Tips for Successful Prospecting in Sales

How can reps become successful at sales prospecting?

It’s not a very easy question to answer.

Reps are up against a myriad of dynamics, many of which seem designed to undermine successful prospecting in sales.

Things like:

• Messaging in the virtual world (it can feel very hard and very impersonal)
• A lack of access (HOW do they even get meetings?)
• A general distaste for “sales guys”

So how do reps overcome all of this?

Here are a few actionable ideas.

Sales prospecting is one of the many things we at ASLAN equip sales reps and sales leaders to excel at every day. Connect with us to learn more.

1. Use an Other-Centered™ Position

Selling is serving. And that starts right at the beginning, with prospecting typified by other-centeredness. Reps need to be inspired to think like the prospect: what do they care about? What’s important to them? What problems can a rep’s product or service solve? The more specific a rep can get, the better. Getting in the door is going to require a lot of listening. 

There are three elements to the OCP:

1. Their problem (what’s on their whiteboard – more on that in a minute)
2. The disruptive truth (something unique or surprising)
3. Your proprietary benefit (what can you do differently or better than anyone else?)

People pay attention when they understand that reps are really there to help them out.

2. Lead With the Customer’s Whiteboard

Solution selling is fine and dandy. But businesspeople are all about their priorities. Intercepting with an out-of-the-blue pitch — or worse, trying to define a problem that may or may not exist — is amateur hour in prospecting. It won’t be taken seriously. Reps need to get in lockstep with where a prospect is at, and that all comes back to what’s on that person’s whiteboard. Their quarterly objectives. Their big picture goals. Their to do list. However that can be found out, reps need to find it out. Then they can address it directly as a way of earning attention. 

Check this video out to learn more: 

3. Master Cold Calling

Yup. It’s still relevant. But old-school cold calling with its stuffy scripts is out. We advocate the 10-3-30 principle:

10 seconds — Reps have 10 seconds to reference something meaningful and engage the prospect. 

If they get through that 10 seconds, it’s highly likely the prospect will grant them another 30.

30 seconds — This is the most important part and where reps should clearly establish why the prospect should talk to them. They use the OCP to answer vital questions.

Note, these 30 seconds aren’t about the pitch. It’s about selling the discovery conversation. Reps must drop the rope (more in a sec) and get permission to move on.

If that permission is granted, they’ll probably get 3 minutes.

3 minutes — If reps have gotten this far, they have a chance to dig deeper. This exchange is all about open-ended questions that help both sides understand: should we move forward? It’s a mini discovery meeting and sets the groundwork for the full version.

Does this process sound fast and intimidating? It is… at first. Reps can learn to nail this successful sales prospecting approach — check out our programs if you think they’re ready to upskill in this area.

4. Drop the Rope

You know what people hate?

Pushiness.

Tenacity? Fine. Endurance? Absolutely. Strength? Yes, go there. But pushiness connotes a power play, and when reps seek to establish themselves as the ones “in charge,” most prospects will back away. People are coercion-resistant and conflict-resistant. Neither is the right tactic to earn a meeting.

It’s a tricky balance because prospecting is full of back and forth. But reps who get really good at it are not actually supporting or encouraging a tug of war. In fact, they drop the rope.

They make it clear: I only want what’s best for you. My solution may or may not be it.

This reduces the likelihood they dive headlong into negotiation or bartering before the prospect is ready. It also establishes trust. Reps can drop the rope and have authentic, selfless conversations that forge opportunities.

5. Implement the Cornerstone Principle

Every time a rep engages with a prospect, that prospect is one of two things: emotionally open or emotionally closed. The strategies employed when a prospect is emotionally closed can make or break the next steps.

When someone is emotionally closed, the more a rep tries to persuade them using a logical argument, the more closed they become.

Think about that: if a rep tries to sell, the prospect becomes more closed.

Reps need to shift focus from driving sales to creating receptivity, which we call the fertile soil. 

Most reps focus on the seeds: what they want to say and how they’re going to get that message in. But the second dimension that can’t be ignored is the listener: how will they hear the message? Are they receptive?

Reps need to work the soil, creating receptivity before they go all-in with a message that a prospect may or may not be ready for.

The Cornerstone Principle is very cool, and something we’ve spent a great deal of time developing and conveying. 

You can watch Tom discuss it here:

Learn Successful Prospecting in Sales

It should be clear even based on these five tips that there is some deep work reps have to do to get really good at this. Many are capable. Some will become great.

The real transformation begins with reps themselves. We teach sales methodologies that work, but they do require a paradigm shift. Reps need to rethink what their role is and what they are aiming to achieve. There are skills to be honed and character to be developed.

It’s an immense task but one that can begin immediately and pay outstanding dividends over the years and decades of a rep’s career.

Up next: want some tools to execute these big ideas? There are tons to choose from. Read Sales Prospecting Tools to Use Today.