Just as a bee has to touch thousands of flowers to make an ounce of honey, business development execs have to touch thousands of prospects to find those who will blossom into a customer.
Bees buzz around fields flush with flowers because they know – especially in spring – that there’s enough pollen to fill their honeycomb. They need to visit about 1500 flowers within a 12-square mile area to gather a load – 10 mg – of pollen.
As you prospect for new business, what does your field look like?
- Is it full of the right kind of businesses?
- Do you know who the contact is at each company?
- Do you know the best way to reach that person?
Is your field large enough?
- How big is your database? Is it organized in one central location?
- Do you know how many you have to touch (email, call – leave a voice mail or message, send direct mail, etc.) to engage someone in a serious conversation?
- Do you know how many serious conversations you have to have to make a sale?
Is your field fertile?
- Do your contacts have the potential to do business with you?
- Are contacts interested in doing business with you?
- Are contacts engaging in conversation with you?
If your field isn’t large enough or fertile enough, it won’t produce enough of that sweet stuff – customers.
If you’ve answered yes to all of the above questions, read the next blog!
If you’ve answered no to all of the above questions, the next question is: how do I find a large, fertile field? OR, How do I fill my database?
There are a myriad of answers to that question, one of which is Rally Prospecting, of course! We have a particular process that’s not for everyone, so we work carefully with prospects to make sure our techniques and philosophies about prospecting are aligned. Our technique is wide-angle, and our philosophy is to move the prospect to a phone call (remember those?) as soon as possible.
You may need a tighter focus, with an on-line purchase only. We can’t help you there.
So, when you’re looking for a data source, be sure to research all of your options carefully, and ask questions about technique and philosophy.
When your field is planted, get ready to go to work!
