what product or service we sell, success in
sales is built through effective planning and prospecting.
Here are five ideas that will help:
1. Establish a routine. You
must schedule time for prospecting every day at preferably the same time. Do
not allow anything to interfere with your prospecting time. The salesperson who
has a set daily routine of making prospecting calls at a specific time and
adheres to this schedule without distraction has a massive advantage over
others
.
2. When is the best time to
prospect? The best time to make prospecting calls is when you have
the most energy. I always prospect early in the morning because that’s when I
have the most energy. It also gets me off to a winning start, which sets up my
day for success.
3. It gets easier after the first call. The first call is always the most difficult. Getting yourself to make the first call of the day is normally the biggest hurdle. After you make the first call, you realize it was not as difficult as you had imagined. Prospecting is fun after a few positive calls. You will often find receptive people on the other end of the line who are open to your call. Just do it, break through the barrier, your confidence will soar when you realise that prospecting is the trigger to all successful selling.
3. It gets easier after the first call. The first call is always the most difficult. Getting yourself to make the first call of the day is normally the biggest hurdle. After you make the first call, you realize it was not as difficult as you had imagined. Prospecting is fun after a few positive calls. You will often find receptive people on the other end of the line who are open to your call. Just do it, break through the barrier, your confidence will soar when you realise that prospecting is the trigger to all successful selling.
4. Set prospecting goals. Set
a specific goal of what you want to happen on each call. Know what you want
that prospect to do. It is difficult to achieve prospecting success without
clearly defined objectives.
5. Prospecting is a numbers
game. I guarantee you that the more prospecting you do, the
more deals you will secure. Prospecting allows you to plan your income and
results. If you track your prospecting efforts, you will find that you have
clear ratios in your sales efforts. Once you know how many prospecting calls
you need to make in order to get a client presentation and therefore a closing
opportunity, then you have a good measure of how to achieve any sales
target.
Prospecting is truly the starting point of success in any sales profession. I teach a simple sales model – the more you effectively prospect, the more presentation opportunities you will get, and therefore the more sales you will close.
