When prospecting, salespeople usually focus on the wrong end of the problem.
They focus on results (number of appointments made, number of sales, etc.), which, unfortunately, are virtually impossible to control with any degree of certainty. When they don’t achieve those objectives, prospecting becomes a very negative activity. Yet we all realize that without enough prospecting activity, you’ll likely fail in your selling efforts.
When you focus on what you
can
control, every prospecting day can be successful.
Build yourself a recipe for success by focusing on the only thing you can control, which is the
number of prospecting attempts
you make. It’s an old cliché that selling is a numbers game…and in many ways it’s true. The first step is to determine what you desire as a monthly income, then how many sales you need to close to make that income. From there you’ll need to determine how many proposals you have to make to close one deal, and how many fact-finding meetings with a decision maker you must have to be invited back to present a proposal. Obviously, you’ll need to determine how many decision makers you need to speak to in order to be invited in for an initial meeting. Finally, how many attempts (this can be cold calls or whatever prospecting activity you focus on) do you need to make to reach one decision maker? The attempts (activity, behavior) are the only thing you can control. Here’s a relatively simple example.
PROSPECTING ACTIVITY PLAN
Key to success:
Focus on the attempts needed to achieve the result, not the result itself. The only thing you can control is your activity (number of prospecting attempts).
Self-Study Assignment:
Develop your own personal Prospecting Activity Plan. Modify the above as necessary to reflect your business realities. Commit to making the appropriate number of attempts each day or week to achieve your monthly income goals.