This book, by authors Fitten, Gruen and Poston, is one of the many “Dummies” books you’ll find out there today. This is the third Dummies book I’ve read of late, and they have all been excellent. This book is a basic rundown of how to use Twitter, and it surveys various potential applications for the technology. Twitter as a prospecting tool is, of course, a relatively new commodity. My first impression of Twitter was that it was just a “fun” social networking application, and that it was a bit of a stretch to apply it to business. I’m rethinking that now big time.

Twitter is like an automatic PR machine if used properly. In my world, one of the exciting opportunities is using Twitter to “lead by example.” A common tagline for the service is, “follow me.” For years I have talked to people about how to prospect and tried to give them an overview to what I do and how I do it. Now, I can open a window into my world and let folks see how I’m prospecting every day. When I think back on when I was new to sales, it would have been great to have an experienced and successful prospector digging in the trenches along with me. I surely would have benefitted from his or her insights instead of so often reinventing the wheel. I am psyched about this Twitter thing, and I will have more to say on it later. If Twitter is new to you, I’ve found this book a great start. Check it out!

Originally posted 2009-08-20 04:42:59.

• Backup you data!

I thought I’d better put this note here first rather than repeat it over and over in every section below. As soon as possible, find a uniform way to regularly back up your data. There are many online backup systems that will do this job well. Backing up your data is important in case your hard drive crashes or a virus corrupts your data. Backing up via an external hard drive is a good idea, but it only provides partial safety. It is better to also use an online back-up system that backs up your data to an external location, so that, if a fire, earthquake or tidal wave wipes out your office, you data will still be safe! Personally, I like Carbonite online back-up. [Sponsored Link -  Carbonite offers unlimited online backup for your small business for only $54.95/year. Try it free!]

Prospecting Databases

My first database (Database 1) is set up to accommodate a mix of primary and Plus Listings. Primary listings are initially filtered by buyer description, but are raw and not-as-yet contacted prospects. Plus Listings are qualified prospects that I have contacted in the past and discerned to be of higher quality than primary listings. Technically, this database could be split between the primary and Plus listings, but it doesn’t have to be. As long as you learn how to sort out (or filter) your Plus Listings from the primary listings, you can let them co-exist on the same list.

For this database, I use a software called Microsoft Works. [Sponsored Link - Microsoft Works 9.0] It is inexpensive and a very easy software to use. It also has wizards for mail merges and database creation. Generally, I create a custom database (which sounds difficult, but is really easy using the wizard). I include in the database, fields for contact information, call “codes” and contact dates as well as fields for key data points and notes. It can be filtered easily to identify prospects I have recently called and by “OK” codes.

• In the book Prospect Factory, I spend some time discussing the use of “printed primary lists.” If you use a printed primary list, it is only necessary to enter prospects into Database 1 once they become better qualified (i.e. are turned into finished leads or Plus Listings).
• Also, somewhere you may wish to create a place to store (and be able to cross reference later) a list of disqualified listings. I have found the Microsoft Works database to be excellent for this purpose, too. Microsoft Works is the program I have open and in “form view” while I am calling. I filter it at the end of each calling day to isolate finished leads, one-pagers to send, and permission emails that need to be sent.
• Microsoft Works also has an easy-to-use envelope wizard. It is here that I paste my company logo along with my return address, and merge data fields to print envelopes. This is a beautiful thing because I don’t need to pre-print envelopes for mailings. The return logo and the mailing address all get printed in the same “pass” by the printer.

Also, in regard to Microsoft Works, I set up a second database (Database 2), that I call my “Temporary Mailing Database.” Here, after I filter the addresses I want to send mail to from Database 1, I click the list view button. I then highlight and copy the names and addresses I wish to mail. Once copied, I paste this information into the temporary mailing database. The temporary mailing database is linked to my envelope template. In quick order, I am able to print the envelopes I need for the selected prospects at that time.

