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On this episode of the Gross sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount (Fanatical Prospecting) solutions a listener’s query about the best way to successfully steadiness prospecting for brand spanking new logos with serving and managing current accounts.
Maggie is a member of my insider group, and she or he requested me a reasonably necessary query about the best way to steadiness prospecting and account administration.
“I’m a high salesperson, and I wish to keep on high. However one of many issues about my job is that I’ve to handle and repair my current accounts, and I’ve to exit and search for new logos and new alternatives. And the extra enterprise that I promote, the tougher it’s for me to prospect to go discover new alternatives in order that I can promote extra.”
If in your gross sales job, it’s important to go hunt new accounts and it’s important to handle the accounts that you just exit and shut, then Maggie’s query makes a whole lot of sense. It’s exhausting to be a hunter and a zookeeper on the similar time.
Going out, prospecting, dealing with rejection, knocking on doorways, selecting up the cellphone, and calling folks is totally totally different than servicing your accounts, upselling, cross-selling, and retaining the enterprise that you’ve got.
This is likely one of the key the reason why folks wrestle to steadiness prospecting with account administration.
Prospecting Sucks
The reality is, typically, you wrestle to strike a steadiness as a result of prospecting sucks and also you don’t wish to do it. It’s a complete lot simpler to name up an current account, resolve their issues, do customer support, and upsell and cross-sell with folks that already know you than it’s to select up the cellphone and name an invisible stranger.
It’s a complete lot simpler to name a good friend than to name somebody that can in all probability reject you, as a result of that’s what occurs in prospecting. You get a whole lot of rejection. So that you say that you just wrestle with steadiness, however the cause that you just’re struggling is that you just don’t have any steadiness. You spend your whole time managing accounts and none of your time prospecting.
Subsequent, you procrastinate and delay prospecting. You discover each excuse to not prospect. Having an account base offers you actually good excuses to not prospect, so that you don’t. The necessity to prospect and the necessity to replenish your pipeline begins so as to add up.
You Can’t Do All of Your Prospecting At As soon as
Your gross sales supervisor is saying, “Hey, it’s important to go discover me some new enterprise,” and also you’re not making the commissions that you just wish to make. There’s a whole lot of strain on you. So immediately you’re confronted with, “Oh my goodness gracious, I’ve to prospect.” Then you definitely attempt to pile your whole prospecting into someday.
Desperately, you attempt to do all of it at one time. That’s once you begin to run into huge issues as a result of you will have the calls for of your current account base and it’s important to prospect. And no person needs to spend a whole day prospecting as a result of as I stated earlier, prospecting sucks. Out of the blue, you’re overwhelmed with this huge previous pile of prospecting that it’s important to do.
So that you don’t prospect. As a substitute, you return to account administration, which makes the issue worse. Since you’re overwhelmed and wired, you’re feeling out of steadiness.
You begin searching for a simple button resolution to an issue that, should you’re sincere with your self, you created. Not due to your workload, however since you have been avoiding prospecting within the first place.
Prospect Each Single Day
The hot button is that it’s worthwhile to prospect a bit of bit daily. And when you perform a little little bit of prospecting each single day, you start to reap the benefits of the cumulative affect of all these little bits of exercise.
Breaking apart your prospecting exercise into little bits that you just do each single day additionally makes it simpler. It’s much more palatable to do the issues that you just don’t wish to do in small chunks than to put it aside all up and do it at one time.
The very first thing you wish to do is start blocking day out for prospecting. That signifies that it must be in your calendar. You want an precise time block in your calendar each single day for prospecting.
Account administration goes to devour most of your day, spending time together with your current prospects. These prospects are going to be calling you. They’re going to be interacting with you. They’re going to be sending emails to you. So the most effective time to schedule your prospecting block is on the very starting of the day.
Entrance-Load Your Day With A Prospecting Block
For those who wait, you’ll by no means do it. To begin with, you don’t wish to do it, so it’s straightforward to procrastinate. And second, as a result of so many issues are going to be hitting you each time you sit right down to prospect, one other drawback goes to indicate up and also you’re going to go chase the issue for an current buyer quite than prospect.
So front-load your day with prospecting. Which means the very very first thing you do within the morning is prospect. The following factor you wish to take into consideration is how a lot prospecting you really need to do. And should you’re actually sincere with your self, it’s not that a lot.
How A lot Prospecting Do I Must Do On a regular basis?
In Maggie’s case, for instance, she’s a high salesperson and she or he’s obtained a full guide of accounts that she’s managing.
These accounts are placing commissions in her pocket they usually’re producing income. So what she must do is promote sufficient new enterprise to guarantee that she’s protecting any accounts that she loses and she or he closes sufficient new enterprise to repeatedly develop her account base and keep on high of the gross sales rankings.
So the reality is, for Maggie and most salespeople who need to steadiness account administration and prospecting, you solely must dedicate about an hour a day of prospecting to do all of these issues. After I say dedicate, I imply really prospecting together with your head down throughout that block of time.
You’re not researching. You’re not getting espresso. You’re not speaking to mates. You’re not texting folks. You’re not answering your e-mail. You’re not answering your cellphone. You’re not taking incoming calls and also you’re not watching cat movies. You’re prospecting. You must dedicate the time to prospecting. For those who actually take into consideration this, it’s not that arduous.
Self-discipline, Sacrifice, and Mindset
In actual fact, it’s actually not even about balancing account administration and prospecting. It’s about having the self-discipline to handle your day. Self-discipline is sacrificing what you need now for what you need most.
And if what you need most is to remain on high of the rankings, to provide new enterprise, to earn extra money, and to achieve the reward and the adoration of your leaders and your friends, then merely faucet into that need to shift your mindset and perform a little little bit of prospecting each single day.
We wish to hear from you. Tell us what you consider this episode – we love your feedback and questions. Simply ship Jeb a textual content message at 1-706-397-4599 or CLICK HERE TO TEXT.
P.S. You’ll be able to entry Gross sales Gravy College Right here
