You cannot achieve your full potential in sales without prospecting.
Before you say “I do prospect for new business” ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Do I prospect daily?
- Do I have a monthly prospecting target?
- Do I know what to say and how to say it when prospecting? (Pitch)
Everyone knows it is important to prospect for new business, but most salespeople don’t do it and the reason for this is a fear of rejection. The fear of rejection is based on a fear of not knowing what to say and how to say it. This in turn causes a loss of self-confidence and belief in what you are doing.
The biggest mistake that salespeople make with prospecting is that they confuse prospecting with selling. They expect every interaction with a prospect to be a sale. Enquire now for phone sales training.
Selling and prospecting are two different skills.
If you ask for too much information when prospecting you give the impression that you are wanting to “Sell something” and you will get, “I’m not interested”.
Change your mind-set. Don’t be apologetic or subservient, be positive and confident. (I’m here to be of service). Your objective when prospecting should be to get the prospect’s agreement to an appointment / discussion. Prospecting is asking to have a sales conversation and selling is having it.
Rule # 1 when prospecting: Get the appointment first then start the sales process. Business has changed over the past 10 to 15 years. We are now having to do business the old way; go out and look for it!
If you want to succeed in sales you need to be meeting with customers every day.
Here are some ways to find new business:
- Internet research.
- Asking for referrals.
- Cold calling. (Telephonic and face to face)
- Existing customer base.
Prospecting tips.
- Set a prospecting target. (How many per month / per week / per day)
- Set aside a specific time each day to do prospecting. (Make it a habit)
- Keep accurate records of you prospecting activities. (Numbers)
As a sales professional you should continually be on the lookout for new business. Don’t rely too much on outside influences to achieve your sales targets (Phone in leads, new products, company marketing campaigns, etc.)
Build your sales pipeline by prospecting daily and create your “Own economy”
Don’t take rejection personally. The prospect is not saying no to you as a person, they are saying no to your offer.
Work on improving your offer and you prospecting skills. Selling is a numbers driven business. Don’t be discouraged by the “No’s”.
A soccer team don’t score every time they shoot for the goal posts but if they do it often enough, the goals will come!
You’ve got nothing to lose by prospecting and everything to gain. Start with regular prospecting and everything else will follow.
So go out and prospect like hell!
And remember:
NOTHING EVER HAPPENS UNTIL A SALESPERSON SELLS SOMETHING!!
Related Tag: Phone Sales Training
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© 2019 Ray Patterson. All materials, images and contents contained herein are the intellectual property of Ray Patterson and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, displayed, adapted or modified without Ray Patterson’s express permission. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, distribution, display, adaptation or modification will amount to copyright infringement.