While some of these activities take a few steps, I appreciate the simplicity and the speed of the Microsoft Works program. Because there aren’t as many bells and whistles attached, this database is nice for larger lists. (In my case, 5,000 to 10,000 Plus List records – although the program is capable of handling many more than that.)

Database 3

My third database is my client service database. This is the database I use to service new and current customers. It is separate from my prospecting database and uses many specialized data fields. Finished leads are transferred to this database and scheduled for follow-up. If they buy, they are serviced as clients from this database. If they do not buy, generally they remain archived here in the event they become finished leads again in the future (i.e. in my world, this happens a lot). The database I use for this purpose is “ACT!” [Sponsored Link - Act! By Sage 2010] The ACT! database comes preloaded with database templates, and I use a template as a starting place. ACT! is a very versatile database that can integrate with phone, mail and email. It has excellent sorting and filtering capabilities as well.

Database 4

The fourth database I use is my mailing database. It requires specialized software that is designed to process and manage mailing lists. The software I use for this purpose is called MyMail List Deluxe from Avanquest. [Sponsored Link - My Mail List and Postage Saver]  This database is the one I use to for systematic, recurring mailings. Such mailings are sent incrementally, meaning the list is not mailed all at once. This list is set up and then divided (in my case) into three parts because I send mail to the whole list over a three month “mail-cycle.” This database is driven by my current Plus List. A little difficult to explain it all here, but the mailing list is initially derived and then later reestablished by the Plus List again and again over time.

Because this list is mailed using “standard” or presorted mail from the US Postal service, the addresses need to be sent away to be certified for bulk mailing (CASS Certified). Once the list is certified, I can’t add any new addresses to the list till the next cycle. I sort the certified list by ZIP code, and I divide it into three parts. Each part is mailed each month. Because I am using “standard” mail, there are a lot of specific requirements for the certification, printing and sorting of this list. Therefore, it demands its own database and a specialized software to manage it.  

Database 5

The last database I’ll look at here is the database I use for my in house do-not-call list. This list I keep in Microsoft Excel. The most important thing I do with Excel is use it to sort for duplicates. The do-not-call list is kept in its own datasheet, and it includes the names, addresses, phone numbers and the dates the do-not-call listings requested to be placed on the list. This data sheet is the first place I go to enter information when a prospect asks to be put on my do-not-call list. It is also the first place I go whenever I consider adding any new prospect names to my other lists.

When I prepare a new list to be called, I copy the do-not-call-list into a new data sheet along with the new numbers I wish to call. I then sort that sheet for duplicates and do-not-call listings. Excel has a feature called a Pivot Table (located under the Insert Tab in Excel 2007) that allows me to do a duplicate search in a snap. A Pivot Table does not delete the duplicates. Instead, it identifies and counts them. Once the duplicates are counted, I sort the totals, and I am able to see which numbers were duplicates. Once I know these numbers, I can go back to the source lists to remove duplicates and do-not call listings as needed prior to making any calls. Microsoft Excel, if you don’t already have it, is included in many Microsoft Office packages. [Sponsored Link - Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 FULL VERSION]

Database Overview

As stated above, it would be nice if one database would be able to manage everything. To a certain extent, Act! has a the potential to do it all. Another possibility is a combination of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Access. The problem for me in terms of combining everything into one data management base has mainly been related to Database 1 above. This is such a large database, when I add it to other all-in-one software, it just becomes too cumbersome for me. Primary listings, Plus Listings and Client service all on the same list is a mess! Further, databases like the mailing database and email databases have such specialized functions, I can’t imagine them in an all-in-one setting. Systems are constantly evolving and perhaps someday I’ll link them all into one place! For now, these separate components are working well.

Originally posted 2009-10-21 03:48:12.

Let’s start by giving you my definition of prospecting. Simply put,

“Prospecting is the process of finding new and potential buyers for the products and services you sell.”

