Prospecting Success – Hey! I can help you with that! – by Getting Results Coaching
As a coach of financial service professionals, my clients are on the continual quest of meeting new people i.e. prospecting. Part of my mission is to get my clients and their prospecting in alignment with themselves. You may be asking, ‘what does this mean?’ It is based on a simple human principle: “We have a tendency to do what we like and a propensity to avoid what we don’t like to do.” This is not rocket science. You have probably experienced this yourself. If you like to exercise, you exercise regularly. If you don’t like to exercise, you find yourself too busy to go to the gym. I know some of you may be saying, ‘Really Ken, I don’t have the time to exercise!’ I submit that you may be lying to yourself. The subconscious mind works in mysterious ways. What you should really be telling me is that you do not like exercising so you find other “busy” stuff to do. If you can discover a way to “like” to workout it will magically fill your calendar. The key is affinity.
Do you want to prospect more? Do you want to meet more of the right kind of people that will make your business flourish? If the answer is YES, then let me share with you a secret of my million dollar producers I have the honor to coach. The secret is: Prospect only in places you like to be or doing the activities you like to do! Sometimes this is very hard because many producers have long forgotten what they like to do! They do things out of habit and obligation. They are not excited about prospecting so back to the principle above: they avoid doing it. Its not fun, it does not work etc, etc. If you were once part of a referral exchange network you know how that one worked out. You stopped going because you did not get quality leads and you hated going to it but you forced yourself.
Principle #1: You will avoid the things you do not like to do.
Principle #2: You will do more of the things that you like to do.
So what do you like to do? Golf? Boat? Shoot? Collect Art? Cook? Wine? Fish? Motorcycle? Collect War Memorabilia? Antiquing? Opera? Wildlife photography? No matter what you like to do, there are other people who need your services who like the same thing! Since you continually need to prospect, then why not prospect in a place or doing an activity that calls to you! No one ever said that business shouldn’t be fun!
Your goal when you are prospecting on the golf course, cooking class or duck hunt is not to talk business but to create a one-off opportunity. A one-off is a lunch, dinner or a cup of coffee where you can learn more about the person. Think of it as a business date. On that “date” I want you to listen attentively and when you hear an opportunity to be of service say simply, “Hey, I can help you with that!” then shut your mouth. Wait for them to acknowledge what you said. Wait to hear “Really? Or How?” The key to success is relationship first, business second. Leading with business will make you tired, building lifelong relationships will make you wealthy. It all depends on what you are playing for: constantly selling or continually serving?
I can already hear someone whine, ‘But this will take a lot of time’! Correct, it may take time, but if you want to build relationships with high net worth people, you can’t expect less. People do business with you for only two reasons: they like you and they trust you! Your business is not a sprint but a marathon so be mindful of how you are training.
Simple Clues to success:
- Prospect in places or doing activities that you have an affinity for.
- Create a one off or business date.
- Listen attentively for opportunities to be of service and say, “Hey, I can help you with that!” and then shut up and wait for the acknowledgement of your offer and then of course tell them how you can help.
If you would like a personal trainer for your business contact us at www.gettingresultscoaching.com and complete the Personal Assessment. How committed are you to getting in business shape?
