By Bruce Keith
Periodically someone will say to me, “This prospecting is not working.” This conclusion usually comes from an individual who in their own mind has been working hard and not getting enough results to make it “worth my while”. It is at this point that as a business and sales coach it is my job to come up with some answers. Let’s look at this dilemma right from the start.
One of the basic Laws of Sales that we need to accept is the Law of Contacts. It is pretty simple and goes like this: “When done properly, the more contacts you make the more sales you will get.” Obviously the key to this law is the “done properly” part.
Essentially, selling is a numbers game. The more people you talk to, the more sales you will make. The challenge is that if it was that simple, all you would have to do is stand on a street corner and talk to people and you would make a fortune.
When someone tells me that “this is not working”, the first thing we need to do is to look at the variables and see which part of the Law of Contacts needs to be addressed. Here are the variables:
1. Are you really making enough calls? Are you actually talking to enough people? If you’re only talking to 10 people per day, then you need to make more contacts.
2. Are you talking to the right people? In its simplest form it breaks down like this – is your target audience in a position to purchase what you are selling? Make sure that the demographics are right. There is no point in trying to sell a new car to a list of people who have just bought a car. Same for houses…. some neighbourhoods are full of seniors who have been there for years and there is very little turnover.
3. Critical point – this is the BIG one. Are you saying the right things? Are you sticking to a proven script? Have you practiced your delivery? Are you listening carefully to their answers? Has anyone critiqued your delivery lately?
So here is the bottom line whenever you run into that frustration that says. “You don’t understand, Bruce. My area is different, my market is different, the Law of Contacts doesn’t apply here!” If you are passing the test on #1 and #2 above, then the answer lies in #3. This is the hardest one to fix because what it really says is that you could do it better. If you come to the conclusion that you need to improve on #3, go back to the basic questions in that point. Answer them one by one and I assure you, your results will change. Be honest with yourself and the Law of Contacts will ultimately work in your favour. After all, it is a law. No excuses.
Bruce Keith, the “Sales Coach”, began his sales career at IBM and 15 years later used his marketing and sales expertise to develop a highly successful real estate business. He is a master of teaching “what to say and how to say it”. His high energy and entertaining training style has allowed him to create a popular coaching and seminar business for numerous sales organizations during the last 12 years. www.brucekeithresults.com
Bruce Keith is a leading Real Estate Coach/Author/Speaker. Like Bruce Keith Results on Facebook or connect with Bruce on Linkedin. Email Bruce Keith.
