Nah … You Don’t Need to Prospect!

Credit: Bill Gillespie

I saw a business post that actually suggested reps don't need to prospect. It went on to provide anecdotes being spun to support the premise. "Prospecting is too hard and a waste of time."

Let me tell you something...anybody that wrote that isn't in sales. I'll go further. Anyone that believes this won't be in sales long. I loved competing with people that think this way.

I don't care how busy you are. I don't care what your volume is. It's critical that you make time to prospect (plant seeds for the future). Your volume will go down if you don't.

In 1986 I bought a new home. I hired a landscaper to take care of things. I also asked him to add seasonal flowers for color.

When he finished his work he said, "I've planted 1500 daffodil bulbs. They will be beautiful. After they bloom out, dig each one up, break it in half and replant both. Next year you'll have 3,000. The plant grows below ground too and you need to do this."

I listened but I knew there was no way I was going to dig up 1500 flower bulbs. What he had planted...what I had already, would be enough.

They were spectacular. There were yellow blooms in every direction. I was living large and the envy of my new neighbors.

The next year was also beautiful. Once again, yellow flowers caused cars to stop in front of the house. I was very proud of my/his work.

Year three was also nice but somehow it didn't feel as impressive. They were pretty but not dominant. Year four was even more disappointing as was year five. By the sixth year most of the daffodils didn't even bloom. When we sold the place years later, we were lucky to have a dozen break ground.

Trust me, sales is just like this. Everything is just like this. Tomorrow depends on what you do today. If you don't plant seeds. eventually there won't be anything to harvest. You can't trick nature and you can't trick sales. You get what you build and nothing more.

Now I understand that account maintenance (service) is critical to growing sales. The work you're doing today is either firing or selling the next order. I totally get that part. If you follow me you know that I took pride in creating distance between myself and my competitors with service.

But, in business, everything is in motion. Paradigms change. Businesses close or move. They are purchased. New decision makers are added. Your favorite contact moves on. You have to be planting new seeds.

I don't know what's up with the "you don't need to prospect to succeed in sales" people. My hunch is it's easier to type a post and publish nonsense than it is to do research and qualify names. Maybe I'll earn some feedback and an education.

My suggestion is that you trust an old sales dog and add names to your list every day. Research who they are. Plant some seeds. Your future will thank you for it.