Prospecting is Just Like Fitness

When it comes to salespeople and prospecting, there are two kinds: those that hate it, and those that lie and say they don’t.

Prospecting isn’t easy but there are fundamentals that help ensure your success. It’s just like fitness; most people want the benefits, but doing the work is not easy.

Think about the last time you started a new fitness regiment. You faced lots of obstacles didn’t you?

First of all, you won’t ever FIND the time; you have to MAKE the time!

When you first start out in a new fitness program, there are many obstacles: the treadmill doesn’t work properly, the gym is crowded, it’s uncomfortable and lots of other issues arise …

Reasons to quit are everywhere.

The same is true with prospecting.

First of all, prospecting requires a plan. Just like fitness, if you just start being active you’ll likely become frustrated and disengage. But if you have a plan, you have something to measure and track. Your plan is the basis to measure your progress and that drives satisfaction and results.

As you endure the early struggles of your new fitness program, a transformation begins to happen… you begin to enjoy the work. The exercise equipment becomes more familiar. As you begin to develop a routine, you begin to see results.

The same is true of prospecting.

As you grind through the early days of your program, you begin to become more comfortable with your systems, you develop efficiencies, you hone your pitch and begin to make connections and see results.

As you survive the early days of your (fitness or prospecting) program, it is important to stay the course. Make adjustments as needed but remain true to your goals.

Just as with fitness, engaging in proper form is critical for maximum impact. For prospecting, that means that your messaging must be:

1)   Compelling – tied to a client’s specific business pain or opportunity

2)   Sustained – just like advertising, repetition ensures effective landing

Professional selling is a blessed profession but there are no silver bullets. You’ve got to plan the work and work the plan.

Just like with fitness, as you stay the course you begin to enjoy the work. The benefits are nice but you start to actually enjoy the work as well. Embrace it!

Just like with fitness, regularity is critical.
If you’re prospecting every third Thursday for four hours, you’ll develop neither fitness nor effectiveness.

The injustice of conditioning is that it takes weeks and months to get into shape, and only hours or days to lose it. The same is true with prospecting… maintain your edge by continuing to work your plan.

True sales superstars know the power of prospecting and the importance of constantly feeding the sales funnel.

Prospecting is just like fitness. Do the work and enjoy the journey. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Be strong in your commitment to prospecting. Be bold in your calling. Be persistent. Be organized. But mostly, be active and sustain your efforts. The market place will sharpen your skill and the marketplace rewards activity.

Prospect with passion, purpose and have fun failing… that’s the path to success.