The 6 Rules of Prospecting
From Recruitment Specialist & Sales Development Expert, Alex Cole-Murphy
Prospecting is a critical part of the sales process. If you need to be more consistent and more effective at getting results from your prospecting, we’re here to help. Our 6 rules of prospecting can teach you to take advantage of your unique personality and abilities to drive results. For more, follow our 6 rules of prospecting outlined in this week’s video!
Find out more below:
Sales Brew – The 6 Rules of Prospecting from Anthony Cole Training on Vimeo.
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Video Transcript:
Prospecting. Every salesperson’s favorite topic, right? Well, it may or may not be yours but if you have to be more consistent and more effective at getting results from your prospecting, this is the session for you.
Rule #1 is the vegetable rule. Most kids don’t like vegetables but as all of our mothers told us, you don’t have to like vegetables – you just have to eat them!
So… you don’t have to like prospecting you just have to do it!
Rule #2 is the fun rule: if you can find a way to make prospecting fun, the more likely you will consistently prospect. So how do you make it fun? Don’t be afraid to just be you. If you have a sense of humor, use it. If you don’t, then take advantage of the personality traits you do have to help your prospects on the other end of the phone realize that you’re just doing your job and hoping to meet someone new.
One of my favorites rules is the fingerprint rule. We teach salespeople not to look, act, or sound like every other salesperson. Be yourself and be unique. Have you ever heard of Joe Gerard? He wrote the book “The Worlds Greatest Salesman”. Joe is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s greatest salesman – really, look it up! Joe talks about the uniqueness that we all have and points out that no one has a fingerprint like yours. Among all the characteristics that make us the same, the fingerprint truly makes us unique. So act that way! Be different.
Rule #4 is The Porpoise Rule – You must have a clear “porpoise” for the prospecting call! We focus on this is to help remind you that the objective of the phone call is NOT to sell something. The purpose is the find a reason to meet if there is one. How would you know if you are trying to sell instead of qualify on the phone? You would know if you’re talking too much.
Do you like your chili Cincinnati cinnamon sweet or a bit on the spicy side? That takes us to the Chili Rule. My dad makes his chili with black beans, flank steak, beef cubes, ancho peppers, and a variety of other veggies and seasonings. Many people have asked him for the recipe and when they make it, it does not quite taste the same. Well, part of his not so secret recipe is to dry rub the flank steak with cumin and cayenne pepper and then cook it on the grill. So, the chili rule means this – you have to have a recipe for successful prospecting and you HAVE to EXECUTE the recipe without exception, especially the details.
Everyone loves the Shrek Rule! Remember the movie scene when Shrek and Donkey are walking through the cornfield and Shrek tells Donkey that he is like an onion – he has layers. Your prospects are like onions – they have layers.
If you ask your prospect a question like – what’s the one thing you’d like to change about how you renew your contracts – you will get an answer from the prospect that is intellectual in nature. To find out if a real problem exists with the renewal of contracts, you have to peel back the layers. You have to ask:
- Tell me more about that,
- how long has that been going on,
- what happens if you don’t fix it,
- what have you done to try and fix it,
Those are all questions that will help you and your prospect peel back the onion.
