Prospecting for business. This is something I think we can all agree is a major pain in the rear. Unfortunately, if you offer a product or service and it is your livelyhood on the line, you need to do it. I say "need to because it is a personal choice. Many of us in the business of selling something can look back to times when our business was slow and say "What am I not doing?" Usually the answer to the question is -I am waiting for the business to come to me instead of going out and finding it.
Who am I to discuss this topic? I have been in the business of outside sales since 1995 (see my LinkedIn Profile). Since then I have called on anything from Mom and Pop shop to fortune 500 companies. I have cold called till my feet were swollen and aching in 95 degree Texas heat, that is until I got smarter.
One day, at my last corporate job, a great friend of mine and coworker were discussing how to increase our business. She came up with a simple, but effective plan. The challenge was to set aside 1 morning per week to get on the phone. Every Thursday morning from 10:00 to 12:00 noon we would get on the phone with the goal of setting appointments. Later that day, around 3pm, we would have a conference call to discuss how it went. We would each tell details of our call time, this is what we would track:
How many dials? - How many people did you speak with? - How many appointments set?
At the end of the call, the person with the most Appointments Set would win a Starbucks Gift Card. The program started in our Dallas office, but soon it spread to be a nationwide conference call. On the call we would discuss what worked, what didn't and how we could do it better next time. We even played around with what day of the week were we most likely to catch people at the office (not Friday afternoon).
The best thing this did for me and my business was to make sure I had a set time every week for follow up. How many times do we tell someone "I will get back to you next week" and we never do it. Every day projects take over and the calls slip through the cracks. Follow up matters. Customers want to know that you will do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. That starts with something as simple as a follow up phone call. There are a couple things I would do to make sure my prospecting time was most effective.
- Have a list of 20 contact names and numbers ready before the set time
- Use the internet for research as much as possible, maybe my next blog will be about how to use the internet for research
- Lastly and Most Important - to steal a phrase from Nike - JUST DO IT!
Start like we did with a challenge with another person or just make sure you challenge yourself. That is what I do now and I can tell the difference in my schedule on the weeks that I don't make the time.
I would love to hear your thoughts and see what is working for you.
Lisa Castro
Pro 360 Virtual Tours and Photography
Dallas and Tarrant County Virtual Tours
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