Prospecting for Gold

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tue, 08/30/2011

Over one hundred and sixty years ago the rush for gold was the central focal point for many Americans, especially here in California. The resources were so abundant that you could almost grab a pan and line up along a river near the mines, and become wealthy with the nuggets that escaped the miners.

As the gold starting getting scarce, the miners began to disappear. For some, they persevered by prospecting for other ‘pots of gold.’ If riches weren’t coming one way, they’d find it another way. Well, that’s the same process salespeople need to take today to find their pots of gold.

It’s a never ending process of making changes from one resource to another to be able to cumulatively build wealth your business, for you, and for your family. That means always keeping a variety of ways to prospect. It differs in each industry so researching what works best in your industry is essential.

Most important are you knowing the product and/or service you are offering and the target market for your product and/or service. This will help you approach the best prospects, and avoid using the shot gun approach. It is too easy today to waste time and money using the wrong approach.

Without going into detail, I can tell you there are easily twenty different ways to prospect for new business. With the internet, you can take each one of these methods to the ‘nth’ degree of efficiency. Once you have set up a plan, you need to set up tracking through one of several contact management systems. This will help with follow up, reports to others in your company, and knowing history in your relationships, to help you move closer to that pot of gold.

What are your challenges when it comes to prospecting for business? I look forward to hearing your comments.

Until next time …