When it comes to sales, there’s no better feeling than getting that PO, email from Finance, or Purchase confirmation. We feel accomplished and proud of ourselves, and happy we have begun that relationship with the customer. However, we sometimes forget what it took to get us to that moment, and forget that it (most often than not) took several calls and much effort to get that customer started.
Earlier today, I was discussing how I was going to manage to have a constant full pipeline in order to hit my personal goals. When I said I was looking to hit quota by the end of this week that will allow me to prospect to the fullest next week, they pushed back.
I was asked - “Mauricio, what happens if you stop breathing? Can you stop breathing?” Of course I can’t - I’d die if I stopped breathing. Then I realized where they were getting at, and waited for them to drop the knowledge hammer. “So if you can’t live if you’re not breathing, why do you feel prospecting is any different?”
Why prospecting is like breathing
We love the feeling when we get that new customer, but the feeling is far from the same when we need to prospect that same customer.
If we don’t prospect, we don’t close new customers. If we don’t close new customers, we can’t live in our roles. So, I can’t wait to close customers this week to prospect next week. If I breathe double today I can’t afford to not breathe tomorrow. We need to continuously prospect every single day - that is the only way of having a full and healthy pipeline. This is the only way to succeed.
A.B.C. - Always Be Closing?
Not really. More like Always Be Calling (prospecting) - that is the first step to success.
Not really. More like Always Be Calling (prospecting) - that is the first step to success.
Are you prospecting enough and getting enough conversations started?
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