Be Someone Worth Talking To
There are two necessary conditions for getting your prospecting messages returned- be someone worth talking to and have something worth talking about. When you're prospecting, do you meet those requirements? (4 minute read)
As businesses start to reopen, and people are eager for things to "return to normal," sellers are starting to realize something... There was a lot about "normal" that they took for granted.
Remember when you had a little extra time on your hands and were willing to casually network and connect over lunch or a cup of coffee? Remember the dinner meetings you'd set up to connect a couple of your clients with one another? The ball games, concerts, and other public events? Even the executive retreats where the destination alone would get a prospect's attention and they'd sometimes get on a plane to join you?
Those are mostly gone, at least temporarily.
It's not just budgets that have been cut and revenue projections that are being readjusted, most people are thinking (at least) twice right now about how they re-integrate public activities.
They're thinking about factors like whether it's an indoor or an outdoor event, how many people will be there, will they have to wear a mask or not... Regardless of how you feel (and masks being considered political statements is just ridiculous), you have to admit that there are different factors to consider nowadays.
That means that a much different (and occasionally new) factor is coming into play...
The prospect is forced to ask themself... "Will this be worth it?"
You've heard me say this before, and I wrote about it in When It Goes Sideways, but the business value you are bringing to the conversation is much more important now than ever.
There have always been criteria around the "Will this be worth it?" question, but the type and location of the meeting have always had a bearing on that. Not so much anymore.
Now the criteria are much more simple... If you want someone to return your messages and engage with you, you need to be someone worth talking to with something worth talking about.
Think about it, has there ever really been anything else that matters? Why do you engage in any conversation?
So amidst the return to work from what my friend Mike Weinberg has been calling "Coronavirus Craziness," the messaging around the solutions you provide and those to whom you provide it is more important than ever.
Not coincidentally, the way you develop a reputation as someone worth talking to is by demonstrating that you always have something worth talking about.
I've always approached prospecting cadences as if I'm having a conversation with someone without expecting them to participate. My initial outreach touches would typically involve a piece of content like an industry-related research piece along with some notations and some questions on the topic...
"This is what your colleagues are talking about. I'm curious where you stand on these (issues/techniques/what have you), and how you're addressing them. Do you have a few minutes to discuss this?"
They wouldn't often bite on the first attempt, so I'd come back with a second, third, fourth... sometimes an eighth, ninth, tenth... each one different than the last, often using multiple papers and multiple questions from each.
This does a couple of things...
It demonstrates persistence, and that I'm not going anywhere
The subject matter and the questions will often create a little tension, in that I knew something they should probably know too (address their current state)
I clearly have a grasp of the subject matter (perceived expertise), and I can help them with their grasp of it as well (desired future state)
The more you have that is worth talking about, the more likely you are perceived as someone worth talking to.
I'll take it a step further. The more you are perceived as someone worth talking to, the less important it is to have something worth talking about at the moment. This is why so many tenured reps like to talk about how "it's a relationship business," and often why so many of them get complacent later in their careers, but that's a topic for another piece.
There's a lot more to be said about this, and I don't think this is the last time you'll read something from me on this topic, but use this concept as a filter for your prospecting efforts.
Before you reach out to anybody with any messaging, ask yourself...
"Is what I'm about to say going to be perceived as something worth talking about, and will it add to my reputation as somebody worth talking to?"
If the answer is no to either of those questions, you're not ready to make that call yet.
Jeff Bajorek
Real. Authentic. Experience.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to sell and being able to. Jeff Bajorek spent over a decade in the field as a top performer. He’s been in your shoes. He knows what it will take. He can help you succeed.
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