Jeb Blount Wrote The Book Fanatical Prospecting...A Great Book On Sales Prospecting Techniques.
I can see why Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount is the #1 selling in it's main category.
The author covers cold calling, referral selling (although that chapter is a little short), selling socially, and more.
But he covers completely the reasons reps don't prospect. He knows their excuses for putting off calling prospects on the phone. He summed it up nicely on page 18 (of the hardback edition), "It is not the "cold" call that is hard, it is the interrupting. Reps are just afraid to make the call, not the
cold call". And I have found that to be true.
And the author seems to completely understand the reason for sales slumps, and he explains the cure....keeping accurate records of your sales activity. Because the reason for a sales slump is almost universally, that the rep has simply stopped prospecting, and doesn't want to admit it.
Blount says this on page 39 "You cannot be delusional and successful at the same time". Then goes on to give the reason reps don't keep records...it's easier to delude themselves into thinking they are working, when they are not.
The author talks about "perfectionism" in the most profitable way, that it's a way of deluding yourself that "not actually working is a virtue, when it's just fear of rejection. "I'm just a perfectionist, I guess" kills sales..and sales careers.
Blount expands the purpose of the prospecting call to include; set an appointment, gather information and qualify, close a sale, and build familiarity. By doing that, you can keep prospects on a "track". It isn't just one "yes or no" call. Every call can build on the last call, each moving the sale forward.
You learn about personal branding, the "Marketing" aspect of selling. The author devotes a good amount of time on this, essentially telling you to make the person more aware of you, before the prospecting call. And that is really good advice.
On page 141 is about the smartest thing I've ever read in a book on sales prospecting. I won't spoil it for you, but it's an approach that is completely non-salesy, and is going to be seen as highly complimentary to the prospect. I suggest you use the approach, as written in the book. I think you'll be surprises at how effective it will be for you.
You get a very straight forward template on how to make a great prospecting call, that starts on page 154. Several pages after that, giving the complete approach and script ideas... make the book a good value, all on its own. He also talks about in person prospecting, e-mail prospecting, using voice mail, and text messaging to prospect.
A solid course on the subject of sales prospecting. If the author gave exactly the same information in a three day seminar, and charged $500 for it, I'd feel it was a bargain.
Claude’s Books;
One Call Closing: The Ultimate Guide To Closing Any Sale In Just One Sales Call https://amzn.to/3Ack5f4
Sales Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide To Referral Prospecting, Social Contact Marketing, Telephone Prospecting, And Cold Calling To Find Highly Likely Prospects You Can Close In One Call https://amzn.to/3u21EpO
Selling Essentials: Your First 90 Days In Selling https://amzn.to/3OqKxpK
Selling Local Advertising: The Best Kept Insider Secrets To Create Local Advertising Sales, FAST! https://amzn.to/3NnAUa7
Instant Sales Boost Podcast Website https://www.instantsalesboost.com/
Claude Whitacre has over 40 years of direct sales experience. In that time, he has trained hundreds of salespeople He is the author of six books on the subject of selling, as well as hundreds of articles. He has spoken to over 200 audiences across the US on how to how to find highly likely prospects and closing in one sales call.
Retiring in 2022 from actively selling, Claude wanted to give back to the sales and marketing fields by teaching the strategies and techniques that have proven so effective in his own selling.
One of the many strategies and practices Claude implemented over the decades is working with over 200 top salespeople on real sales appointments, in 71 different industries. He would work with them for a day, prospecting and going on sales appointments, with them. Then they would work with him in the field for a day. Eventually, Claude determined that about 98% of everything he used in his own selling was actually learned from top salespeople outside of his own core industry.
To pay forward what Claude has learned, he wanted to give salespeople the opportunity to benefit from what he did....learn from the best salespeople, experts, sales authors, and trainers from all over the country.
This podcast is that effort.