New business is the lifeblood of any business or sales career. No business stays in the same place for long. Eventually, you are either growing with new business, or you are going backwards. Something people hear me say a lot is that,

“…prospecting is one of the most important yet most difficult tasks a sales or self-employed person must do in order to achieve success.”

I also like to point out that there is no such thing as a successful salesperson who has not somehow solved the problem of prospecting.

Originally posted 2009-06-12 05:00:13.

What does this mean?  It’s not just about the money (i.e. it’s easier to sell something to a prospect who can afford to buy versus one that can’t).  “Quality,” as I see it, means qualified.  Part of being qualified is being able to afford, but it is also so much more.  Qualifying a prospect means “knowing” a prospect.  As I work, I strive to get to know useful information about my prospects and I store it in my prospecting database [Sponsored Link - Act! By Sage 2010].

I collect information such as:

1. What kinds of products does the prospect prefer versus others?
2. When does the prospect make decisions about buying?
3. How does the prospect research alternatives?
4. What process does the prospect go through when buying?
5. What preferences in the “means” (i.e. mail order, phone, Internet, person-to-person, trade shows, seminars, etc.) of buying are important to the prospect?

Understanding this information helps put me in the right place, with the right approach, at the right time.  The fact that buyers have different buying preferences is no surprise.  It tells you that taking one approach will not succeed with everyone.  Allow for modifications to your approach and try to track your results.  In the early days of my career, I did mostly telephone prospecting work [Sponsored Link - Learn how to telephone prospect - read Prospect Factory].  When I noticed some prospects asking me to send information through the mail, I listened and acted on it.  In turn, I opened up a whole new means of outreach that successfully met the buying preferences of those prospects. [Sponsored Link - How to write letters for direct mail - The One Pager Manual.]

Make it a priority to collect useful information about prospects and to act on it.  It’s like a gold miner who has been working one vein of gold and then suddenly finds another.  It is exciting to find a new form of outreach that brings you closer in alignment with your customers.  By working to research, understand and adapt to the buying characteristics of your customers, you will improve your sales and prospecting results.

Originally posted 2009-05-13 04:06:31.

• What is the most difficult part of your prospecting?
• What is the one area of prospecting you’d like to improve on the most?
• What is your biggest challenge with prospecting?

Any prospecting question will do! I will try to give you the best answer I can as soon as possible.

Of course, any reference to make a telemarketing call assumes that such a call would be subject to the condition of being qualified as permissible by all applicable state and federal laws. (See www.ftc.gov and www.fcc.gov for more information on telemarketing rules.  www.the-dma.org is a good resource too).

To succeed with telephone prospecting,  a commitment must be made to achieve a call volume that is sizable enough to cover either,

• your entire market
• a manageable segment of your market.

Also, a sufficient amount of time specifically dedicated to calling must become a part of your regular work schedule.  The amount of time required to make calls is determined by:

• The total volume of calls needed (determined by the size of your market or selected market segment).
• How quickly you are able to make those calls (i.e. dials per hour and average length of time spent on each call).
• How often you plan to cycle through your list (i.e. how often you plan to call the same list on a repeated basis – once every 60, 90, 120 days etc.).

Allocating time to make calls can occur on a variety of schedules. Some examples are:

• Daily – dedicate two or three hours each day to calling (i.e. 10 – 15 hours per week).
• Weekly – dedicate one or two workdays each week, or a combination of mornings and afternoons for outreach via the phone.
• Monthly – find a week or two in a month that you can substantially dedicate to calling.
• Quarterly – dedicate the first two or three weeks of each quarter to calling.

The speed at which you make calls is derived by a combination of:

• Dedicating specific, uninterrupted time for calling.
• Being organized when you call (i.e. having your list pre-selected, pre-sorted and ready to go).
• Utilizing a concise call script (i.e. one that is limited in length and has a focused set of objectives).

