Prospecting clubs

Disciplines > Sales > Prospecting > Prospecting clubs

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Work together with other sales people to share the burden of prospecting.

You can even do this with sales people from other companies where they are selling complementary products.

You can either work very closely together on a daily basis or meet up every now and again to discuss how the business and general prospecting is going. As well as sharing leads, also share methods and ways of converting prospects into customers.

Help each other succeed.

Example

A group of sales people from different industries who all work in the same city meet up monthly in bar to share problems, ideas and leads.

A sales manager encourages regional sales teams to share in prospecting work rather than all work independently, jealously guarding their own customers but perhaps at the expense of the company's real goals.

Discussion

Prospecting clubs work when they use the principle of 'expanding the pie'. Sales people can have a mentality of a zero-sum, fixed pie, assuming that if they help other sales people they are somehow losing out themselves, at least in the time 'wasted' in this activity.

If, however, sales people share openly, then leads and prospects that might otherwise go to waste can be of benefit to them, at least sometimes. Sharing methods can also have lasting benefit, perhaps saving time in every call or making calls more effective.