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Fanatical Prospecting — Front-Matter: Front matter, foreword, and free prospecting resources note
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THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR STARTING SALES CONVERSATIONS AND FILLING THE PIPELINE BY LEVERAGING SOCIAL SELLING, TELEPHONE, E-MAIL, AND COLD CALLING EDITED BY JYRKI T. J. PENTTINEN FANATICAL PROSPECTING JEB BLOUNT S A L E S G R A V Y . C O M
Praise for Fanatical Prospecting “Prospecting is the core, the foundation, the heart of every successful sales effort. Fanatical Prospecting leverages the prospecting success of author Jeb Blount, one of the most successful sales leaders of this decade, and provides answers to every aspect of successful prospecting. “The techniques and concepts contained in Fanatical Prospecting are not theories from an ivory tower occupant or the ideological wishes of a university professor. This is a step-by-step field guide to every aspect of prospecting in the Internet era. “Blount explains core principles of prospecting in a storytelling style that begs you to write in the margin and put your own action plan into place. Whether talking about ‘the 30 Day Rule’ or the difference between ‘Golden Hours’ and ‘Platinum Hours,’ he keeps his guidance at a personal level, understandable and easy to relate to. Clear, simple pillars like the Four Objectives of Prospecting ring true for any sales effort, in any industry and for every customer size. “Straightforward, easy-to-follow visual maps of ‘five step guides’ for telephone prospecting, voice mail prospecting, and in-person prospecting will prove valuable throughout your entire career in sales and in sales management. I recommend buying two copies— one to read and one to write, draw, highlight, and add sticky notes to. It is that powerful.” —Miles Austin, Publisher, FillTheFunnel.com
Fanatical Prospecting
Law of the Universe: Nothing happens until something moves. Law of Business: Nothing happens until someone sells something. —Jeb Blount
Fanatical Prospecting The Ultimate Guide for Starting Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, E-Mail, and Cold Calling Jeb Blount
Fanatical Prospecting The Ultimate Guide for Starting Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, E-Mail, and Cold Calling Author: Jeb Blount Published by Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., 4436/7, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 ISBN: 978-93-5464-206-7 (ebk) ISBN: 978-81-265-6005-9 Copyright © 2015 by Jeb Blount. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030,(201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Authorized India Edition
For Bob Blackwell
Contents Foreword Mike Weinberg xi Special Note Free Prospecting Resources xv Chapter 1 The Case for Prospecting 1 Chapter 2 Seven Mindsets of Fanatical Prospectors 9 Chapter 3 To Cold Call or Not to Cold Call? 13 Chapter 4 Adopt a Balanced Prospecting Methodology 20 Chapter 5 The More You Prospect, the Luckier You Get 25 Chapter 6 Know Your Numbers: Managing Your Ratios 36 Chapter 7 The Three Ps That Are Holding You Back 41 Chapter 8 Time: The Great Equalizer of Sales 49 Chapter 9 The Four Objectives of Prospecting 71 Chapter 10 Leveraging the Prospecting Pyramid 84 Chapter 11 Own Your Database: Why the CRM Is Your Most Important Sales Tool 92 ix
Chapter 12 The Law of Familiarity 96 Chapter 13 Social Selling 105 Chapter 14 Message Matters 132 Chapter 15 Telephone Prospecting Excellence 154 Chapter 16 Turning Around RBOs: Reflex Responses, Brush-Offs, and Objections 178 Chapter 17 The Secret Lives of Gatekeepers 193 Chapter 18 In-Person Prospecting 201 Chapter 19 E-Mail Prospecting 214 Chapter 20 Text Messaging 235 Chapter 21 Developing Mental Toughness 245 Chapter 22 Eleven Words That Changed My Life 264 Chapter 23 The Only Question That Really Matters 266 Notes 271 Acknowledgments 275 About the Author 278 Index 281 x Contents
Foreword For 25 years I’ve hoped for a book like Fanatical Prospecting, and never has this powerful message and valuable advice been needed more than it is today. Like a prophet, Jeb Blount boldly points out the lies of the loud, popular nouveau sales “experts” whose deadly advice leads sales- people and sales leaders astray. These experts preach to all who will listen that prospecting—proactively pursuing prospects—no longer works. What’s particularly dangerous about this false teaching is that it is exactly what the struggling, reactive salesperson wants to hear. Why do the hard work to prospect and self-generate new sales opportunities when some “guru” lets you off the hook by telling you that it’s “old school” and “doesn’t work anymore”? Why block time to pick up the phone if instead you can tweet, write blog posts, or play for hours posting comments in a LinkedIn group? The truth, as Jeb so eloquently shares, is that there is no Easy Button in sales. There is no magic bullet or secret sauce. No one sales tool, gimmick, or mystical new process guaranteed to fill your pipeline. In spite of what the social selling Kool-Aid pushers and inbound marketing companies tell us, the truth is that top producers and sales superstars are fanatical prospectors who take personal responsibility for identifying and creating their own sales opportunities. xi
Whenacompany’ssalesorganizationisfailingtomakeitsnumber or reach its potential, it is not because its salespeople can’t present well, are ineffective closers, or lack the skills for offering insight or challenging prospects. It’s rarely because of a deficit of talent. The reason most sales organizations are not making their numbers is that the pipeline is anemic because the sales team is not prospecting. Prospecting not only still works, but it’s the fastest and most effective way to accomplish exactly what this book’s subtitle promises: opening sales conversations and filling the pipeline! Jeb Blount knows prospecting. He is an authority on this subject because he was an all-star, record-setting salesperson and executive sales leader before building his own wildly successful sales training and talent management company. Today he trans- forms sales organizations by helping them accelerate performance and speaks to hundreds of companies across the globe each year that are eager to hear his inspiring message about what it takes to reach peak performance—fast. In Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb leaves no stone unturned and holds nothing back. He shares why we need to prospect, exactly what to do, and how to do it. New sales are the lifeblood of a business. Nothing is more important than securing discovery meetings, conversations, appoint- ments,andsalescallswithpotential customers. And thatisexactlywhy this is the most important book ever written on this topic. If you are a sales leader or salesperson looking for help creating more new sales opportunities, then this book is for you. But be warned, once you read Fanatical Prospecting, there will be no more excuses. From understanding why and how we must interrupt prospects, to jealously guarding our precious golden hours for selling, Jeb provides a comprehensive guide to increase sales fast. There is practical, powerful advice on using every means (social selling, e-mail, telephone, text messaging, networking, referrals, in- person prospecting) available to start sales conversations and create new opportunities. xii Foreword
If you picked up this book because you’ve never prospected for new business or you are struggling to hit your numbers, congratu- lations. I promise that if you follow the prescription Jeb provides, your results are about to improve dramatically. And if, like me, you’re a long-time believer in prospecting, this book will take your game to completely new levels. —Mike Weinberg, The New Sales Coach and author of New Sales. Simplified. Foreword xiii
Special Note: Free Prospecting Resources This is the longest book of the seven I’ve written and still, it was impossible to cover everything you need to know about prospect- ing. Also, with the shifting landscape of technology, prospecting tools, apps, and social media, things are changing so fast that I needed a place to keep you updated on tools, trends, and techniques that will give you an edge while filling your pipe. So, I built FanaticalProspecting.com. There you will find dozens of free guides, articles, podcasts, videos, virtual training programs, and reports that supplement the book and expand your knowledge base. As a special bonus to thank you for purchasing this book, you get free access (valued at $499) to these resources. You’ll find a special, exclusive code that gives you free Pro-Level access located in Chapter 7. xv