When it comes to finding the right prospecting mix, it may take some time to analyze your results and decide what's most effective. In last week’s blog, we talked about increasing the number of prospecting activities to find new options and to invest the most time in the most effective activities. Here are three more steps to help find the right prospecting mix.
Rotate activities to take pressure off any single activity.
Different activities will have different results with different groups. Rotating activities also keeps things fresh. If cold calling is the only thing you do, and you're calling a specific prospect every single month like clockwork, she's eventually going to block your number because she doesn't want to talk to you.
But if you cold call one month, maybe send an email blast the next month, and then maybe do a direct mail touch the next month, that prospect's less likely to block your number. Rotating the activities takes the pressure off a little bit, and it just might open the door to new possibilities.
Invest time in improving skills and activities that make you uncomfortable.
Why should you do this? For growth. Most people do not love making cold calls, although there are a few exceptions of people who don't mind making them. But if you get better at doing it, it's going to be more effective for you. That same approach applies to walk-in cold calls, referrals, networking events, and any other prospecting activity.
Redirect time spent on activities that yield marginal results.
Again, this comes down to math. It's amazing how few people actually spend the time to figure out that a certain activity doesn't produce the results they want. Some people may invest hours, months, or even years in an activity, and then finally realize that they're not getting what they want out of it. That's a hard lesson to learn.
If you're spending time on activities that are yielding marginal results, it's time to redirect that effort to one of your prospecting activities that yields higher results.
In order to analyze and improve your prospecting mix, you need to track your results over time. If you don't, you may spend years investing in a particular activity that yields very little business for you. But if you track your results and spend some time analyzing your prospecting mix, you can make the necessary improvements to your mix.