Which Prospecting Model Works Best?

There are three business models from which to choose when deciding the best way for you to gain prospects.

1. Walk into a new business off the street and meet cold turkey face-to-face.
2. Call to set appointments with contacts.
3. Call to set solid appointments.

The first model is guaranteed to work if you can use it.  I used it very successfully to build my own business.  This is only for those who don’t mind walking in off the street; not everyone is willing to meet prospects face-to-face cold turkey.  The key to success is setting realistic goals for yourself.  To plan on walking into businesses for eight hours per day is not realistic!  Plan to walk into businesses for two hours, then spend the rest of your time on follow-up and administrative work.

The second model may be best especially for those who are new to sales.  This model is for someone who is willing to “pound the phone” rather than walking into businesses cold turkey.  I suggest you search YouTube for ccsalespro appointments to get my training on the best pitch to use over the phone.  For this model you don’t necessarily need to speak to the business owner.  These calls are basically to increase your contacts.  Make sure you get the name of the person to whom you spoke and the name of the owner or decision maker.  Now you will have the advantage of knowing names when you arrive at a business.  You can say, “My name is James.  Yesterday when I spoke to Susan, she said I could drop in to speak to Bob if he’s in.”  In my experience, calling for two to three hours per day will yield about ten appointments.  Recently I visited a smaller ISO who was using my strategy, and it was working very well.  The key to success in this model is calling, calling, calling!  Just as in door-to-door sales, putting in the effort and making a system to get the job done is key.

The final model is the toughest one.  This model is based on making more solid appointments.  Rather than scheduling as many as ten appointments per day where you have the name of a contact, you are setting appointments with decision makers who agree to have a statement ready for you.  Expect to spend two to three hours calling in order to set two to three appointments per day.  The key to success here is to excel in phone sales and to have a very good hook.  Make sure you offer something specific you can do that will set you apart from the competition.

To use the model which is right for you is very important to your success.  And if you are not seeing success with the model you’ve chosen, try another one.

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