Prospecting For Gold In Sales
Prospecting is simply going and searching for something; or in sales, for someone. A customer, a prospect. The next person you can help!
It is going and searching for business. We are spoiled right now in sales and marketing, in any business, that at the click of a button we connect with people in our town or thousands of miles away. We expect them to come to us to do business and buy our products.
I think in some areas as far as prospecting is concerned, it is becoming a lost art.
- First and foremost – Consistency matters. You can’t just try and connect or go out one time and expect that business will be flocking to your door. It doesn’t work that way. Just like anything, our daily consistency will determine our level of success.
- Use every method available to you. I would encourage you to sit down and try and come up with 10 different ways that you can prospect – and to DRUM UP BUSINESS. You may be surprised at the methods that end up working for you. And they may not be what you anticipate. So you have to use a multi-pronged approach.
- Social media is certainly one – but what are the different social channels… some work better for certain people than others.
- Traditional phone calls – connect with everyone you know via phone.
- Join groups – networking groups, the rotary club, get meetup.com – this give you an opportunity to get with local real life groups in your area, rather than staying behind a screen.
- Contact other businesses, schools, churches – find out what is important to each of these types of people
- Get up and take new customers, get in front of the people that are already coming in. We often overlook this one. But, there is traffic coming in to you in sales, and sometimes we avoid it for fear we will frustrate the existing people at the store or business – OR – maybe we are fearful of what the upcoming customer may say… you better get over that pretty quick! Because customers are what pay your paycheck.
- Build and nurture real relationships. Relationships come through mutual agreement. Liking the same things, having similar values and having common goals. So, just like in the first bullet point, you can’t have one conversation with someone, one time and expect you never have to call not hem again. Relationships don’t work that way.
So, know that in sales, it’s not always about business coming to you – you have to go and get business as well – it’s just not as hard as you think it is.
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