The most popular sales prospecting strategy used by salespeople is what I refer to as spraying and praying.
Simply put, it’s where the salesperson merely makes a bunch of calls that all wind up in voicemail — or sends out a ton of emails. In both cases, the salesperson then sits back and waits for the phone to ring and orders to come in.
I’m not going to call you anyone out, but I’ve seen thousands of salespeople use this approach and then start complaining about how bad business is.
Here’s the deal — customers are smart. They are informed and they are busy. This means if you expect to have any success in prospecting, you must have a process.
A key part of the process is you having the time to follow through and execute the process.
The best sales prospecting processes are built on discipline by the salesperson. This must be followed by a timetable that allows for the organizing of what I refer to as benefit statements and benefit questions that you can pose to the prospect.
If you aren’t capable of delivering on these, then you have little chance of being successful. I’ll even contend these are more important than having the “perfect list of prospects.”
The reason I say this is because the best prospect will be lost if they’re not approached with the right benefit statement or benefit question. At the same time, a prospect who does not appear to be optimal can become optimal if they’re asked the right benefit question or given the right benefit statement.
This is why I say that spraying and praying as a prospecting strategy doesn’t have a chance, even if you’re spraying and praying with a great list.
- Are you focused in your strategy?
- What is your follow-up plan?
- How well do you engage your prospects?
These are all questions you have to ask yourself.
I’ve been writing a lot in this blog the last few months regarding sales prospecting and I now have a solution for you. I just finished a very thorough Sales Prospecting Program that will help you avoid the spraying and praying syndrome. Check it out….
Yes! I want to know more about what this program can do for me!
Copyright 2012, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
