I think almost every salesperson would agree: prospecting is the toughest part of the job.

That said, it is necessary and must be done regularly by both established salespeople as well as rookies.

Let me get this out of the way early: Sending out generic blast emails is not prospecting! I know, I get twenty bad emails a day (more on this later) and cannot delete and block them fast enough. I am stunned by how many people think this is prospecting. There is very little (if any) interpersonal skill development and is more of a “spray and pray” strategy. If that is how you are rationalizing prospecting as a salesperson, you can be replaced for $50 a month using AI.

Here is the key to success with prospecting: Phone Prospecting: 15-minutes a day ---every day!

And here is the why and the how:

The Why: The cumulative effect of sales prospecting over the phone

It is real simple. You cannot prospect over the phone once a month with “sales blitzes” and expect success. Imagine practicing basketball or playing an instrument once a month. How good could you be? As a salesperson, you need to build “Rejection Immunity”!

Can you commit to 15 minutes a day for phone prospecting? Most salespeople will say YES!

• 15 minutes—10 calls

• Plan five prospect calls then five former customer calls

• Remember—you get paid to talk to people

• At the end of the week—you called 25 prospects, 25 former customers

• At the end of the month—you called 210 prospects/former customers

• At the end of the year—You called over 2,400 /prospects and customers

The How: Planning and Preparation—make it a top priority and do it first thing every day.

Do not leave your office until you have your plan for who you are going to call the next day:

• List five prospects that you will call

• List five former customers you will call

Plan to do it first thing in the morning—every day, same time. Always do the most challenging tasks first—it won’t get easier as the day goes on.

Script your voicemail and if they pick-up, have your value statement and turnaround question scripted and ready to go. We use a process called DPQ. More on this in another upcoming blog.

So, you prospect for 15 minutes a day, leaving effective voicemails and preparing for if they pick up the phone. After 10 calls, even if you left 10 messages, stop. You have finished your 15 minutes of phone prospecting for the day. Now, you can send your follow-up emails tailored to the individual voicemails you just left.

This way, the customer hears a professional voicemail, and, just as you said in your voicemail, you sent a follow-up, professional email that makes it super easy to hit reply and engage with you.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to prospecting. But trust me, 15 minutes of phone prospecting whereby prospects can hear your tone, passion, and value statements will put you in a better position to secure a meeting than email blasts. And best of all, you develop the skill of rejection immunity.

Unlike the bad emails below:

[Name],

Coming up to bat is the easiest elevator pitch email you’ll ever read:

• We’ve replaced the cold call

• We secure meetings with decision-makers in your target market that lead to closed deals.

If your current lead generation solution isn’t producing the results you need, let’s talk.

How does your Monday look to discuss our process?

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Hello,

I am [name], a Business Development Manager from [name] staffing company. I wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about my company.

We have been in the area for 25+ years and have successfully placed 1000 of candidates in the community. I would love to help you fill your open positions.

Can we set up a meeting for next week to discuss?

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At Butler Street, we are experts in multi-media prospecting and would welcome the opportunity to have a conversation with you. Trust me, 15 minutes of prospecting each day will drive your pipeline up significantly. It has for me! Contact us and let's talk.