I’ve had three people reach out to me this past week with this question: “I don’t have anything in my pipeline, what can I do quickly to fill it?” It doesn’t need to be complicated. Best of all, you can do it in less than 30 days. Below is my 10-step process to fill your sales pipeline.
Watch my video where I walk through each of these in more detail:
- By looking at your current customers, identify specifically who your target customer is. Don’t focus on who they are are but on the outcome you give them by working with you. You must stay 100% focused on your target prospect, because you don’t have time get distracted by fake prospects that don’t fit your profile.
- Know exactly how you help your customers. It doesn’t have to do with what you sell but how you meet the needs of your customer. Be sure to get this message tight as it will become your front door to invite prospects in.
- Review all of your old customer records to identify both old customers and those who never moved forward to became a customer. Your review isn’t designed to create a massive list but a manageable list of contacts who you feel fit or come very close to your perfect customer profile.
- As you review this list, ask yourself if you made it as easy as possible for customers to do business with you. Too often, sales are lost because the process is over complicated. Use your experience to date to simplify things. Your goal is to make it easy for a prospect to become a customer. With an empty pipeline and a hungry belly to feed, now is not the time to sell complicated solutions to elephants and whales. You want focus on prospects who you can close quickly. Once your pipeline is full, you can start looking at bigger, more complicated opportunities. I’ve watched too many salespeople starve to death chasing the big game that takes too long to close.
- Review all of your existing customers and based on your knowledge of them, identify other prospects. Use the internet to find similar contacts that have the potential to become a perfect prospect. One specific tool I strongly recommend you use is the “Intel Search Engine.” To gain access to it, (and much more!), join my High-Profit Sales Coaching program here.
- Blow up your calendar to carve a lot more available time than you thought you had. Be brutal on yourself. Trust me, customers do not fall into your lap – you have to go get them! The only way to go get them is by dedicating solid, quality time. Do not allow yourself to make excuses about needing other things. Your pipeline is empty, so your mission is to fill it and fill it fast! No prospecting excuses!
- Prepare your mind to make it happen! The reason people don’t prospect is because their mind is not in the right place. This comes down to two things: first, if you believe 100% that you can help others, it’s all about how you help others see and achieve what they didn’t think was possible – that’s what drives you. If you have the ability to help someone, it’s your responsibility to do so. Second, you owe it to yourself; when you fail to prospect, the biggest person you’re letting down is yourself.
- Build your prospecting cadence. This should consist of a minimum of 10 contacts, but don’t be alarmed if it goes to 20. Whatever number you think is enough reach-outs to someone, you have to be willing to double or triple that number! Email and phone will be your two primary mode of communication, but don’t forget about text, social media, snail mail, etc. The mix you create must be built around not what’s easy for you but rather but what works. Many salespeople discount the value of the telephone out of fear. Trust me, it works! I always advocate making the telephone your primary tool and adding other communication methods around it.
- Start! Now! Once you have a plan, start making the calls. Don’t allow yourself to make excuses. You have remain disciplined not just on the first call but the 3rd, 5th, 10th, call. Don’t back off and never allow a negative perception of your list to hinder you from persistency. There’s a reason why you went through the earlier steps – to create great contacts you believe you can turn into customers.
- As you work through your prospecting cadence, try to get have each message contain a compelling call to action. You may want to focus on the sale but the prospect doesn’t know you well enough yet. The goal of your initial call to action is to set up a meeting that is filled with a solid conversation to allow the prospect to gain confidence in you.
I’m here to help you! Reach out, download any of the ebooks on my website, watch my videos on YouTube, and subscribe to “The Sales Hunter” YouTube channel. Buy my book “High-Profit Prospecting”. If you’re really serious about making a difference and ramping up your sales and prospecting, you need to join the High-Profit Sales Coaching program. For those who join now, I’ll give you an extra one-on-one coaching session. Just click here!
Last but not least, if you’re a sales manager, we must talk! A key part of my business is helping people like you make your sales kick-off meeting extra special. Call me and let’s talk now! You can’t wait and neither will my calendar.
Copyright 2020, 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
