The answer is far more than you realize! The vast majority of salespeople are unsuccessful because they do not contact their prospects enough. Every salesperson struggles with getting great leads. The problem is most salespeople don’t know what to do with a great lead after they get it. Frankly, it reminds me of a dog chasing after a car. I’ve always wondered- what would they do if they actually did catch the car?
Check out my video where I share a number of additional insights:
We have to remember that sales is about interrupting people. I doubt you had anyone wake up this morning excited to know that you might call them. Prospecting is about interrupting; that’s the big issue salespeople must get over. The salesperson makes a couple of calls, but the prospect doesn’t respond. Quickly, the salesperson makes the conclusion that the prospects aren’t interested. Big mistake!
Why should the prospect get excited for your call? They don’t know you nor do they know what you sell and most of all, they don’t know what you can do for them. You can’t expect the prospect to suddenly realize who you are and how you can help them in a single message. There’s a reason why even the biggest consumer brands continually advertise. It’s simple! They know they need to if they want to remain a big brand. If Apple, Coke, Chevy and numerous other brands need to spend billions on advertising, there must be something we can learn. We need to create awareness and a lot of it! That means that we have to be willing to message the prospect far more than we used to.
When I say “message the prospect,” I’m not talking about email. I’m referring to using every possible medium the prospect may see and respond to. The telephone is definitely at the top of the list. Despite what many might say or think, it’s still a powerful prospecting tool, and its effectiveness increases when used in conjunction with email and other mediums.
The exact number of times you may have to contact will vary based on several things including the buyer, the frequency of the purchase, size of the purchase and how it is going to be used. The example I like to use is if I were selling temporary labor to companies who use temporary labor daily, I wouldn’t hesitate to contact these companies daily. Conversely, if I were selling major industrial equipment to a company that only buys every five years, my contact frequency would only be every couple of weeks. The key is to make a different contact message each time. You must bring new value. Nobody will be successful repeating the same thing time and time again.
Prospecting is about being focused and not giving up. You can’t be a successful salesperson without being great at prospecting.
One last thing, I can’t stress these two things enough! First, read my book High-Profit Prospecting. In it, you’ll find tons of strategies that you can use right now to grow in your prospecting skills. Second, call me so we can talk about making me apart of your next sales meeting. Your success and the success of those on your sales team is dependent upon us connecting. Let’s make it happen!
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 Result
