Jeb Blount’s fanatical prospecting framework for Sales and Rejection
Fanatical prospecting and its use in more than sales
Jeb Blunt’s book fanatical prospecting is written from the context of a salesperson. I am not a salesman but I think it is incredibly useful resource to get anything you want. It could be a sales, a date, a job, whatever the case it, I think the book applies. Thinking about it, selling something to someone is one of the toughest and most useful skills there is.
The reason it is so tough is because money is expensive. I know that’s a funny statement so let me explain. Talk is cheap and actions are not. I think a good way to find the truth of someone’s character and a good way to approaching truth in the capitalistic world is to take a look spending behavior. It is very easy to speak of the problems of the world or try to empathize with a friend or a cause but how many people put their money where their mouth is? For good reason, people are hesitant. It is not easy to make money and and to invest money somewhere, people have to genuinely care and that is what makes spending habits a good indication of what someone truly cares about. So how hard is it to convince someone to sell something and convince someone into spending their effort on your product? Pretty damn difficult.
Without getting too much into the general course of the book, a lesson that I found very useful was the thirty days rule. The rule is straightforward. You reap the rewards of the all the prospecting you did in thirty days foward from when you prospected because that is the average turnaround. So if you find yourself in a dry spell( sales, jobs, whatever), then it is because you did not prospect diligently in the last thirty days.
Framework for getting the yes
Something I have thought about before is societal scripts. Often with a dynamic of an interaction, there is a script that it seems as if society has downloaded. Of course, the more you get to know someone that script falls apart and this where genuine connection is formed but interactions between strangers is often determined by the societal script given the context.
The script between a salesperson and a prospect is usually one conflict. On one side is the demonized salesperson who is trying to sell and on the other side is the prospect who is trying to get on with their day. Thus, the script is filled with friction.
A common conversation would be as follows:
Salesmen: Hi, my name is Jeb and I want to talk to you about our services and how they can help you.
Prospect: I’m sorry, I don’t have much time right now.
Salesmen: This will only take a minute. The software I am selling will help your salesmen be much more efficient with their time.
Prospect: Our salesmen are hitting all their targets.
Salesmen: It doesn’t hurt for them to exceed that, wouldn’t you agree?
Clearly, the prospect is not interested and the salesmen is trying to talk them into being interested. The dynamic is one of disagreement. It’s as if there is a but in between each line. Its an argument. On one side is I deserve your attention and on the other side is no you don’t.
What Jeb Blunt says is a good script will turn the dynamic on its head. In an argument, it is to agree with the counterpart. In essence, take them from away from the societal script so that they have to be present rather than rely on an automation that exists in their head. Continuing the previous conversation:
Prospect: Our salesmen are hitting all their targets.
Salesmen: In that case, you have a point our product might not be for you. That being said, it is possible that our product can boost your already successful numbers even higher. How do you feel about setting up a time for a quick conversation and seeing if we are a good fit?
The first line is a pull rather than a push. It causes the other person to be in surprise because it flips the dynamic of the context. Wait why is this person agreeing with me? This isn’t in line with what he’s supposed to want in this situation.
Rejection, why it’s so difficult
Rejection or losing a confrontation doesn’t get any easier. Jeb speaks of how this is something prewired in us from an evolutionary perspective. It feels like we are getting rejected rather than whatever it is we are proposing. The best way to mitigate is to put your best foot forward when you are prospecting and if it does not work out, focus on the next actionable rather than dwell on that feeling.
An example he uses is that of instructors teaching kids to get on a horse after their first fall. Regardless of how much the kid cries, they push them to get on the horse again because if they don’t, they will replay that fall a million times and that’s what they will associate getting on a horse with. He has a wonderful quote.
“Bravery is built with the presence of fear not in spite of fear.” Jeb Blount
To remind himself of this, he has a post card that he has carried around for years and it has one simple word on it. N E X T
