Today is Election Day in the United States and one of the questions that’s been asked repeatedly throughout the 2012 campaign season is “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
I’m not going to offer any political advice other than it’s important to express your opinion in the form of a vote for the candidate that lines up with your values. In other words, your vote matters.
But that question got me thinking of a new question related to our Ambit Opportunity – “Are you better off since you elected the current prospecting approach(es) you’re currently using?”
You may ask what I mean by that question. There are numerous ways to promote your business from calling on your warm market to attending networking events to buying leads as well as many others.
But what I’m asking you is simple – Is the prospecting approach giving you what you need – the opportunity to start conversations with people who need your help determining their needs, wants and don’t wants and potentially solving that need or desire with our service or business?
Is your approach working or is it time to elect a new approach? Here are a few tips on how to evaluate your prospecting approach candidates.
Are you comfortable with the prospecting approach?
Similar to the candidates for president, one of the factors to consider is comfort. Does the prospecting approach make you feel at ease?
For instance, do you feel comfortable calling on a person who suggested in an email form that they were interested in a home business opportunity? Or, do you need to change your approach?
Maybe the idea of calling these leads scares you to the point of inaction. You could just need a few warm up calls to make the approach work or some more training on what works when calling a prospect. I recommend a couple of resources in this case – Brilliant Communicator Series and the Effective Phone Messages portion of Hot Prospecting Tips.
For instance, do you feel comfortable calling on a person who suggested in an email form that they were interested in a home business opportunity? Or, do you need to change your approach?
Maybe the idea of calling these leads scares you to the point of inaction. You could just need a few warm up calls to make the approach work or some more training on what works when calling a prospect. I recommend a couple of resources in this case – Brilliant Communicator Series and the Effective Phone Messages portion of Hot Prospecting Tips.
What’s the prospecting tactic’s track record?
Similar to the questions you have asked of your presidential or legislature candidate, what has the prospecting approach done for you? Where’s the track record? If you’ve used an approach for a while, such as a bandit sign with a call to action like “Call Sharon if you want to earn extra income working at home,” and you’re not getting any relevant calls, maybe it’s time to elect a new call to action or rework the sign.
For instance, if you have the call going directly to your phone and your prospect is getting the automated voicemail on your phone, “Please leave your message for 555-777-9311,” you could improve this approach in numerous ways. Here are two:
- Make the call to action more specific. Something like, “Call 800-777-9311 to hear a recorded message about this opportunity.” This gives your prospect the opportunity to hear more without having to talk to you directly (or get that lovely automated voicemail message). It also allows you to screen prospects and be more productive in your prospecting.
- Offer a free DVD or Magazine if they call you. “Call today to get your free magazine and DVD.” This option gives them incentive to take action.
What are the pros and cons of electing this prospecting approach?
Before you spend money on a prospecting approach, it’s important to consider the costs involved and time required to make it work. Yes, you have to make a prospecting approach work in order to increase your number of conversations with people who want or need our service.
So, I recommend that you outline all the pros and cons of any prospecting approach before you cast your vote of confidence. If the pros outweigh the cons, then you should probably elect the approach for a specific amount of time. Then, it’s time to evaluate what’s working and what’s not working.
This election style process will help you determine where to spend your money and time – every consultant's two most valuable resources.
Action Item: Revisit the Inviting Formula in our Ambit Pro Inviter Series for a tried and true method of communicating with every prospect.
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