Do You Have A Mental Block That Keeps You From Prospecting?

Why are you letting what shouldn't control you take control? Unless Star Wars' alien forces are controlling your mind, Elon Musk is programming your brain, or Tesla’s are taking over, you are in control of your mind.

Video: The Mental Block People Have With Prospecting:

The mind games people play regarding why they cannot prospect are simply that, games. Honestly, I could list more than thirty different excuses I've heard about why people can't prospect. I hear people say it is easier to get in shape or lose weight than it is to prospect people they don’t know.

Prospecting comes down to one very simple process and yes, it is simple so let’s not over complicate it!

Here it is:

· Self-discipline in doing what you say you are going to do.

· Belief in how you can help others

· Commitment in following through and not allowing obstacles to stop you.

I will break down this process step by step starting with the need to be self-disciplined. Regardless of who you are or how disorganized you may claim to be, you are naturally self-disciplined in a number of areas. For example, you don’t drive on the wrong side of the road, you don’t fail to eat nor do you neglect to pay the bills. You have more self-discipline than you realize. Often, I see people using the lack of self-discipline merely as an excuse to not do the work.

When it comes to prospecting, self-discipline comes down to doing what you say you are going to do. If you think you’re an exception and have zero discipline, set yourself some very easy goals. This could look like telling yourself you only have to make one phone call per day. The key to increasing your self-discipline lies in making achievable goals. As you achieve them, you’ll start to feel more confident and motivated. A person who has never run in their life doesn't just one day say that they're going to run a marathon tomorrow. No! Running a marathon takes days and days of practice. The same principle applies to prospecting.

The second step in the process is an unwavering belief in your ability to help others. You gain this steady belief by writing down all of the ways you help people. Do this right now. Take your time, and build a long list. Make it so long that with each line, you start to feel more and more proud of yourself and how you help others. Prospecting is about helping others. It's not about manipulating people; that’s a fable that has been dead for years.

If you believe in how you help others, your eyes will be opened. It will change your view on why you reach out to people. You’re no longer reaching out to just sell them, you’re reaching out to help them. Yes, you’re helping them when you sell them; however, I see it as a contract where two parties are looking to help each other.

The third and final step in the prospecting process is the importance of the follow-through and not allowing obstacles to get in the way, no matter what. The biggest roadblocks are the lack of time and the fear of rejection. It’s crazy how much the two can feed off of each other. When we fear rejection, it's amazing how quickly we blame it on not having enough time to make the call. When we don’t have time, we use the excuse that the prospect doesn’t want to hear from us.

If you think you will be successful by making a single call, try again. You won't even see that in a Disney movie! Good things take time. The people you’re reaching out to aren’t expecting your call, so they don’t know how you can help them. If they knew how you could help them, they’d already be your customer!

Think of prospecting like a mountain stream. The stream doesn't run a few feet and then stop. No, it keeps going and going and as it continues down the mountain, more streams flow into it making it bigger and bigger. The same concept applies to prospecting. Your initial call is like the mountain stream high up in the mountains; it’s nothing but very, very cold water. The water is flowing downhill...somewhere. You're not even sure where it is going except to a lower elevation. The same goes for you. You’re not sure how the prospect will respond until you have a conversation and exchange information with them. The creek never stops. It keeps going and going, and as it flows downhill, it gets bigger. This is no different than how you prospect. You don’t stop prospecting while continuing the process. Along the way, you gather more and more information which will help you better serve the customer.

Prospecting begins with you! Don’t blame it on the lack of prospects or the lack of having a viable product. Start with yourself and you’ll be amazed at the results you can achieve.

Check out my YouTube channel here. I have numerous videos on prospecting out there just to help you become the prospecting expert. Take advantage of these free resources!

Copyright 2020, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Result