Define Your Prospector Type. Salespeople fit into three basic prospector categories. Which one are you?
The first and least successful type is the “Shotgunner.” If you are a Shotgunner, you call on a wide variety of prospects without any prior assessment of potential or regard to industry with the hope of hitting a random target. Using the Shotgun approach usually generates a lot of unproductive activity, wasting a lot of cycles and yielding few, if any good prospects. As a Shotgunner, your goal is strictly volume. You call on as many companies as possible in multiple disparate industries, without previously determining whether they may be qualified, with the hope that you will get an occasional hit.
A step above the Shotgunner is the “Rifleman.” If you are a Rifleman, you select a specific group of prospects before you begin investing any resources. This approach is more effective and typically yields better results than the Shotgun approach, but it requires more preparation work and advance planning. As a Rifleman, you usually do at least some advance preparation and broadly define an industry or group of potential prospects that would be a good match for your products and services. Your goal is to find any qualified prospects within your targeted group.
By far the best approach is to become a “Sharpshooter” and only spend time on high-probability, high-value targets. As a Sharpshooter, you are the most effective prospector and have the highest sales call-to-appointment ratio. You invest significant time looking for hittable targets, focusing on specific industry types and the best prospects within the target group. You look for specific targets within a variety of groups and do significant work in advance to determine the most qualified prospects with whom to invest your time. You are interested in quality prospects not quantity of prospects. As a Sharpshooter, your goal is to actually generate revenue.
Hitting the High-Value Targets. A high-value target is simply a prospect you have defined that meets the criteria to provide you the best opportunity for a sale. While the criteria may vary from agent to agent, the main criteria must always include: need, timeframe, application and budget. You should always take the time to do your homework and identify those specific prospects and industries that are the best targets.
