There’s a lot of expectation that builds around the new year. Visiting family and friends. Going to a big New Year’s Eve party. Catching up on the latest Star Wars flick. Priorities, people.
Then come those handy resolutions. If yours is about new business development, be careful: it’s easy to have high hopes for what you want to achieve, but they might not match up with reality. Prospecting efforts can fail for the same reasons as any other resolution. Some reasons that are particularly relevant – and what you can do to overcome them – include:
You expected too much too soon. I’m going to have 10 new business conversations a week, you might say. Sounds nice! Based on how many conversations you were averaging before, is that a feasible improvement, or are you just setting yourself up for disappointment? Maybe a better resolution would be to commit to calling 10 prospects each week who are engaging with your emails.
You had the wrong mindset. It’s probably safe to say that most prospectors would rather be closers. But when you focus on the potential payoff, rather than the incremental steps you need to take to get there, the more likely you are to become impatient and disappointed. Have automation handle that initial prospecting on your behalf so that you can focus strictly on responses.
You distracted yourself. We may have been pulled in multiple directions before the Internet was on the scene, but now it’s even easier to lose focus. If you’re already feeling bored waiting on prospects to respond to your last email, of course you’ll be tempted to fill that gap by reading LinkedIn articles or surfing the web. Instead, commit to 30 minutes of uninterrupted prospecting every morning, and 30 minutes every afternoon.
Even these resolutions may push you out of your comfort zone, especially if sales isn’t your primary job function. But if you don’t put in the effort to reach more potential customers and establish your authority as a trusted resource in their market, you won’t achieve the business growth you’re looking for.
