How ‘Flying Blind’ Can Lead to Better Prospecting

Typically, sales people love  face-to-face meetings with prospective customers. But prospecting to get those meetings? Not so much. One way to avoid the obstacles that make reluctant prospecting all too common is to replace them with something more positive and powerful.

Why are sales people so averse to prospecting? Well, common answers are fear of rejection, feeling “pushy” or “nosy,” or wasting time that could be spent on something more productive. But let’s face it: The reality is that you have to be good at prospecting or you’ll never get to the later stages of the sales process.

In our experience, only 3 percent  of sales people like to prospect or believe they’re good at it. So, what’s holding the other 97 percent back? What’s the psychology behind prospecting-or not prospecting?

Let me share an insight from an unlikely source. In a recent conversation with a man whose wife is one of the best blind golfers in the world, I was surprised to learn that blind people are often drawn to golf, in part because they can be quite successful. One reason is that they turn what’s commonly perceived to be a disadvantage into an advantage. (There are associations serving blind golfers, such as the US Blind Golf Association at   www.usblindgolf.com , training programs, and national and international tournaments.)

An advantage blind golfers have  over sighted golfers, the husband explained, is that their focus on hitting the ball is complete: “They don’t see the sand traps, they don’t see the water, they don’t have to think about the wind, or an elevated green.” And they don’t think about the club they will use to make a shot-a caddie or coach makes the choice for them. Even better is that they don’t think about adjusting their swings when the distance puts them between clubs, which is a distraction that often plagues sighted golfers.

Once on the course with a club in their hands, blind golfers can place themselves mentally and emotionally on familiar territory-the practice range-without distractions to influence their judgments or their swing. They can simply swing with the same power, the same swing path, and the same stroke. They are completely focused on just swinging the club and hitting the ball. A single, positive image of being on the practice range replaces all those obstacles sighted golfers can’t help but see.

There is a lesson here for sales people, especially those who find prospecting to be such a hurdle-or even a hazard. The lesson is to blind yourself to all the issues that distract you from focusing on prospecting. Easier said than done, of course, but that’s the end to have in mind. What are the means to reaching that end? How can you, or any other sales person or team, achieve that intense level of focus?

One way is to change how you see  the task of prospecting, especially from your prospects’ point of view.

Over the years we have seen the performance of individual sales people improve significantly as they learn to ignore the perceived negative side of contacting prospects-interrupting busy people, for example, or taking up “too much” of their time-and, instead, focus on the positive side. And by “positive” we don’t mean the money  you’ll   be making  from prospects who become customers. We’re talking about the  value you’ll be   delivering  to prospects during the sales process  before  they become customers. Making money is the desired outcome, to be sure, but none of us can control outcomes. What we can control is the way we achieve them-in this case, applying a customized sales process that delivers value in and of itself.

Impossible? Not at all.

Next-level sales people-the top producers*-have discovered that prospecting is simply a way to learn how you can create value for a prospect. Some even look at this essential first step in selling as research. They’ve learned to blind themselves to distractions, usually mental and emotional, that make other sales people reluctant to prospect. And they become extremely efficient at it.

Creating value during the sales process comes naturally to a few top producers. The majority, however, have  learned  how to do it. In other words, the process top producers use can be taught. It involves changing behavior by developing consultative selling skills and a customized sales process that reflects your markets, your differentiation, and the buying motives of your prospects.

Once sales people and other business developers  make this mind-shift we have seen dramatic changes in results. One woman, a lawyer, exclaimed during our consultative selling course, FOCIS®: “This [approach to selling] is liberating. Sales isn’t what I thought it was. What’s required of me I’m actually very good at.” A different, highly productive sales process enabled her to discard her unfounded distractions and to become effective at prospecting and business development.

The bottom line here is that without understanding the true, positive reasons to prospect (and sell), your mind will be filled the negative distractions that lead to “reluctant prospecting.” The bad news is that positive thinking or motivational quotes or other “tips and techniques” won’t do the job. The good news is that you don’t need to be a born rainmaker or a sales magician. But you will need help building consultative selling skills and a proven, customized sales process. More good news is that you can  learn  the process top producers use to be the best. We know because we teach it in our popular FOCIS® Selling course.

To learn more,  please contact us directly at pkrone@productivestrategies.com  or 847-446-0008 Ext. 1.

*We define top producers as the 20 percent of business developers who consistently bring in 80 percent of new business. In our more than 20 years of experience, the so-called 80/20 rule (Pareto’s Law) has applied business developers across industries and professional services.

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