For those of us who are parents, we know that while we try to help our children avoid mistakes, we also want to give them some leeway to have learning moments of their own. Of course there is a time and a place for learning moments. The same goes for our teams when they are prospecting for new business. We shouldn't allow our newer salespeople as much leeway (like our younger children) as we do our more seasoned veterans (our older children) especially when it comes to prospecting.
Here are 5 tips to help newer sellers determine their best prospects:
1. Get involved.
Stay involved and interested in this part of the selling process. Ask them frequently to go over their most current prospects and ask questions about why they feel this is a good prospect. Make them defend their case.
2. Use your experience.
You’ve been in the field – you know what potential dollar signs look like. Share that experience with your sellers. And, when you see them chasing something down a rabbit hole – be honest and quickly redirect their effort.
3. Help them stay focused.
Prospecting is hard for newer salespeople. They're putting themselves out there in the world and often feel uniformed and unprepared. Help them feel as informed and prepared as possible but with a gentle nudge out the door as well. Let them know that they don’t have to know it all to prospect new business. It’s okay to tell a prospect that while they don’t know the answer—they know someone who does. Continually remind them why this is such an important part of their overall sales process.
4. Use the "Don’t Give Up" process and planner.
These tools will help you and your newer sellers stay focused. Ask them to fill out our planner with every new target prospect they are looking to get in front of.
5. Stay close.
And then stay close—make sure they are meeting their deadlines on the planner and following up accordingly. If they aren't, ask what is getting in their way.
Prospecting for target accounts is a skill that can be taught. And guess what? Your title may be manager, but you're a teacher as well.
Get your prospects to say yes to your meeting! Download our "Don't Give Up" plan.
