Fanatical Prospecting

The path to superstar-level success in sales is brutally simple. Simple, mind you, not easy. It's a Paradox of Basics: A truth that is so blatantly obvious it has become impossibly invisible. (Location 381)

Adaptive and flexible: Fanatical prospectors have acute situational awareness. Because of this, they are able to respond and adapt quickly to changing situations and circumstances. They leverage the three As in their approach to prospecting: adopt, adapt, adept. (Location 520)

If you want sustained success in your sales career, if you want to maximize your income, then you've got to interrupt prospects. You'll have to pick up the phone, walk in the door, send an e-mail or text message, or ping a prospect on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, or Facebook and interrupt someone who is not expecting you to contact them (i.e., you don't have an appointment or they are not waiting for you to call or write) and with whom you are not currently engaged in a sales discussion. (Location 558)

However, the biggest and most lucrative prospects in their marketplace, the ones they need to sell to achieve their goals, rarely respond to inbound-marketing or social-selling efforts. They have no reason to engage this way. Their accounts are so lucrative, there's always a long line of salespeople knocking on the door. (Location 578)

The Universal Law of Need governs desperation. It states that the more you need something, the less likely it is that you will get it. (Location 727)

Through your actions, tone of voice, words, and body language, you send the message that you are desperate and weak. Prospects and customers naturally repel salespeople who are needy, desperate, and pathetic. (Location 739)

The 30-Day Rule states that the prospecting you do in this 30-day period will pay off for the next 90 days. It is a simple, yet powerful universal rule that governs sales and you ignore it at your peril. When you internalize this rule, it will drive you to never put prospecting aside for another day. (Location 785)

Note: Stupid rule name - should be more like 30-90 rule or something but interesting

The lesson the Law of Replacement teaches is that you must constantly be pushing new opportunities into your pipeline so that you're replacing the opportunities that will naturally fall out. And, you must do so at a rate that matches or exceeds your closing ratio. This is where a fanatical prospecting mindset really begins to pay off. (Location 823)

Efficiency is how much activity you are generating in the time block allotted for a particular prospecting activity. Effectiveness is the ratio between the activity and the outcome. Your drive is to optimize the balance between the two and maximize the outcome. Efficiency + Effectiveness = Performance (E + E = P) (Location 913)

Top performers organize their day into distinct time blocks dedicated to specific activities, concentrating their focus and eliminating distractions within those blocks. (Location 1107)

you are new in your territory or working for a start-up or new division, your primary objective will be gathering information so you can identify decision makers and qualify buying windows and budgets. The secondary objective will be to build familiarity. (Location 1505)

However, when your product or service is complex, contractual (especially when the contract requires exclusivity with a single vendor or limited number of vendors), the sales cycle is long, decision making is done at a high level in the organization, there is a defined budgetary period, or budgets need to be approved in advance, your best bet is to qualify first, then set an appointment. (Location 1607)

following filters (or other methodologies depending on your unique situation). Use these elements in combination to structure your prospecting lists for maximum impact. Prospecting objective: set an appointment, gather information, close the sale, build familiarity Prospecting channel: phone, e-mail, social, text, in person, networking Qualification level: highest qualified at the top of the list—least qualified at the bottom of the list Potential: largest opportunities at the top of the list—lowest potential at the bottom of the list Probability: highest potential probability to achieve your objective at the top of the list—lowest probability at the bottom of the list Territory plan: day of week, postal code, street, geographic grid, city Inbound leads Conquest prospects Decision maker/stakeholder role Industry or market vertical Customers that purchase a specific type of product or service Seasonal customers Inactive customers Leads from a recent trade show or conference (Location 1770)

Personal referrals come from friends, family, and acquaintances. These are people who know you and are willing to send prospects your way. Take time to educate your personal connections on what you do and your ideal prospects so they know what to look for. Then (this is critical), keep reminding them so they don't forget about you. (Location 1901)

Professional referrals come from relationships you've developed with other professionals in related industries or with salespeople who may call on the same type of prospects but don't compete with you. These are typically mutually beneficial relationships. To generate these referrals, you must seek out, form, and make an ongoing investment in these professional relationships. The wider your professional network, the more referrals you'll generate. (Location 1903)

