That Prospecting Stuff Doesn't Work!

I've heard the phrase, "that prospecting stuff doesn't work. . ." many times. Never to my face, mind you, but I've heard it. I say, "yeah, that sitting behind the desk waiting for a call stuff works so much better, doesn't it!" Or, I say, "you know, you're absolutely right. You should avoid prospecting entirely. It's not for you. It's only for those who want control over their income."

If you like people in general, prospecting should be a great deal of fun. You get to meet so many different and interesting people in your travels and that makes it fun. Oh, you run into a few that woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but you might get the chance to brighten their day a bit just by your glowing personality and your ominous presence!

Prospecting is many things. Basically it is a method of finding prospects and filtering out potential buyers for further communication. You are just taking a closer look at your market and the people and businesses in that market and communicating with them in a non-confrontational way. It might be in person, or on the phone. Sometimes people call these cold calls because there is no relationship and no real knowledge of the client except perhaps some basic prior research if any.

Prospecting is a numbers game. You have to keep moving and you will get far greater results from a consistent approach at least in the beginning. You might walk into 10 businesses and find one or two that you could follow up with that express some kind of interest. It depends on what you are selling and how it relates to the people you are prospecting. That is two more than you would have sitting at the desk waiting. Do that 3 or 4 days a week for about 1-2 hours and you will be a superstar in just a couple of months. You can double, triple, quadruple your income as well--with consistency, of course.

Some go out and do it for about an hour and quit. That won't do anything, will it? Some do it for a week and quit. That won't pull. These people say, "that prospecting stuff doesn't work." They are right of course. It hasn't got a chance with either of these plans. But, you go out for 3-4 days a week for 1-2 hours a day and do it consistently for a couple of months and then tell me that stuff doesn't work and I would believe you. But, after a couple of months, you wouldn't be able to say it because it does work.

Of course, this would be true of many things such as an exercise regimen. You exercise for one day and quit and say "this exercise stuff doesn't work." Or, you exercise 3 or 4 times this week, then quit. Of course it doesn't work. How in the world could it. But, we all know that those who commit to doing it as a regime, succeed at it. It does work.

It is not the prospecting, it is you. You won't work. If you plant seeds, you can expect a harvest in time. If you decide not to plant seeds, you can expect a famine in time. Prospecting is just planting seeds. Go out and plant them and expect your harvest. They won't all grow. Who cares? You are guaranteed a harvest in time if you keep planting.