Rethinking Prospecting

This morning I rethought my strategy for prospecting. (Please see Time to Call it Quits?).

My method of obtaining the identity of a prospective company is till valid and works well. (Please see The 1-6-10 Rule).

I am getting bogged down in the major objective of a face-to-face meeting with the prospect.

I think that my plan of a phone call leading to an email leading to a visit is wrong.

I should plan a phone call leading to a visit, and cut out the email, unless they specifically ask me for it.

This means that I will not be wasting time making follow-up calls on unlikely prospects, but can instead make my calls as rapidly as I make the calls to Communications people about my 1-click Indxr.

There still needs to be done the research and dossier to obtain data about the company, and I still need a script.

The difference is that for each prospect I will get a much better idea faster and sooner of whether or not it might lead to short-term business contact. There's nothing to stop me maintaining the prospect on a list for regular mailings; I just won't be spending time crafting a careful email if there's no need to do so.

So now my aim is to generate, for each prospect, a customized script that will, within 60 seconds or less, get the President, CEO, CFO or CIO to think positively about having me in for a chat. And I'll be convincing the President, nit a mid-level manager who has little interest in the profits of the company.