T. Rex Doesn't Want to be Fed. He Wants to Hunt!

Here’s a post that will wind up a load of marketeers and website developers – and probably a couple of people who see themselves as sales prospectors out there - although it really isn’t meant to.

In fact, if you read the entire piece rather than reacting to the first couple of paragraphs, there might be something that ignites a useful discussion – and I’d love to hear your considered feedback on the whole article.

You see, I have a bit of ‘pet theory’ regarding some of the sales leads that are gained from contact forms on websites.

Now - of course - the marketing department will get very excited about inbound leads (and a little defensive about their quality, due to the fact that it was their work that generated them)

And the leadership team might also get a little giddy about the opportunities, see them as a type of business alchemy that they wish to replicate on some sort of “hot lead” production line.

While there will always be certain salespeople who think that sales leads should be continuously delivered to them on a silver platter, rather than having to get their hands dirty with the old prospecting pan.

But here’s the thing.

If the market in which you operate has been around for a while =>

And you have a decent idea where the big and medium wins can be found =>

Then you probably already have your sales team battering down those doors for you!

And so do your competition.

Therefore, it would be a fair assumption – if all those sales teams are doing a brilliant job and keeping an eye on all their target prospects – that…

A large majority of the people filling in the contact forms on websites are not currently being pursued by those salespeople.

As an example….

How many restaurants (even tiny ones) have to invite – nay, beg - wine reps to come and see them because up until now absolutely no one has ever called?

I’ll tell you how many - apart from the bad debt risks (and I’ll bet even they get called on by someone) – none – none at all!

But some people still need to reach out online to get noticed. So, what could possibly be the reason that a business is not being hotly pursued by every hungry salesperson in their industry?

Could it be that the size of the opportunity doesn’t flag them up onto anyone's radar as a good enough prospect to be viable for their list or for the salesperson’s time.

I mean, how small an opportunity do you need to be, to be actively ignored by salespeople?

OK – so that’s probably already got someone a bit red faced - so let me put a couple of things on the table before I upset a diverse group of people who have an interest in proving me completely wrong here.

First off, I agree that - if your marketing team are brilliant – and your sales team are not – then your campaign and website may attract big opportunities that your team have missed – absolutely, 100%.

Second, some purchasing departments who have a sizeable opportunity and already have three proposals in front of them, may still want to open the tender process out to a wider audience (but again, you’ve got to ask yourself – “why weren’t your sales team already there?”).

Thirdly, you never – EVER - want to ignore someone who has just stuck their hand up in the air and shouted “come and sell something to me” – that would be stupid – we’re not working in the sales prevention team here.

Here’s a thing though.

I work with a number of businesses who split their teams into “Hunters” and “Farmers” - “Prospectors” and “Account Managers” – in an effort to make the most of certain business development or customer service skill sets.

But surprisingly, those companies still give their web leads to the Hunters.

And – come on - that’s not hunting is it? What that is, is collecting!

It’s like hiring a fleet of fishermen – equipping them with boats, nets and expensive sonar equipment - and then sending them round the country to various fish shops so that they can pick up prepaid orders of fish for you.

If your team have been hand picked because of their hunting ability – then let them hunt.

You don’t chain up a goat and feed it to a T. Rex.

When people talk about prospecting, most people (outside of sales) associate it with the search and extraction of gold.

And if you take a look at the road map that is followed in successful gold mining, the initial hunt for gold – the prospecting bit - includes words such as exploration, discovery, surveys, planning and construction.

Extraction and processing both happen right at the end when the gold – in sufficient volume and value - has been found and confirmed.

Same thing applies with the sales prospecting skill set.

You need someone who has the ability to discover, test and build in order to uncover opportunities that will enable the business to hit its annual target – opportunities that possess the correct volume and value - and have a system that allows those people to do THAT again and again.

Extracting the opportunity from its current position - encased in apathy and scepticism - is where your team’s selling skills kick in.

That's the difference between prospecting skills and sales skills

It's where we move from discovery and qualification - to earning the right to proceed, asking the appropriate questions, solving the problem and executing the solution.

And the bit after that - the processing bit - that's just administration.

Someone who simply takes the company car to pick up an order has little need for prospecting or sales skills – what they need is a driving licence and a pleasant demeanour.

So, let’s not diminish the genuine talents of prospecting and sales personnel by mixing them in with the order takers and coffee call merchants.

If you have split your team into hunters and farmers - let your hunters hunt

There's a reason people pay a fortune for diamonds rather than pebbles.

It's because the latter can be picked up off the beach in the bucket load, while the other takes skill, discovery and determination

It's also why I developed my 2 Day Business Development Masterclass .

So that people who were employed to hunt down the biggest and best opportunities out there could develop a prospecting and business development plan to build an effective pipeline, get them in front of prospects who were big enough to ensure their target got hit and then show them how to close every genuine opportunity that presented itself.

We're about to start a new month - so here's the big question:

Are you going to spend it bringing back business that no one else could find (let alone win) - or do you intend to bring back pieces of pre-signed paper that someone sent you out to pick up?

?Wishing you all the very best for a great end to this month and a fantastic start to the next one,

Chris

Don't be a Stranger

If you would like to attend one of our open workshops; invite me to deliver a bespoke training package to your team or deliver a keynote or Sales Kick Off, then please feel free to contact me directly with a message through my?LinkedIn Profile ; email me using [email protected] or schedule a 30 minute Zoom meeting using?THIS CALENDAR LINK

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Today too soon to sign up? That's OK - but I hope you’ll decide to join me soon. But hey - on the other hand - what the hell are you waiting for? Check it out ??