As I dig into the Top 10 reasons prospecting plans don’t work, I think #3 on my list is the one that drives me nuts the most:
Not having the time to follow up and follow through. (Be sure to check out #1 and #2)
Not having the time to follow up and follow through is a direct result of the up and down cycle too many salespeople and even companies go through.
Business is slow and the outlook is grim, so it’s all hands on deck in a full out blitz to make calls and prospect like crazy. In the race to fill the pipeline the game is to contact as many people as possible.
Problem with contacting as many people as possible is there is no way to repeat the process on-going. I’m a firm believer in what the directions say to do on every bottle of shampoo: “Repeat!”
You have to repeat and repeat and repeat again as often as necessary.
What happens is the initial blitz of calls might be fine, but then stuff starts popping up, leads begin developing and time becomes precious and the thing that falls off first is the repeat calls.
Don’t start what you can’t finish!
If your prospecting process takes 6 – 8 touches to generate interest, then don’t go making so many initial contacts that your calendar won’t allow room for you to handle the follow-up touches.
As I said up front — this one rubs a lot of managers the wrong way, but what it will prevent is a lot of stupid energy being wasted.
There is nothing worse than making 100 touches and not being able to follow up with them again for a year. Do you think there is any chance there will be value in doing that? No! Zero value unless the goal is to merely look busy.
Your objective as you build out your prospecting plan is to block out time on your calendar for not just the next day, but the next week, the next month, and even the next quarter.
Being successful in prospecting requires consistency and follow-through, and there is no way you can do that unless you plan for it.
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
For more information on prospecting techniques that get results, check out Breakthrough Sales University.
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.
