Why Sellers Hate Sales Prospecting
Posted by James Fennessy
That there is a near-universal distaste for sales prospecting is news to no one. What’s interesting is to objectively evaluate why so many sellers find it so objectionable. The answer lies in two areas, where clues to great sales prospecting are found.
First, there is the issue of control. Nowhere in the selling process does an average seller experience less sense of control than in their sales prospecting efforts. Think about it. Most sales prospectors (even those who have mastered consultative selling skills) rely on facts about themselves, characteristics of the company they represent and/or their own scintillating personalities to try to generate interest. Sellers are stymied as to how they can credential themselves in a one-way dialogue. Good sellers know that good selling means being customer-centric. But how can a sixty-second sales prospecting message be customer-centric?
Second, every prospector feels they are being invasive when they cold-call or send an unsolicited message. Everyone who has been on the receiving end of such efforts feels trepidation about being a messenger with that telltale tone of voice that says, “I’m going to make you uncomfortable and probably force you to say no, even though I need your business.” Try as they might, prospecting salespeople seem to inevitably adopt that immediately recognisable tone of voice that we all find too familiar, too false and too obvious. Worst of all, sellers know they are doing it but can’t seem to stop it. Knowing this makes them feel uncomfortable and unprofessional. Listen to a conversation between a buyer and seller at even the early stages of a sales cycle and that tone is gone. Listen to most sales prospectors and that tone is unmistakable. Even the most confident sellers who think nothing of having a colleague along on a sales call go to great lengths to be alone when cold-calling.
Why does this happen? Huthwaite’s experience reveals an interesting clue. Sales prospectors feel embarrassed about intruding into the world of potential buyers when they know they have so little of interest to say.
In other words, even good sellers dislike prospecting because they don’t know how to identify a target-rich environment of prospects who are likely to be receptive and/or interested, and they don’t know how to create a provocative, credentialing message.
Prospecting for the Major Sale:
Successful sales prospecting requires a customer-centric and consultative approach. This paper details how to make your prospecting efforts more highly effective.
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