No Prospects...?

Are there really no prospects out there?? 

One of the most impactful mentors I’ve had the pleasure of learning from, Mark Keating from SalesGuru, would often say that in most cases salespeople don’t have a closing problem, they have an opening problem!!

Now, there are many layers to that statement but one of the key issues he was getting at was that very often, we as salespeople, are simply not seeing enough prospects.

If you have a closing rate of 20 % (1 in 5) then, simply put, 5 meetings a month will get you 1 sale. 5 meetings a week will get you 1 sale a week and 5 meetings in a day would get you 1 sale per day. 25 meetings a week will get you 5 sales! Guys, it’s simple math. You wanna double your sales – double your meetings!!

You might have a 100% closing ratio but if you only see 1 meeting per month , the best you can expect is …. 1 sale per month…duh!

The person getting 5 sales a week might, very well not be a great closer, they might just be a little less lazy! There, I said it…there are hard workers and lazy people!

In all honesty, actual, stand out, brilliant closers are but a few and far between! Most successful salespeople are hard workers, their schedules are always full, and they are constantly seeking out and meeting potential new customers.

My blog today was as a result of 2 separate and unconnected people who complained that there are simply not enough prospects out there! Poor ol’ COVID was blamed for this as well, and both people have built deeply intimate relationships with … their sofas. (…and now I must help them!!)

Neither are becoming client’s ‘cause I don’t engage with sofa pilots!!

What’s amazing to me is that another 2 client’s I have engaged with (1 an individual at a Global corporate and the other an entrepreneur with a sales team of 10 guys and gals) have both succeeded in producing record sales revenues in 2020/2021 …. DESPITE COVID!!!!

I’d love to tell you that it’s all because of my sublime wisdom and sales savvy but the truth is, both these client’s have an incredibly impressive work ethics. COVID might have changed the way they do certain things, but they were busy all the time even way before COVID showed up!! Their schedules are ROCKIN ALL THE TIME!!

Successful salespeople are always asking 2 questions…? (COVID or not!!!!!)

• Where are my prospects hanging out? And
• How do I successfully get in touch with them?

The answers to those questions might differ per industry and there might be some nuance, but it is that basic, I believe.

One of my favorite human beings on the planet, Venetia Buttler, always used to say …

“You cannot make money and excuses at the same time – pick one!”

Folks there literally are hundreds of thousands of prospects out there at any given point – busy and efficient salespeople will get them first! For the rest….there’s always the sofa!

Go for it!