In other posts we will discuss in more detail what is needed in order to optimize the total volume of calls and the speed at which calls are made.  But, for today, the point to note is that having dedicated an organized schedule for calling is important.  Without such a schedule, it is easy to put calls off or to allow other distractions to get in the way of making calls.

Originally posted 2009-06-18 04:32:23.

• My ancestors were gold miners (first arriving in California in 1848).
• When everyone was using a pan to search for “placer” gold, or gold that could be found already separated from other rock on the earth’s surface, my ancestors brought mining technology to California during those early days of the gold rush.
• Ore was mined from “hot spots” in the ground having higher concentrations of gold.
• It was then crushed and sifted, finally making its way through a mercury bath which separated the stone and other minerals from the gold itself.
• Gold was then melted into ingots or bars and sold at market.

A sales funnel uses the same approach.

• Starting with “hot” ore (i.e. a well researched list based on your target market).
• It is processed (i.e. interacted with over time, called mailed, met person-to-person, etc.).
• The minerals are separated (i.e. the better quality prospects are set apart from the less promising).
• Gold is melted together and sold (i.e. the best quality prospects get the most attention – appointments, more expensive literature, more intensive follow up, etc.. Out of this top shelf group, sales are made).

Some also use a farm analogy to describe this above process as separating “wheat from chaff.” Either way, it’s the same story.

Working Smart

You are starting with a large list in the beginning and sifting it down to the group that has the value you are looking for.

• Working smart throughout the process makes a big difference!
• One element of the interaction with new prospects that gets missed is the value of collecting information.
• Collect qualifying information in order to identify future selling opportunities and use it to separate out disqualified prospects (thereby streamlining your work over time).

Also, work to understand what underlying characteristics make one prospect more promising than another. Mark such prospects for future reference. Spend extra time and attention developing and communicating with your higher potential prospects. Do so, and you’ll soon have a powerful sales funnel working for you!

Once a framework for sales is set in place and objectives are established, there is one piece of the puzzle that, if attended to properly, can grease all wheels in a sales organization. That piece of the puzzle is prospecting.

• Learning about the power of prospecting should be part of any comprehensive sales management training.
• Prospecting is the process of finding and developing new, qualified and currently interested prospects for what your company sells.
• If you can generate a sufficient supply of new prospects and have them followed up by the right mix of sales staff, you can create a powerful sales operation.

Prospecting Empirically

A company should institute a means of prospecting on an empirical basis. This means prospecting from the “top down” or companywide. This work occurs in addition to any prospecting done directly by sales staff.

• A company should take responsibility for its overall prospecting list.
• As such, it will engage its potential markets on an deliberate basis and not an accidental one (i.e. not just by networking, word of mouth and prior relationships alone).
• A company prospecting list should be centralized and developed both by company outreach as well as outreach from individual sales staff.
• Add company initiated “touches” during the sales cycle (i.e. contacts by phone, mail, permission email, etc.) that will help build buyer relationships with the company.
• Salespeople (like sales managers sometimes) may be given too many responsibilities. Be sure to break each element of prospecting, sales and service into manageable parts.

During sales management training, teach how to put the right personality on the right job. Certain people are more suited to the “touch and go” of prospecting versus the up close and personal elements of relationship building and ongoing service. Learn and teach the basic subtleties involved.

Building a Sales Machine

When elements of selling are separated into components, each employee is able to focus on the job at hand.

• Each person involved gets better at his or her individual role because of experience gained through swinging at the same pitches over and over again.
• This “bucket brigade” synergy across the sales operation will outperform any alternative plan that may otherwise demand each person to run back and forth between the river and the fire.
• Sales management training should include some discussion on how to build this type of sales machine.
• It may not be necessary to entirely shred a company’s current sales structure in order to move in the direction outlined here.

Such a system can be established incrementally – but it all starts with prospecting. Build your prospecting team first and through the dispersion leads and tracking of sales results you can identify how the other elements should fall into place.

