Let's face it, prospecting is a chore for 80%-90% of salespeople and business owners. It can be tough to get started, tough to keep going, and tough to stay positive. In fact, most people would rather not do it if possible. Some day's it's just hard to sit down and make phone calls. I understand completely. Unfortunately, in most industries, you need to keep bringing in new clients.
I don’t think it will come as any surprise to you that it’s the people who spend the most time marketing and building their business who are usually the most successful. Here are 5 rules to help you get more out of the time you invest in prospecting.
5 Prospecting Rules
1. The best time of the day is right now
Successful people make a habit of doing the most important tasks first. Building your business should always be near the top of your list. If you’re thinking about calling some prospects, don’t wait. Do it immediately, not matter what time it is.
Otherwise, you’ll tell yourself, “I’ll make the calls at 2 pm.” That never happens. You’ll get busy and never get around to making calls. Something always come up. Besides, most decision makers are easier to get hold of early in the morning. If you spend time prospecting in the morning, you’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.
2. Give yourself two options. Prospect, or sit in silence
Prospect for your allotted time and don't do anything else. Turn off all distractions. No cell phone, no email, no hiding by the water cooler. If you're doing something else during your prospecting time, you’re avoiding a major priority.
3. Get more referrals
Are you serving your current customers well? If so, then they should be happy to refer you to their friends. Calls where someone has introduced you or already set up the meeting, a.k.a lukewarm calls, are much easier to make and more productive too. If you’re not doing it already, you should be asking all of your customers to refer others your way. Just make sure you’re actually doing a good job serving your customer. I've had plenty of salespeople give me terrible service and then try to ask for a referral.
4. Give people an out
A way to avoid the “rejected” feeling is to give your prospect an out. That way, if they say, "No," it was one of the options you provided. You can say, "Why don't we get together to talk about it, or is that something you’re not interested in right now?" Yes, I know if gives people an easier way to say no, but that way you're not driving all over town going to unproductive meetings. Let's face it. If the only way to sell your product is to trick people into buying, you should probably find a new product.
5. Get Motivated
I like the idea of reading or listening to something motivational before starting. The downside to this approach is that I’ve seen people spend hours searching for a perfect motivational idea instead of working. Remember that avoidance is NOT productive.
OK, here we go. Pull out the phone. 1, 2, 3….GO!
