Are you a small business owner who is wanting to generate new business? If so then this email is just right for you!
I am going to share with you my 7 quick rules of outbound prospecting to help put you on a road to success.
IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU IT'S ABOUT THEM
Be selfless in prospecting, focus on the problems and wants of your target audience. Nobody wants to hear how great you are, do they? Make it all about them and their business and you will be in great shape.
BE SOMETHING TO SOMEONE NOT EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE
I say this time and time again, and do you know what I will continue to say it as it’s so important! Be targeted about who you talk to and really think about what are the reasons they are going to want to have a conversation with you.
Don’t try and speak to everyone, hem in on those you know you can solve problems for. The more targeted you are with outbound prospecting the more success you are going to have.
BE INFORMATIVE AND CREATE INTRIGUE
You want to make the prospect think “Yes, I want to have more conversations with them.” When they put the phone down do they think, “Yes, they were really helpful, I need to know more”, or do they think “Ummm I am not sure they really helped me at all.”
The goal is to make them want to know more about the service you offer and how you can help them solve the challenge they are facing.
BE INTERESTED
What are the things that are going on in their world right now? Show an interest in them and what they do and you will have a far better chance of being able to ask the right questions and make them start to think about wanting to work with you. Show an interest in them. It’s CRITICAL!
BE VALUABLE
Add Value to the conversations you have with the people you are speaking to. Make them think “WOW”, that’s really helpful and I can implement this in my business. When you add value and show that you are knowledgeable about the industry they operate in, you will be in a far better position to have engagement from them.
BE CREATIVE
Sometimes we need to think outside the box and think of new ideas and ways we can get hold of the person we want to talk to. If you just want to use the phone all the time the chances are you aren’t going to be successful. You could send them a personalised printed card or send them a box of some goodies in the post. Your prospects are likely to not be around just 9-5 and work different hours, so think creatively about ways you can approach them.
Write down the things that would stop that person from engaging with you and the reasons that they would want to engage with you. From this you can then brainstorm ideas you can use to grab their attention.
BE PERSISTENT
If you continue to use the tips above, show up, and share valuable content, proving you know what’s going on in your prospect’s world, then eventually they may decide that you’re a person they want to have a conversation with. Don’t give up too early, you will see results when you keep going.
There you go my 7 golden rules of prospecting. I hope you found them useful?
Do you have a different golden rule you follow when doing outbound prospecting? If you do I would love to know what that is. Email me at james@thesbsa.com.