You don't go to networking events to sell. You are not there to set appointments, get leads, or close business. You are there to create connections with other people. You get those other things after the connections are established. There should be no quid pro quo attached to your conversations. (Location 1936)

You can easily get speaking gigs. Organizations like the chamber of commerce, Rotary Club, trade organizations, and other business and civic groups are always in need of guest speakers. All you really have to do is call and volunteer and they will happily put you on the schedule. (Location 1981)

Some trainers suggest that you should put a mirror by the phone when you are prospecting so you'll be aware of your facial expression. (Location 2544)

Konrath suggests that there are three key parts to a winning VP: Focuses on a business objective that is measured: You'll get their attention when you focus on a metric that impacts their performance. Disrupts status quo: The status quo is powerful. People abhor change and will only move from the status quo when they feel they can significantly improve their current situation—increase sales, reduce costs, improve efficiency, reduce stress, and so on. Offers proof or evidence: When you can provide information about how much you have helped prospects in similar situations, you gain instant credibility. The higher the risk for your prospect to give up time to meet with you, the more powerful and convincing your value prop must be. (Location 2576)

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copier? Because I have to make copies,” the person still said yes 93 percent of the time. It was a truly stunning finding. Saying the word because—giving a reason—was more important and powerful than the reason itself. (Location 2623)

For example, just saying, “I'd like 15 minutes of your time because I want to learn more about you and your company” works surprisingly well with many prospects. (Location 2629)

This is why pitching logic—features—doesn't work. Trust me. Your prospects abhor a pitch. This, by the way, is why you get so much resistance with those long scripts your marketing department writes for you. (Location 2689)

Emotional value: You connect directly with them at the emotional level—typically by relating to painful emotions like stress, worry, insecurity, distrust, anxiety, fear, frustration, or anger and offering them peace of mind, security, options, lower stress, less worry, or hope. Insight (curiosity) value: You offer information that gives them power or leverage over other people. Most prospects worry about maintaining their competitive edge—either as a company or an individual. They're anxious that there may be something in the marketplace that they are not privy to. Unknowns are disconcerting—especially if a competitor has a best practice, information, system, or process that they don't. Tangible (logic) value: Executives and contacts in technical and data-centric roles will value data and case studies. How much, how many, and what results can you deliver, have you delivered, will you deliver—specific to their unique situation? (Location 2693)

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of the Little Red Book of Selling, says that “the assumptive position is the strongest selling strategy in the world.” (Location 2753)

When you fail to manage the disruptive emotions that are triggered by silence, your call turns into a train wreck. Your mouth starts moving. You attempt to overcome objections that have not even surfaced, overexplain yourself, offer your prospect a way out, and start blabbing on and on about your product's features and benefits, your company, your dog, and where you went to school. Until the prospect who was ready to say yes gets talked into saying no by you. This is why, despite all of the alarm bells going off in your adrenaline-soaked mind, you must shut up and give your prospect room to answer. Here's why: (Location 2831)

An effective telephone prospecting call might sound like this—a simple five-step framework: Get their attention by using their name: “Hi, Julie.” Identify yourself: “My name is Jeb Blount and I'm with Sales Gravy.” Tell them why you are calling: “The reason I'm calling is to set up an appointment with you.” Bridge—give them a because: “I just read an article online that said your company is going to add 200 new sales positions over the next year. Several companies in your industry are already using Sales Gravy exclusively for sourcing sales candidates and they are very happy with the results we are delivering.” Ask for what you want, and shut up: “I thought the best place to start is to schedule a short meeting to learn about your sales recruiting challenges and goals. How about we meet Wednesday afternoon around 3:00 PM?” Figure 15.1 5-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework (Location 3067)

Over the years I've developed a simple trigger designed to shake me out of my self-pity when I've been slighted or find myself astride a dead horse. Behind my desk is an old index card taped to the wall. The paper has yellowed and the words faded just a bit because I've carried that card around with me for 25 years. On the card are four letters: NEXT (Location 3553)

Winston Churchill said that “when you are going through hell, keep going.” (Location 4484)

The most successful people are constantly investing in themselves to increase their knowledge, gain insight, and sharpen their skills. They understand a principle that was true with my (Location 4583)

Gandhi said, “We should live as if we will die tomorrow and learn as if we will live forever.” In (Location 4590)