- Start with a share. Be the giver.
- Don’t ask for anything other than continuing to encourage the belief that they have granted you permission to share something of value with them.
- Highlight your interest in helping people as part of your signature
- Include some amount of contact details.
- Rinse and repeat and each time bridge the gap between sharing and asking.
- Continue the dialogue until the person feels there’s a semblance of a relationship at which point you can adjust the dialogue and move it commercial.
What should you do to avoid failure in the early stages of prospecting?
- Don’t ask for an appointment.
- Don’t appear too eager (even as a giver).
- Don’t request the first degree connection so quickly if it is a high value target.
What are the overarching goals when prospecting?
- Qualify who you are “talking” to. Is that person a viable customer or referral soruce?
- Get a sense of the timing for the journey from viable prospect to likely customer (or referral)
- Create curiousity to transfer the power from them to you so that “they” are asking for more details instead of waiting to be spoonfed.
- Identify the cast of characters at the Company you are targeting and where this person fits into the totum pole.
- Is this person part of the decision-making team?
What are the 3 levers that intrigue a prospect?
- Solve a challenge/problem at work
- Relieve a pain or burden
- Speed up delivery (especially where there’s been stagnancy)
What do prospects think of when they hear from someone in their email?
- Who is contacting me?
- What does this person need?
- Do I have time to deal with this?