to prospect. One of the biggest prospecting issues is that
when people have time to prospect, they don’t do enough
or they hit their daily goal and stop. The people who
always have plenty of prospects make two to three times the
amount of prospecting calls when they have the time.
make prospecting a priority
When your primary job is to produce revenue (sell), you
have three priorities: prospecting, presenting and closing.
Those three activities simply have to come before the
other things you’re doing during the day and they are
all important. Many times, when there is plenty of time
to prospect, salespeople find ways to “kill” time. Most
salespeople get really creative when it comes to avoiding
the hard work of prospecting. Cleaning the desk, looking
up information on a prospect or customer (for more
than a few minutes), reading articles during prime calling
hours, going to dentist appointments during prime calling
hours, answering an e-mail that isn’t important but is quick,
making a phone call that isn’t important but is quick, are all
examples of items that are less important than prospecting.
Make sure that during prime calling time you are focused
on closing sales, appointments and prospecting.
W
get better at sales & prospecting
When is the last time you read a book on sales or
prospecting? When was the last time you changed or refined
any part of your sales or prospecting process? It’s critical
that you continue to get better in these areas. The better
you are at prospecting and selling, the fewer calls you have
to make and the fewer people you need to talk to. Practice,
drill, and rehearse your calls. You have to be practicing you
lines with other salespeople and/or friends and family. This
goes for prospecting as well as other sales situations such as:
presentations, objections, questions you ask prospects, etc.
work more hours when
there is less time to prospect
There will be times when you simply have to work more
hours. Even if you only work an average of an extra 30
minutes a day, or 2.5 hour a week, on average, that’s enough
time for 10 phone calls per day or 50 per week.
Here are some other ideas that can help hit your
prospecting goals:
• Time block your prospecting. Treat prospecting as an
appointment on your schedule.
• Have someone hold you accountable.
• Team up with someone and make calls at the same time.
• Have a contest with someone. Who can make the most
calls and get the most appointments?
Measure many,
call one.
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Finally, remember: Someone out there
is keeping their pipeline full at all times.
Actually, lots of people are. Whatever
your excuse is, how bad you have it, how
busy your day is, there is someone out
there who has it worse than you and has
overcome that to achieve a full pipeline
at all times. Is it the majority of people?
No. But there are many who are getting
it done. Executing on most of the above
items will simply come down to sheer
determination and effort to do what must
be done. Is it going to be easy? No. Can
you do it and will it be worth it? Yes.
Note: The examples I used for this
article involve making phone calls versus
in-person calls. Whatever types of calls
you’re making, keep in mind that even
on the busiest days you can make 1
or 2 in-person visits or 5 to 10 phone
calls. Either way, you’ve got to do some
prospecting every day.
John Chapin is an award-winning sales speaker, trainer and
coach. You may reach him at 508-243-7359, johnchapin@
completeselling.com or www.completeselling.com.
|May-June 2015| KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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