Let’s assume at the very first steps of prospecting, you have a list together. You’ll need to set up a database that includes contact information as well as a “date of last call” field and a “call outcome” field. In my system, I call the outcome field the “OK” field (long story behind that – that we’ll save for another day).

• When calling new sales leads, you log in the date the person was called. When you look at your database later you’ll know the “last call” date for each prospect.
• Every call must have an outcome. Anything from talking to a prospect who wasn’t interested (i.e. This is a code “1”) to finding an interested buyer. I’ll enter the code into the “OK” field for that prospect at the end of the call. Other possible outcomes are: “not available” = code “3,” “send letter” = code “2,” “send permission email” = code “5” [Note – I only send an email to a person I speak directly to. Otherwise, it’s not really permission!], “disqualified lead” = code “9,” etc.
• When a prospect is determined to be a finished lead (i.e. a lead that needs to be followed up with, met with – presented to, etc.), he or she is given a code of “6” in the “OK” field.
• At the end of the day, I sort my database for daily follow up. All “6”’s are forwarded on for follow up and scheduling. All “2”’s have their envelopes printed and letters sent. All “5”’s are sent their emails., etc.

Sales lead management continues with leads after they enter your current sales cycle (i.e. for code “6” leads, or “finished leads”). Such leads are separated and receive new codes for management at each step of the sales cycle. For example, “quote stage,” “thinking about it,” “application” and “delivery.”

Releasing Unsold Leads

Finally, leads that are not eventually sold are released from second stage follow up and returned to the initial list. This “release” code is called, “Done” and is one of the most important codes of all because it clears out the current follow up list.

All of these tactics for sales lead management were derived via the Prospect Factory system I have been using for decades.

•  This system is so successful at generating a high volume of new sales leads, it needs an organized follow-up system or it would become a nightmare.
• I will let go of a lead that we have pitched a sale to after three “thinking about it” responses.
• In the future, I refresh my lists and add new names.

Being able to sort my database by these codes tells me how I’m doing and gives me a basis for comparing my results over time. Sales lead management is a critical issue that can either provide you with new opportunities or cost you opportunities. Yes, it requires some work upfront, but it is definitely worth it in the long run.

Need more detailed info on sales lead management? Check out the book Prospect Factory!

“A finished lead is a prospect who establishes current interest in your products and services and who is willing to give you a favorable opportunity to present, meet with and/or follow up with him or her about what you sell.”

Other definitions of a sales lead include more cursory descriptions of less qualified leads. These other leads are better considered to be “suspects” rather than finished leads.

When you are prospecting you are doing two things at once. First, you are looking for currently interested finished leads, but, second, you are developing other less interested leads for the future.

• Let current interest be your guide.
• If a prospect has current interest and is willing to hear from you now – terrific!
• The rest of the people you talk to should be working their way to that point.
• I may have very detailed information about a particular prospect and have interacted with that prospect many times in the past, but if he or she is not currently interested – the person is not a lead at this time.
• I’ll be patient and stay in touch.
• The better he or she knows me and what I can do, the more likely I’ll be considered as a potential solution when the time is right.

Suspects are pre-leads. It is essential to learn more about them to better understand their potential as future leads.

• For follow up purposes, it is also important to learn their buying preferences or when their buying cycles begin and end.
• Suspects are to be cultivated so that they learn who you are and how you can help them.
• Make it a priority to have your information in these people’s hands so that when they do become an interested sales lead – they will know how to find you.

Having a sufficient number of sales leads is critical for a business’ or a salesperson’s future success! Leads are the life blood of your business. Become adept at: (1) finding, and (2) cultivating a sufficient number of currently interested buyers. Do so proficiently, and the sky is the limit in your sales or business career.

