Are you one of the vast majority of salespeople who don’t have a prospecting plan that works?  I get asked for help with prospecting skills more than anything else.

Below are 7 secrets I bet you’ve overlooked when it comes to prospecting.  Watch the video first and then read further regarding the 7 secrets. The video is an excerpt of my keynote from OutBound 2017.

1. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Your prospects are not going to agree to buy due to a single message from you. There’s a reason why the biggest brands in the consumer world advertise, because they know they have to keep their name in front of you. No different for you. It’s the repetition of messaging that will make a difference. Just remember one key thing — each message, regardless of the delivery method, must create new value.  Repeating the same message only proves one thing — you’re lazy.

2. Don’t start what you can’t finish.

Never put more names into your prospecting pipeline than you know you can manage long-term. Results take time and it requires a coordinated effort.

3. Prospects must see your confidence.

They will see this confidence when you’re confident enough to ask questions that probe deep and are not seen as purely superficial and mundane.

4. Your goal is to get the prospect to say, “Great question!”

When a prospect responds with “great question” to something you’ve asked, that means they’re having to think. When you reach this level, the prospect will no longer see you as a vendor. They will now see you as somebody who can help them.

5. Your goal in that first call is to uncover one critical piece of information.

When you can uncover a critical piece of information on the first call, then you know you’ve established a level of interaction that will significantly increase your ability to close the customer.

6. The best question you can ask is one to which neither you nor the prospect know the answer.

Think about this for a moment. Would you ask a prospect a question like this if you weren’t confident? No, and this is the mark of you knowing if you are confident. Confidence cuts two ways. Your goal by asking this type of question is for the prospect to have confidence in you and you to have confidence in them.

7. Your goal is to spend more time with fewer prospects.

This runs contrary to what most people believe, but I firmly believe by asking tougher questions of the prospect, you will be able to weed out faster those prospects who are really just suspects. The end result is you know who to spend time with and who not to spend time with.

One last thing!  If you have not been to OutBound, you need to make plans NOW to be there!  In 2019, we’ll have well over 1,000 attendees from around the world.  This is an event I and my three good friends Jeb Blount, Mike Weinberg and Anthony Iannarino created to better the skills of sales leaders like you!

Mark your calendar now for April 24 and 25 in Atlanta. You can get your ticket now (I think a few early bird tickets remain, but you’d have to jump on them soon!)

Here is the link for all the details: OutBound 2019 in Atlanta

And don’t forget that a coach can help you excel in your sales career! Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!

Copyright 2018, 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