The Keys to Prospecting Success

By Strong Vasquez

Ever notice how difficult it is to start a project? Then once you start it, it easily becomes a creature of habit. Take for example an exercise program. We keep putting it off but once we start, we ask ourselves, "why didn't do this earlier?" We seem to have the same mindset with proactive prospecting. We continue to find excuses not to prospect even though we know how productive and the positive results that will come from it. So why is it that we will make every excuse in the world not to do it?

Make an appointment with yourself for one hour each day to prospect using your sphere of influence. Prospecting, like anything else, requires discipline. (Seems like prospecting can always be put off until a later day when the circumstances will be better.) Make an appointment with yourself each day to prospect.

Know ahead of time exactly what you are going to say or discuss when you call someone. It is good to have a specific message. Most people are very interested in market conditions for example. Maybe they have misunderstood something in the news or need further explaining. This is where you can become the "expert", and provide them with a more accurate image of the situation.

Make as many contacts as possible. Before prospecting, you should always take the time to properly define your target market, and try to reach as many of those people as possible.

Be prepared with a list of names from your personal Sphere of Influence before you call. Not being prepared with a list of names will force you to devote much, if not all of your prospecting hour, to finding the names you need. Have at least a one month supply of names on hand at all times.

Work without interruption. Do not take calls or schedule meetings during your scheduled prospecting time. Take full advantage of the prospecting learning curveas with any repetitive task, the more often you repeat it during a contiguous block of time, the better you become. Prospecting is no exception to the rule. Your second call will be better than your first, your third better than the second, and so on.

When calling, decide on a time slot and try to stick with it. Maybe 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM or 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM. There will be customers that seem impossible to get a hold of. You will have to set aside another time of day and try to call those customers. We are all creatures of habit (Hint). They are probably in a routine between a certain timeframe, so you need to try and catch them at a different time or different day.

Don't stop. Persistence is one of the key virtues in selling success. Most sales/valuable contacts are made after the fifth call, and most sales people quit after the first. - 29971

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