Salespeople tell me, “I just can’t prospect because I’m uncertain as to what to say, or what to do.” It’s painful!
This is one of the big reasons why people don’t prospect. However, I’m on a mission to help you become a master prospector. I can give your 6 easy building blocks of any successful sales conversation.
**This blog is part of the 15 Reasons Holding Salespeople Back series**
1. Focus on the customer.
Not you. Focus on the customer.
What do you think the customer wants?
What do you think the customer is looking for?
2. Ask questions and then ask more questions.
You see, the best presentation ever given is the presentation never given— because all you’re doing is having a conversation. You’re asking questions, and whatever they share with you, you ask more questions about it.
When uncertain of what to say or afraid to pick up the phone, instead ask them about their business, what’s going on.
In future videos, I’ll break this down even further for you, but I’m trying to get you over this hurdle right now to just to pick up the phone and start the process.
3. Listen and follow up.
You may have received one piece of information from the prospect. Ding ding ding! That’s your follow up.
“Hey, by the way, last week you told me this… or I see that you did this…or your company just announced this….” Just follow up, follow up, listen and follow up.
Need more tips? Read this blog on How to Follow Up With Prospects.
4. Create a follow-up routine.
Don’t lose sight of that prospect. You haven’t talked to that prospect in a couple weeks. Why? Pick up the phone. Call them. Follow up with something they’ve shared.
I do this all the time. I’m continuously following up. And chances are it’s just a voicemail! “Hey, last time we talked….. “ I’m just sharing something with them, but it’s part of my prospecting routine.
What happens you fall out of ‘the groove’? You become more flustered. Then you’re caught in situations like, “I haven’t talked to them in six months. I haven’t emailed them in three months. I don’t know what to do.” You avoid that by staying in your routine. Your CRM can help with this.
5. Relax.
It’s only a conversation. You don’t have to worry about having all the technical aspects, or all the details. You’ll get into that later on in the sales call.
Too many times people say, “I can’t prospect because I don’t know enough yet about what I’m selling.” Wrong. Neither does the customer! So what? Have a conversation. You’ll learn the technical aspects, all the attributes and all the nuances of what you sell later on. But don’t let your lack of knowledge upfront stop you. It’s only a conversation.
6. Know your CTA.
With every call I make, what’s my Call to Action? It might be, “Hey, what’s your calendar look like next Tuesday, two o’clock, let’s get together.” The CTA might be, “I’m gonna send this over.” Whatever it is, you have to be clear on your CTA.
I just did this with the president of a company. I said, “Hey, we talked a couple weeks ago about getting a meeting together with so-and-so, and I haven’t seen that yet on my calendar. What days are going to work for you?” That was almost the exact word for word voicemail that I left for the president of a company.
Now, I know that the president’s executive assistant is gonna respond to that, and the president will probably never listen to it. The executive assistant is, but I’m still very clear on what my CTA is.
Overcoming the #1 Obstacle to Prospecting
Mark shares how to break your to-do list into granular activities and schedule yourself in a way that they’ll actually get done.
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Copyright 2023, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
