Quit thinking prospecting is someone else’s job. It’s your job, and that means you need to have a plan. You don’t have to overcomplicate things. Trust me, it’s easy to screw up a two-car funeral pretty quick with some of the sales plans I’ve seen people try to execute.

Sales is about connecting with people but not just random people. It’s going to require some planning for you to connect with the people that you need to. To help you do this, I would like to give you my next 10 sales truths as part of “50 Prospecting Truths”. I’ve titled this list: “Your Prospecting Plan.”

If you missed last week’s post with sales truths 1-10, check it out and stay tuned for sales truths 21-30 next week! I’ll talk about social media, email and prospecting with truths 31-40 the week after that. The last week I’ll finish the series on how to be successful in prospecting with truths 41-50.

Part 1 of Your Prospecting Plan:

11. Divide your prospecting pipeline into three parts: top, middle and bottom. Place more value on the bottom than on the top.

12. Establish an accountability process.

13. Remember that tomorrow begins today. Never end a day without knowing exactly who you will prospect tomorrow and what your objectives are for each call.

14. Break your day into five, 90-minute segments. Dedicate at least one segment to prospecting. Keep in mind that new salespeople will probably need to dedicate up to three of those segments to prospecting each day.

15. At the start of each prospecting segment, know what your overall goal is and how you will measure it. The best person to hold you accountable for your activity is you.

16. Spend 5 minutes after each prospecting segment to congratulate yourself and evaluate your performance.

17. When prospecting, know what your cadence is for follow-up messages, process, etc.

18. Leverage your systems including the basics when it comes to keeping scripts, questions, etc. that you can use daily.

19. Prospect by industry or segment type to allow for more effective use of your time and help build confidence.

20. Focus and discipline in executing your prospecting plan is the key to successful prospecting.

Just like last week, you owe it to yourself to begin thinking about how you can apply these to make your process more effective. Do these truths hold the answer? No. They are simply designed to steer you in the right direction. If you’re looking for more guidance, check out my coaching program. This program is a worthwhile investment for anybody wanting to gain more prospects and improve sales.

Don’t forget: A coach can help you excel in your sales career. Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!

Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results