You can take courses on sales presentations, closing, building business relationships, networking, social media for business, copywriting for sales, etc. The practical application of most of these items will, however, occur through real world experience. But, how do you get real world experience – or at least a significant amount of it? It is done by finding enough new, interested potential buyers for the products or services your company sells.

• Sales training courses may cover sales prospecting in a cursory manner at best and instead focus on polish, image, positioning and persuasive tactics or “secrets” for closing sales.
• When a salesperson is new, there tends by nature to be an overemphasis put on closing ratio.
• New folks don’t need to worry about closing every sale – they need, instead, to be concerned that they are generating enough activity to survive.
• It is through activity that most sales skills will ultimately be developed.
• A salesperson can’t come to know a meaningful closing ratio until he or she has made at least several hundred presentations.

Sure, make a study of the various other elements of selling, but make prospecting a primary area of emphasis.

• Once your “loaded for bear” – you’ll need to go out looking for some bears.
• The more successful the prospecting , the more successful the sales person.
• What separates those who barely survive from those who thrive is the ability to find enough new, qualified, currently interested prospects to talk to.
• The more prospects you find, the more experience you’ll get. As such your selling skills should improve through necessity.

Sales training courses in my opinion should both begin and end with sales prospecting. It is the lifeblood of any sales career and the ultimate test that must be passed in order to achieve long term success. Sure, study all other elements of selling ,but make learning prospecting your highest priority. Have a goal to become a master of prospecting. Do so, and all of the other elements of sales and selling will ultimately fall into place.

• My one saving grace was that I had some courage and I also very much wanted to succeed.
• Against that backdrop I noticed that when I wasn’t out seeing new prospects, there was a large amount of free time available.
• I made a conscious effort to fill my free time with calls to new prospects.
• As such, I got a lot of practice on the phone looking for new sales opportunities.

In time, I learned that the lifeblood of sales is prospecting. Either you can learn to generate enough prospects to sustain yourself – or you will be out of business. I dedicated myself to becoming the best prospector I could be. The more I worked at it, the better I got. My sales skills developed through the hard work and the experience.

Two Types of Experience that Helped Me Develop.

The first was all the calling I was doing.

• I learned to be a master of the phone and to control any call reluctance I was having.
• I learned not to take rejection personally.
• I learned also that I could not always control the outcome of a call or whether a prospect was interested or not.
• I learned that about the only thing I could control was how many times I dialed the phone. So, I started making more and more calls and getting more and more prospects.

The next big leap in my sales skills came through joint work.

• I would find good prospects – and I would go out to see those potential customers with other, more experienced salespeople.
• I found a few other consultants at the firm I was working in who enjoyed working with me and who agreed to split our cases 50-50.
• I watched them work and I learned a lot about how-to-sell from them.

They were thrilled to be working with me because I was bringing them plenty of fresh business. In most sales organizations, you’ll find a mix of experience and inexperience. Often the older salespersons will be energized by the possibility of working a higher volume of new leads brought to them by a newer salesperson.

Over time, I became an expert in both prospecting and selling. I learned how to feed myself in the future with a constant supply of new, interested leads – and I learned how to close cases along the way. Sales skills are best developed through study and experience. With the right mix of hard work and joint work – you can become the best salesperson you can be.

Create sales literature and a sales presentation that is first focused on identifying current interest.

Current interest can be discovered through “qualitative questioning.”

• How happy are you with your current vendor?
• How’s that working?
• Is everything ok?
• Are you pleased?

Questions about timing are also key:

• When do you look into that again?
• What time of year do you consider this?
• When was the last time you reviewed this subject?
• How long has it been since you have looked into this?

If interest is directed toward a future date, make a note – and follow up as needed.

Sales Literature

Make literature or sales material (whether mail, fax, permission email, web material, etc.) proactive at all times. This means, even in a newsletter or information piece, always provide a section that asks about current interest and include a reply prompt of some kind (i.e. Learn how to create proactive sales letters with, “The One Pager Manual.”). Depending on what you sell, you may wish to be either more or less detailed about what you ask for in reply.

