Sandler Rule #7: You Never Have to Like Prospecting, You Just Have to Do It

Have you ever put off your prospecting tasks . . . . and face an income crisis as a result?

• Focus on the end result.
• Prospecting is a selection process.
• Cast your net. 

The salesperson who claims to "like" making cold calls hasn't made any.

How can anyone "like" a process that produces such an arena for rejection? When salespeople say they like prospecting, what they may mean is this: "I dont mind paying the price of prospecting to reach my objectives." Many salespeoople haven't reached that stage. If you're still at the stage where prospecting means dialing numbers and hoping the line is busy  . . . or driving around the block for two hours so you can build up your nerve to call on a complete stranger, dont worry. You're OK. You just haven't learned to focus on the end results . . .  instead you are focused on what you have to do to get the end result.  

FIND THE PROSPECT!

Prospecting is simply the act of finding prospects -- those people who need your product or service -- while they are hiding in a sea of suspects. You must keep your focus on the goal: finding prospects. You can't let your attention become diverted by the many suspects you will encounter along the way. 'When you're prospecting, you're like the Coast Guard's Search and Rescue team, looking for a small raft of shipwreck survivors in a vast ocean The work may be long and tedious, but the goa is certainly worthwhile and rewarding. 

Of course, along the way, the Coast Guard team may encounter all kinds of interesting crafts -- colorful sailboats, magnificent yachts, even an ocean liner or two -- in their search for the survivors' raft. That even an ocean liner or two -- in their search for the survivors' raft. That doesn't mean they call off the search! Similarly, you will encounter many interesting suspects, but you never want to call off your search for the prospect who needs you. Keep your focus on those people who qualify as prospects. The goal is not to convert suspects to prospects, any more than it is to convert an ocean liner to a life raft. You goal is simply to weed out the suspects who don't qualify as prospects as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

You will encounter many more people who don't need your product or service (or won't admit to the need) than people who do. There will be many more people who won't want to talk with you than people who will. This is the nature of the job of selling, not something to regret. 

Admittedly, cold calling is not the most glorious of all selling activities. That may be because it takes place at the beginning of the selling cycle, with the payoff for the effort still comparatively far off in the future. However, whether it is glamorous or not, it is a strategically essential activity that gives you control over, and adds predictability to, your selling efforts. 

Cold calling, like other prospecting activities, is a selection activity -- it's all about separating prospects from suspects, nothing more and nothing less. When it's time to prospect (and it usually is) think of yourself as being like the fisherman who, upon pulling up the net, must sort through the catch and throw back all the fish that are too small. Some days, you'll throw back many small fish. Other days you'll throw back only a few. The one thing you must do, however, and do with a consistency that borders on obsession, is cast your net! After all, that's your job!

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