Prospecting Like A Pro: 3 Tips that you MUST do ASAP to Explode your Pipeline.
3 TIPS TO BUILD A PIPELINE FOR LONG-TERM PROSPERITY
One of the biggest problems that plagues most sales people is the inability to build a pipeline that is flowing two ways. They focus so much on the short term success of a sale rather than building a legacy of opportunities for long-term prosperity. This is primarily due to a lack of prospecting skills and understanding of how to properly build a sales pipeline of deal ready and deal development projects. It’s more prevalent among those new sales people who are hungry and ambitious to “close” and don’t understand the power of how to plant those “seeds” for deal opportunities.
In my experience in corporate sales and now running my own consulting business, I know the importance of prospecting and how it’s vital to feeding the lifeline of your business, scaling your brand, and improving your bottom line.
1. Become a Researcher
“Cold” leads are still valuable and will also be must in your survival for sales; however, the internet is now giving sales professionals a better opportunity to obtain Intel on those prospects you are looking to call on, pitch to, and close on your product, brand, or services. By taking the time to research your prospects in advance to learn who the key decision makers are and what they offer to the marketplace gives you a chance to go into the prospecting phase with confidence, credibility, and a higher level of professionalism than those who will just “walk” up. Make no mistake, you will still need the skills to “sell” them; however, researching them in advance gives you a better chance at closing because you will build a better relationship. Download my podcast with top sales professional from Grant Cardone’s office Steve Spray regarding this topic here bit.ly/stevespray.
2. State Your Intention
One of the most aggravating things for key decision makers is to have to guess what the intentions are of those who are looking at taking up their time. It’s important to note that when they offer you two minutes to speak or introduce themselves, they are only offering you sixty seconds. If you want to provide them with the confidence to give you that additional sixty seconds then state your intention right away. An example of this would be this, “The purpose of my visit today is to introduce myself and show you what my services has done for others and can do for you.” Obviously the vocabulary will shift based on what your service is and the prospect that you are speaking to, but none-the-less if you do not state your intention you will find yourself struggling to push through to a future meeting, closing opportunity, or, for some, even get past the gatekeeper. Whether it’s a phone call or a face to face meeting with a prospect state your intention and keep them on the defensive rather than letting them take offense by feeling you wasted their time. A perfect example of this can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBYPEyI5-Kg.
3. Create A Direct Follow-Up Opportunity
In my opinion this is the second most missed opportunity behind making the appointment that sales professionals make during the prospecting phase. Through my years of selling and now consulting and coaching clients, I see time and time again how they fail to close the prospect on the follow-up. Either they get an objective they can’t overcome or they simply don’t ask for enough information that can lead them to following up with the prospect directly. This is a skill in itself and one that can be lethal when seasoned and used on a consistent basis. What you want to do is secure multiple points of contact in the forms of email, phone, extension numbers, and who the second point of contact would be in case the key decision maker is busy, out of office, or in one of those pesky meetings. The more information you can obtain for the follow-up the more you can gauge your prospect on how serious they are about solving their problem and if you have provided them enough initial value to gain a second meeting with that prospect. Gaining your prospects business is what you want to achieve ultimately and you need to be able to directly follow up with them in order to keep them engaged with you to successfully close them.
Sales and Marketing are professions that businesses need and individuals want to be the best at. It is a skilled position that can make you very wealthy and successful or very poor and miserable. A more efficient way to create wins, profit, and success is to build a pipeline of prospects that are planted seeds, developed leads, and deal ready clients. A pipeline shortage of prospects is a lack of prospecting skills. Use these three tips and you will become a more lethal prospector and begin building a deeper and more abundant pipeline for your brand and your business. For more tips like these join my exclusive inner circle here bit.ly/bizdevwithmatt and to inquire about my services and/or book me to speak at your next meeting or event you can email iammattcrane@gmail or visit here https://mattcrane.co/application-to-work.
