I meet a lot of consultants who get extremely frustrated by the prospecting process. The things which they’d like to be predictable aren’t; the conversations that seemed to have gone very well stall; the opportunities that they’re told are high-priority disappear; and the people they’re trying to build relationships with promise one thing … then immediately do the opposite.
Do any of those situations sound familiar to you? If so, here are 5 ways to stay sane in the mad world of sales prospecting.
- Let go. Attachment to prospecting outcomes just causes you stress. Accept that there are a lot of things you simply can’t control.
- Don’t push. Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of driving, pushy, sales behaviours. And they don’t work anyway. Prospecting is about attraction and wooing.
- Stop judging. Clients tell me prospects are rude for not returning calls. Maybe they’re not. Look at things differently – from their viewpoint.
- Their agenda comes first. Prospects have their own priorities and timeline. Engage using that agenda, not yours.
- Keep being helpful. Ultimately consultancy is about helping clients succeed. Model that in all of your pre-sales behaviour.
Your mindset toward prospecting will change and your confidence will improve when you apply these. Of course it’s much easier when you already have a full and healthy sales pipeline.
Let me know how you get on.