The Failed Prospector

I am going to confide and admit something to all of you…I suck at prospecting! There I said it and I am not proud of it. I suffer from call reluctance and I have no idea why. I suffer from procrastination, even though I feel like I have done so much! I suffer from trying to find the easier way to get this part of sales done.

I don’t know how many out there can admit to these things, but I do so with a humble heart. This is why I want to go through why it is so important to have a prospecting mentor.

The prospecting mentor

This is somewhere I feel that many sales managers, sales vp, and directors find that this is something that sales people are just skilled at. In reality this is something that many sales people have learned a lot of bad habits. I know I have! From horrible advice on the phones to putting boots on the ground with no clear objective of who’s door to knock on. It wasn’t until recently that I listened to a great audiobook that called me on the BS that I had been saying to myself for years. The book in question is Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. He is raw and uncut! I love it!!! He just simple states why some sales people will just give up and lie to themselves. I also have to admit that it was hard to hear…but needed.

I feel that having a prospecting mentor is not only huge to have, but an absolute necessity! Each company is different and what that brings is different types of prospects. The old adage of trying to shove a square peg in a round hole is what I am talking about. No matter how long one has been in sales, and no matter what skill set they have, sales people that are coming into a company from the outside need to understand what prospects are the best and where to find them. Now I’m not saying that we need to hold their hands…but I am! Why not!? This whole dropping the new person in the deep end is ridiculous!!!

When we see elite teams such as any in the armed forces, we see that there is a constant saying, “Slow is quick, quick is smooth” No one is born a amazing operator that can be dropped in to a territory and just slay the competition. These individuals need to be shown the ropes. When a spec op operator goes from one team to the next, they are expected to know their basic roles, but they are going to be trained as the FNG “freaking new guy”.

Prospecting is like hunting and needs to be shown to those who are starting out brand spanking new, or a new person to the company. You need to show them how to stalk, have patience, how to pick out the right target, and how to take them down.

In a perfect world it would be awesome to designate a prospecting mentor, or even, hire a prospecting mentor for your organization. To not only help those who are new, but to help those who are struggling to close more deals. This person would also be a great judge of who needs more help, and those who just need to go.

I challenge your companies out there to take a long hard look at what is acceptable in this area of business when it comes to new reps for your company. Whenever you start to bring up ROI in setting this time aside for a individual you need to repeat this quote from Peter Drucker , “If you think eduction is expensive, try ignorance”.