IN MY DECADES OF SALES EXPERIENCE, I’VE COME TO REALIZE THAT SALESPEOPLE ALMOST ALWAYS FALL INTO ONE OF TWO BUCKETS.

BUCKET ONE PERSON

In bucket one, you find the people who always answer their phone. They say, “yes” before defaulting to “no”. They work with a sense of urgency to get results and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. They are creative with how they connect with old and new clients. They sell value, experiences and programs that fit their client’s business model, always doing right by the client. Bucket One Salespeople are a pleasure to do business with.

BUCKET TWO PERSON

Then there are the people who fall into bucket two. Bucket two folks rarely answer their phone. Their voicemail is probably full and not taking any new messages. They forward emails to others instead of handling the inquiry themselves. “No,” is a frequently used word in their vocabulary. They don’t have their phone number in their email signature, (and without your phone number, how are customers supposed to call them with their money?) We all know people in bucket two.

Now, there’s a surprising third bucket that falls somewhere between the two…

We’ll call it bucket one and a half. These are the people that think they’re in bucket one but are actually closer to being in bucket two. They may answer their phone and spin with a lot of energy, but there’s a disconnect between their performance, client results, and how well they’re actually running the sale. The half bucket people don’t like to ask for or receive feedback. They don’t have a structured plan or outcome in mind when conducting the sale. They let the customer lead them and spend most of the meeting regurgitating product facts instead of driving the business exchange forward. The half buckets default to the least expensive offering and sell through the easiest procurement path. They don’t always listen to their clients which results in unintentional misses for potential new business. Bucket one and a half is deadly. It’s where wheels are spinning, you think you’re doing the right things, but not getting predictable results. It’s where you have to ask yourself if the results you are getting out of your efforts match your confidence going in. For many, prospecting is a never-ending hunt. Maybe you love prospecting but don’t always get the results you want. Or it feels like a numbers game (aka a lot of time wasted).

PROSPECTING ON PURPOSE IS SYSTEMATICALLY LEADING YOUR PROSPECT TO BECOME A LONG-TERM CLIENT…..

with intention and predictability. Where you connect with clients, communicate with confidence and close the deal. Where finding new clients and revenue streams is, well, a drop in the bucket.