• The more detail you request in a reply, the fewer responses you will generally receive – however the responses you receive will tend to be better qualified.
• You must strike a balance in terms of the amount of information you request. Don’t scare off an interested prospect by requesting too much.
• Remember too that a prospect’s comfort level will grow over time.
• Once you have exchanged interactions a few times, the prospect may be more comfortable in providing you more details about his or her situation.

A sales presentation that begins with a deliberate focus on establishing current interest is a good start. Learn how to produce a high volume of interested customers, then every other step in the sales process will become easier. If a prospect is currently interested, you won’t need to be so glitzy or persuasive in your sales presentation in order to make the sale. Be professional, be competitive, deliver on time and at the promised price – and seek out prospects with genuine current interest.

• Selling – this refers to the “task” of sales. For my purposes this focuses on the direct interaction between the company representative and the prospect. It can be in person, over the phone or even through live internet chat, etc.
• Marketing – another big umbrella, is often interchangeable with sales. In college they taught us about Price, Product , Place and Promotion relating to marketing.
• Prospecting – this is the process of identifying and / or cultivating new, currently interested buyers for a company’s products or services.

Sales Prospecting

On an operative basis, the area that intrigues me the most in “sales selling”, is prospecting. There is a direct correlation between proficiency in finding better quality prospects and all of the other elements of sales.

 For example:

• The better the prospect, the easier it is to close the sale.
• The better the prospecting the greater the efficiency (higher closing ratios).
• The better the prospecting the greater the opportunities (opens wider and wider markets).
• The better the prospecting the more sustainable the business (or sales career).
• The better the prospecting is the easier it is to replace current business lost to attrition.

Where to Focus Your Effort

Sales selling study often leads people to spend too much time worrying about polish and persuasion. The best place to put the most energy is in outreach that will find you new, currently interested buyers. If you have a copious supply of motivated buyers within reach at all times, everything else tends to take care of itself.

• In most businesses this will require making a commitment to a mix of outreach that invites interested buyers to respond.
• Another key factor is committing to a certain volume of activity in each form of outreach (i.e. # of calls per week, #of letters, # meetings, # of postings or press releases, etc).
•  This kind of commitment tends to become a “mother of invention.” Sales selling activity will demand the preparation and ongoing maintenance elements in order to achieve the goals for levels of outreach.

At the end of the day, the ability to develop and maintain a stream of interested new buyers is a major factor in sales success. Study the subject of prospecting and become a master of it. In doing so, you will be better able to move your sales goals forward.

• Some of these people had outgoing or engaging personalities.
• A few had an uncanny ability to read people.
• For my part, I was never one of these sales wizards – yet, I am still a successful salesperson.

Sure, I have some natural and developed ability, but I am not a big believer in too much concern over intangible elements of sales success. Each person brings his or her individual strengths to the profession of selling.

• If there is one element I can point to that makes the biggest difference, it is the skill to prospect.
• Prospecting is process of finding new, interested qualified potential buyers for whatever it is that you sell.
• If you can create a steady stream of new potential buyers, you will give yourself the best opportunity to develop and grow your selling skills.

One of my kids recently was watching a movie called, “Michael Jordan to the Max.” In the movie Phil Jackson (one of Michael’s coaches) talks about Jordan struggling with shooting and defensive play. The remedy? Shooting and shooting and shooting.

• Prospecting strength opens the door to better skill in selling because talking to lots of interested folks gives you practice.
• You can work hard, gain experience, learn from your mistakes and grow as a salesperson – because you continually give yourself the opportunity to do so.
• Conversely, a salesperson who does not have enough prospects tends to over think what he or she is doing. Too much pressure is put on too few opportunities – not exactly the best environment for personal growth.

So, if you want better selling skills, learn how to become an effective sales prospector. Doing so, will give you the chance to be the best salesperson you can be.