Prospecting makes for better salespeople and sharpens communication skills more than anything else we can do. Many sellers only call on their ‘Sugar-Baby’ accounts. When one (or more!) of these accounts blows up these sales people cannot dig their way out because their sales skills have withered away.
If a company doesn’t have new business coming in, our current customers own us – and they know it. Winning a negotiation with a customer who owns you is almost impossible. Prospecting not only makes your sales skills stronger, it makes margin maintenance and growth possible.
Schedule a Time
“I plan to prospect, but I never get around to it. I come in with every intention of prospecting, but I get into the day it takes on a life of its own. Between selling my current customers and putting out fires, I never get to prospecting.”
Not prospecting is a fire! If we don’t take care of our future (prospecting), we are scheduling a future dip in sales. To make sure prospecting gets done, schedule a set time to complete this critical activity. Don’t take other calls or put out fires. All we should do during that time is prospect for new business.
Life Blood
Prospecting is the life blood of building and growing a sales career. One of the biggest mistakes made when times get tough is to call the same customers more often. This is insane, but I see it every day. The fear or distaste for prospecting is so strong that the only choice (seemingly) is to call on our existing accounts as a drowning man grabs for anything to live.
Fear of Christmas Past
This fear of prospecting stems from a couple of areas. It is more fun to do business than to look for business, but the main reason salespeople don’t prospect is because they don’t want to feel what they felt when they started in the business. When we begin our lives as salespeople our whole day is spent prospecting. It is a scary, frustrating time. The rejection level is high. Fear of failure is constant. Most salespeople never forget these early years.
After we have built our business and have some success we spend more and more time with existing customers and start to enjoy the fruit of our work. This makes selling fun. It is only natural to want to do more of this activity. But to be champions we must embrace ongoing prospecting as a way of life.
Are We Ready?
To prospect effectively we must prepare for the major objections we will face. Below are objections and responses that cross industry lines. When we are prepared with answers to these basic objections our prospecting will go smoother and will produce more new customers!
• I’m happy with my current supplier
“Mr. Customer, I don’t want to get in the way of your current relationships, but I know I can help you grow. Let me become a secondary supplier for you. If anything happens with your current situation, you and I will already know each other. You will already know the quality of my products and service.”
• I’m not buying right now
“The purpose of my call is not to sell you. I am calling to see if you and I are a good fit. Let’s talk more about your business and see if we can help each other.”
• Your company burned me in the past
Acknowledge and change the subject. “We have had some bad apples in the past. (Acknowledge) We have weeded them out as we learn and grow as a company. The good news is that I am calling you now. (Change subject) I am honest, hard working and know I can help you.”
• W.S.I.B.U.?
All objections are children of this objection. “Why should I buy from you?” is the underlying question of every customer we meet.
“You should buy from me because I am currently helping customers just like you. I am a money-making partner to my customers and I can help your profits also. I am honest. I stand behind everything I say and sell. Let’s work together for a couple of months; I know you will love the profits we generate together.”
Embracing prospecting will make us better prospectors, better salespeople and will grow our business. Prospecting is Power!
Editor’s Note: James Olsen is the founder of Reality Sales Training. He has over forty years of sales experience having worked with Nike, North Pacific Lumber and Forest City Trading. He has worked selling lumber and forest products with a focus on sales growth, and he recently spoke to the Western Pallet Association. You can learn more of James’ sales wisdom from his books An Unfair Fight: How Winners Sell and Sellers Win, Leadership Sales and Selling Lumber: Sales Secrets of a Lumber Broker. For more information, visit http://www.realitysalestraining.com/ or call 503-544-3572.
