As promised in a previous post, I’m digging into the 10 reasons most prospecting programs don’t work. Today we start with #1:
Using the same prospecting process for all your prospects.
This is a huge mistake, but we do it because we’re lazy! Problem is being lazy only results in one thing — poor results.
Using the same prospecting process for every prospect is no different than thinking you can fix any problem in your home with a single tool. Sorry, it’s just not possible!
Quit thinking about your prospects in the same way. It’s essential to segment them by type and have a different prospecting plan for each type.
Example I’ll use is senior level managers. These might be your target, but you’re not going to reach them using the same process you would a low-level person.
Segment your prospects by message type, and by this I mean by the type of message and strategy that will most likely engage them.
A low-level person is far more likely to take a phone call than a senior level person who isn’t going to talk with anyone they don’t trust. What does this mean? It means the message and strategy are also going to have different timelines associated with them.
Your prospecting timelines and the frequency of the messages are going to vary by who the person is you’re trying to reach.
Another example I use is if you’re selling into the educational market, trying to reach a professor at the start of the academic year is simply not going to work. Conversely, if you’re trying to reach a graduate student, the start of the academic year might be perfect.
Frequency also is going to vary. A simple rule I like to follow is the higher up in an organization the person is or the more knowledgeable they are, the less frequent my contacts will be. The lower a person is, the more frequently I can contact them.
The higher up in an organization a person is, the more I will be running into gatekeepers and the more likely I may have to use other contacts they’re already comfortable with to reach them. Lower in an organization, the more it can be a game of simply being there to get noticed.
Your objective is to tailor your prospecting process based on the type of prospect you’re dealing with, knowing the frequency, timing, message and delivery process will be different.
For all the posts in this series on why most prospecting plans don’t work, check out:
Do You Rely on Email as Your Only Prospecting Tool?
Why You Must Segment Your Prospects
Not Enough Time to Follow Up with Prospects?
Do You Have TOO Many Prospects in Your Pipeline?
Are You Using the Same Prospecting Process for All of Your Prospects?
Do You Think Social Media is Your Answer?
Are You Committing Enough Time?
Your Prospects Really Don’t Care About You
Are Your Messages About the Prospect’s Needs?
The Telephone is Still a Great Prospecting Tool
Copyright 2015, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
