In this week’s blog, I’m super excited to be joined by Chip Doyle of Sandler Sales. Having successfully trained hundreds of people to be great salespeople, what Chip talks about is a proven approach for effective prospecting that results in closing more sales.
In my interview Chip shared some best practices around sales and prospecting that are simple to implement, and don’t require you to be “salesy.”
“To create fruitful prospecting (i.e. be attracting the RIGHT customers), you need to control the lead source,” Chip shares in this interview.
I especially love when Chip explained how “every opportunity you have to connect with customers and prospects is an opportunity to prospect for more customers, thus an opportunity to close more sales.”
Here are three ways to get more referrals:
- Talk with current clients – make the ask
- Call past clients – capitalize on this gold mine
- Public speaking – be seen as an expert
I asked Chip how those of us who are super busy (that’s everyone I talk with), can find the time to maintain active prospecting. Here are Chip’s top three practices to help you be more purposeful in your prospecting:
- Be intentional about it – make a plan for WHAT you’ll be doing to prospect – it’s just like identifying project scope.
- Make time for prospecting – put it in your calendar – it’s just like having a project schedule with milestones.
- Put a reminder on your desk of WHY you’re prospecting and working to generate leads. If you’re doing it for your family, put a photo of them on your desk and add a note that says “prospecting” on it to remind you to be proactive!
Here is a pro tip Chip shared in our time together:
When asking for referrals, be sure you are clear about what you’re looking for and be able to clearly articulate that to someone who wants to refer business to you.
I’d love to hear how this interview resonates for you and how you see you can implement improved proactive prospecting in your business. Feel free to leave a comment below to share any tips you have on prospecting and closing more sales.
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. To receive Chip’s newsletter, send him an email at [email protected] Connect with Chip on Twitter and get his latest updates and tips @chipsell. And you can grab a copy of Chip’s book, “Selling to Homeowners The Sandler Way” here.
p.p.s If you’d like to get more tools to help you close more sales, check out my Sales Process Toolkit – a step by step guide to controlling the sales process, and allow you to close more sales.